<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi all:

I, also, had significant pain in my joints before identifying my food
allergies/intolerances. Five years ago I was in big trouble in many ways,
including major pain in my neck and back, and became well *just* by
avoiding
several foods.

Here is a more recent episode: My knee began to hurt after a strenuous hike
in the summer of '95. It got a little better, then worse, and bothered me
whenever I tried to exercise until a couple of months ago, keeping me from
joining in a lot of family fun. Here's how it was fixed:

First I quit eating *all* traces of nightshade:  tomatoes, potatoes, and
peppers.  (I know that they bother me, but was often cheating).  In about two
weeks, my knee was about 50% better.  Next I quit taking all my vitamins,
including Vitamin C, E, calcium, an acidopholis mixture and FOS.  In another
two weeks, it had quit hurting completely.  I only wish I had thought to do
these things sooner - I did know better.  I still don't know which vitamin
was causing the problem, but for starters, the vitamin C and acidopholis may
have contained corn.  I've restarted only the FOS, which really helps my
digestion, and plan to add only brands that I've researched and am pretty
sure don't contain any of my problem foods, one at a time, a month apart.

I used to think I could eat anything because my stomach was never upset!
Little did I know just how sensitive my system really is to small amounts of
corn and other foods.  Just a little bit every day builds up, and sooner or
later I have a major problem.

I'm not saying that everyone with joint pain has food intolerances or
allergies, just that it's worth thinking about and investigating.

Thanks for all the interesting postings - I'm learning a lot.

Marilyn Gioannini
Author of "The Complete Food Allergy Cookbook"