I rarely consume wheat and haven't for years, just mainly because I prefer oats and rice for grains. And I have DD in both hands and LD in both feet.

mukasama:

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GaryBall:

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[....would it be worse if I did not bother with anti inflammatory foods??......who knows!!.....I feel that for many of us it is in our genetic make up and that is it.....you say that going gluten free seemed to make the biggest difference for you.....maybe you should get checked out for gluten allergies.......in my case I felt that losing sugar seemed to have best results...thanks for your post...
Gazza

I have no known relatives on either side with Dupuytren's. I believe there is likely a genetic component, but that it can also be mediated or triggered by environmental issues. Because it is an inflammatory response and has comorbidity with many auto-immune diseases, I don't think you can rule out the likelihood that it is also auto-immune in nature - many of those conditions also have a genetic component. Since being diagnosed with DD I have also developed psoriasis, to me a much scarier auto-immune disease with a genetic component (although no one in my immediate family has had either DD or psoriasis and I have heard of no one in my extended family having either). I don't think it is an either-or between whether it is genetic or auto-immune, and since so many inflammatory auto-immune conditions are improved (or better "managed") by paying attention to diet and eliminating foods that make the condition worse, it seems like a no-brainer to see what difference an elimination and reintroduction test on the most likely culprits does to the DD.

While what works is likely to vary from person to person, there are some strong links supported by peer-reviewed articles between gluten sensitivity and chronic inflammation in people with a variety of auto-immune conditions. I was not expecting it to have such dramatic results (in part, I hoped it wouldn't since I didn't really want to give up gluten - I was just trying to rule it out). I don't see any reason to have an allergy test for gluten. It seems probable that I have a sensitivity to it and that not eating it makes my hands feel back to normal - for now anyway. On my doctor's advice (for the newly diagnosed psoriasis) I am also trying elevated levels of Vitamin D and K2 this winter. As I live in Alaska I don't get much sun in the winter and apparently the 2,000 IU of Vitamin D I've been taking for the last couple years has not been enough to get my blood levels of D into the normal range at least at this time of year.

Giving up sugar in addition to gluten would be tough. Do you avoid all types of sucrose, fructose, etc. or just added sugar or ???