Cure Your Arthritis

No scientific evidence points at any specific food or nutrient, with the exception of essential fatty acids, that would help or harm most people with rheumatoid arthritis. An overall nutritious diet and adequate intake of calories, protein, and calcium is recommended. But RA patients begin with consuming a very limited diet. New fare should be introduced gradually, with alert monitoring of symptoms. Grains are known to be a food that frequently source discomfort. It is best to steer clear of refined sugar, coffee, white flour and milk.

People with RA often talk of the easing of symptoms by changing the diet. Dairy protein, corn, wheat, citrus fruits, eggs, red meat, sugar, fats, salt, caffeine, and nightshade plants like potatoes and eggplant are the most common symptom triggers. A food omission practice pursued in a blind, placebo-controlled study produced significant improvement in RA symptoms, including relief to patients who suffered from morning stiffness and throbbing joints.

The fixed outlook towards a plain balanced diet for an RA patient has changed, and patients may be able to link food sensitivity and symptoms. It is recommended as part of diet protocols in RA studies that an initial period of fasting before the test diet is observed. This fast would consist of about 200 kcal/ day of fruit and vegetable juices. It is the first step towards some short-term improvement in symptoms.

A diet high in polyunsaturated fat and low in saturated fat with a daily supplement of eicosapentaenoic acid is allowed to reduce morning stiffness and fewer tender joints. Vegetarians can improve their omega-3 intake with the use of flax seed and other plant foods.

Extra folic acid helps ease or prevent some of the side effects of methotrexate. (Methotrexate is an anti-metabolite which blocks reactions necessary to produce precursors to DNA synthesis.) Folic acid is displaced from the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase by the drug and the unbound folic acid is excreted. It is often used in low doses in the treatment of RA to suppress the immune system, even for those who do not take the anti-arthritis drug methotrexate, which is known to affect folate status. A diet rich in plant foods that are high in folate would be prudent for people with elevated homocysteine levels also.

Powerful drugs used in the treatment of RA for their anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects put the patient at increased risk for osteoporosis. People on long-term steroid therapy may benefit from nutritional counseling discussing the role of calcium and vitamin D. A lack of mobility and obesity are also problems. Therefore dietetics professionals can assist people with RA by providing advice on good nutrition, food preparation, and weight control techniques.

Outpatient visits with a registered dietitian would help ensure adequate nutrient intake and provide suggestions for acceptable menus and cooking techniques. Similarly, dietetics professionals are indispensable for a patient embarking on a carefully planned elimination diet. Finally, following a vegetarian diet appears to have so many health benefits that people with RA who adopt it may gain far more than symptomatic relief from doing so.

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 9th, 2007 at 11:54 am and is filed under Arthritis Treatment. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will appear immediately, but I reserve the right to delete innapropriate comments.