Paula H. wrote:
> Bunions are a mechanical (structural) problem where you don't have enough
of an arch and put too much pressure on your big toe joint by
[over]pronating.

Yes, in other words, flat feet can contribute to bunion development.

> Bunions often run in families since structure is inherited.

Well, the genes are inherited which give one the potential to develop
structural problems, such as lax connective tissues that cause or contribute
to flat feet and bunions. I believe that diet is the likely main trigger
that activates this potential.

>  I pronate, and I am getting bunions on both feet - like my mother and
grandmother.  I believe I have slowed the progression and made my feet feel
better by wearing shoes with excellent arch supports and proper width.  I
almost exclusively wear Birkenstocks, and I have for the last ten years.

I had flat feet as a child and developed overlapping toes in adulthood
despite wearing excellent orthotic arch supports throughout my youth. The
arch supports did make my feet feel a little better, but they didn't
heighten my arches, whereas dietary change did. I think arch supports and
proper shoe width may have a small effect on bunion progression, but likely
not a major one. Did you notice any slowing at all in your bunion
progression after you changed to a Paleo diet? I have a feeling that it may
be difficult to slow or stop the progression of a disorder once it becomes
advanced, and that there's more of a chance for improvement if the dietary
change is made early in the progression of the disorder--as with Ray
Audette's diabetes and my overlapping toes. I had flat feet for much longer
than I had overlapping toes, and the arches did not correct completely the
way the overlapping toes did.

> I don't think diet even enters into this except as it affects overall
joint and bone health.

Diet affects connective tissues too, not just joint tissues and bones (check
out the excellent site www.ctds.info for more information on this). Remember
that diet is often discounted as a possible contributing cause in many
disorders with little or no investigation or evidence to justify eliminating
it as a possibility. Diet was ruled out as a factor in acne until Dr.
Cordain and colleagues proved a connection through their research, and most
scientists are still unaware that Cordain has proven this. Weston A. Price
discovered that narrow jaws, teeth crowding, high dental arches and cavities
were caused by the modern diet, and dentists still aren't listening to him
today. Some day someone will actually put diet to the test re: bunions, flat
feet and crowded toes and discover that diet can work on the genes to
trigger and accelerate the development of these disorders as well. 

Remember the adage, "You are what you eat." Some scientists have found that
foods can actually "turn on" dormant genes in developing fetuses and believe
that changing diets have played a major role in the evolution of species
(see "New Research Shows How Nutrition Can Help Prevent Certain Diseases:
Can Food Change Your Genes? By Dr. Mark Hyman, Published: March 19, 2006,
http://www.parade.com/livelonger/pages/Nutrigenomics_piece and "Food For
Thought: Dietary Change Was A Driving Force In Human Evolution," By William
R. Leonard,
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0007B7DC-6738-1DC9-AF71809EC588EE
DF&sc=I100322.)

There is a chain of connection between bunions, bursitis, arthritis, gluten
sensitivity and the modern diet. Acute bunion is recognized as a type of
bursitis. [USA Today Health Library,
http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/467/main.html; Causes of Bunions,
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/b/bunions/causes.htm]. Bursitis can be caused
by arthritis and is associated with gluten sensitivity. [Causes of Bursitis,
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/b/bursitis/causes.htm]. Arthritis can be
caused by Celiac Disease. [A List of Diseases/Disorders Definitely
Associated With Celiac Disease,
http://www.celiac.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_prod.html?p_prodid=83&p_catid=&sid
=91hH9H0@@MBfAkL-51104601239.18]. Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity
result from eating wheat, one of the modern foods.

Bunions are associated with:
*	BURSITIS (inflammation of the fluid-filled bursa sac)
*	Inflammation
*	FLAT FEET (Pes planus, over-pronation, Pes planovalgus, Fallen
arches, Pronation of feet)
*	ARTHRITIS - especially osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
*	Diabetes (specifically, Diabetic Foot Disease)
*	Vascular insufficiency
*	Neuropathy
Note: inflammation, flat feet, arthritis (especially rheumatoid arthritis),
diabetes and neuropathy have all been associated by scientists, doctors or
patients with CELIAC DISEASE.

Gluten sensitivity is associated with
*	BURSITIS
*	allergies
*	anemia 
*	fatigue
*	osteoporosis
*	insomnia
*	diarrhea
*	constipation
*	bloating and distention
*	spastic colon
*	Crohn's disease
*	diverticulitis
*	rheumatoid ARTHRITIS (and gluten elimination has helped people I
know with osteoarthritis)