Are You Eating Right For Your Joints? -Eating Right-Rheumathoid Arthritis

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

The role of dietary fats in rheumatoid arthritis is complex, but potentially important. Feeding a high-fat diet to experimental animals that are susceptible to autoimmune disease increases the severity of the disease.

There is evidence that people with RA eat more fat, particularly animal fat, than those without RA. In short-term studies, diets completely free of fat reportedly helped people with RA; however, since at least some dietary fat is essential for humans, the significance of this finding is not clear. Preliminary evidence suggests that consumption of olive oil, rich in oleic acid, may decrease the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. One study, in which people with rheumatoid arthritis received either Fish oil or olive oil, found that olive oil capsules providing 6.8 g of oleic acid per day for 24 weeks produced modest clinical improvement and beneficial changes in immune function. However, as there was no placebo group in that study, the possibility of a placebo effect cannot be ruled out.

Strict vegetarian diets that were very low in fat have also been found to be helpful9,10. In the 1950s through the 1970s, Max Warmbrand, a naturopathic doctor, used a very low-fat diet for individuals with both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. He recommended a diet free of meat, dairy, chemicals, sugar, eggs, and processed foods. Dr. Warmbrand claimed that his diet took at least six months to achieve noticeable results; a short-term (ten weeks) study with a similar approach failed to produce beneficial effects. In one trial, 14 weeks of a gluten-free (no wheat, rye, or barley), pure vegetarian diet, gradually changed to a lactovegetarian diet (permitting dairy), led to significant improvement in symptoms and objective laboratory measures of disease.

Fasting has been shown to improve the symptoms and signs of rheumatoid arthritis, but most people relapsed after the reintroduction of an omnivorous diet. However, when fasting was followed by a 12-month vegetarian diet, the benefits of fasting appeared to persist.

Rheumatoid arthritis may be linked to food allergies and sensitivities18. In many people, RA is made worse when they eat foods to which they are allergic or sensitive, and made better by avoiding these foods.

Lifestyle changes that may be helpful: Although exercise may increase pain initially, gentle exercises help people with RA. Many doctors recommend swimming, stretching, or walking.