Two visiting speakers to the Isle of Man will offer some hope to sufferers of rhumatoid arthritis and other auto-immune illnesses at a special event this weekend.

Andy Swarbs from the UK and Danny Preil from the Netherlands will be speaking about their experiences controlling the disease by means of a special diet.

The event is organised by Without Wings: the Manx Autoimmune Arthritis Trust, and a spokesman from the group, Jacqueline Morrey-Grace, said: ’As part of our positive and useful information drive, we have two speakers visiting who have both managed to tame the beast that is rheumatoid arthritis via diet and exercise.

’What makes them so fascinating is that both were severe cases, both worked very hard to recover and both follow the same programme.’

Mrs Morrey-Grace, who was diagnosed with an auto-immune illness in her 30s, and the two speakers have been following a special diet and exercise regime developed by Australian Clint Paddison.

She said: ’One of the things people don’t tell you is that there are ways around it and there’s tons of conflicting information out there, so we wanted to find people who had recovered or found ways to manage their condition.’

The programme, which involves a strict fat-free diet coupled with an exercise regime, was developed by Mr Paddison and he attributes his own improved health to following it.

’It’s a massive life style change that goes beyond just going vegan,’ Mrs Morrey-Grace said.

’The ultimate aim is to be off the medication and heal the underlying cause.’

The event is at Noa Bakehouse, Douglas, on Sunday, July 23, starting at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £12 on the door, under 16s are free and the event is non profit-making.

Emma Lynch from Flour Power, the vegan bakery in Port Erin, is providing plant-based snacks.

’It’s set to be a great evening, and if successful we’ll be running more events like this in the future,’ Mrs Morrey-Grace said.