Click here for the web site of this book
I have put this web page together in order to provide some information on how you can treat yourself, if you have ankylosing spondylitis. The dietary information is also relevant to Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
There are some arthritic conditions which are thought to be caused by, or at least made worse by, certain bacteria in the guts. The exact mechanism for why the bacteria make the conditions worse is not fully understood, but research has clearly implicated Klebsiella pneumoniae in Ankylosing Spondylitis (and maybe other HLA-B27+ arthritic complaints).
Many gut bacteria, including K. pneumoniae, feed on starch. Therefore, if you eliminate starch from your diet, you get rid of the bacteria. Unfortunately, it can lie dormant in nooks in your gut for a long time, waiting for its next food supply, so you would need to be very strict with the diet for years in order to get rid of it completely. There is the additional problem that it can also feed to some extent on sugars, and it is very difficult to avoid that!
I strongly urge you to read the following article, which I consider essential reading for anyone with Ankylosing Spondylitis or related conditions, and describes the work of Prof. Alan Ebringer:
http://www.kickas.org/asdiet.shtml
There are two great books, neither directed specifically at AS sufferers, but rather at the related conditions of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's. They give some good background (although scientific knowledge has already overtaken some of the info. in Sinclair's book), give you a good guideline as to what foods can safely be eaten, and what to avoid, and most importantly both contain a great recipe section!
Both books tell you to cut out starch. That means no flour of any kind apart from nut flour (ground nuts) - so no bread, cakes, biscuits or pasta; no cereals (oats, rice, maize/corn etc), no potatoes and certain other root vegetables and tubers.
I prefer the first book (Sinclair); the diet is slightly different in that it allows milk and milk products whereas Gottschall does not (lactose is a disaccharide and so along with sucrose is strictly forbidden by the second book). Also, Sinclair does not allow bananas (Gottschall does, but only when they're well ripe), or most nuts (except almonds). I think this is probably right, as most nuts contain some starch. If you can afford only one, just get Sinclair, but note well that she says to be careful about sucrose. I can get away with some, but I know it if I have too much.
Here are the two books:
Carol Sinclair: The IBS Starch-Free Diet
Also available from Waterstone's who
say the book is currently reprinting (5/01)
***Note 31/5/2001 Amazon.co.uk seem to have stopped listing this book***
Available in the US from these on-line retailers
Elaine Gottschall: Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet - (click here for US version)