The American Dietetic Association has developed diet recommendations for people with arthritis who wish to decrease symptoms through diet. The association has current recommendations, but is constantly supporting research for the improvement of current nutrition therapies.
Background
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes pain and stiffness in the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is often treated medically with drug therapy and possible surgery. Rest and exercise and stress reduction are also recommended treatments along with nutritional management. Sometimes inflammation of the joints is caused by food allergies, and in these cases the allergen should simply be avoided. More frequently, arthritis is nutritionally treated with a well balanced diet, but there are other more specific dietary changes to be considered.
Current Arthritis Diets
Many dietitians recommend a well balanced diet low in red meat and high in foods containing antioxidants. Rheumatoid arthritis causes whole-body protein breakdown, therefore protein needs are increased to 1.5-2.0 g/kg/day. Switching from saturated fat to omega 3 and omega 6 fats, such as those found in olive oil, is also recommended. Having a diet high in fruits and vegetables increases antioxidant intake. The antioxidant, vitamin E, which is found in olive oil may be most effective in decreasing arthritis related inflammation.
Potential Arthritis Diets
The "Journal of the American Dietetic Association" published a systematic literature review on the effectiveness of rheumatoid arthritis diets. While most of the research reviewed had uncertain conclusions due to the small sample size of the study, there were some results that may in the future change the accepted nutrition therapy for arthritis. Participants who followed a 10 day fasting period followed by a 3.5 month vegetarian gluten free diet, followed by a 8 month lacto-vegetarian diet had decreased arthritis related pain, but did not have improved physical function compared to a control group. A 3-week Mediterranean style eating plan was also shown to decrease arthritis related pain.
Physiological influence of Diet
Well balanced vegetarian and Mediterranean diets may have an influence on arthritis conditions due to their high levels of antioxidants which may decrease inflammation in the body. Saturated fat, found in high concentrations in animal foods, may induce a greater inflammatory response causing arthritis exacerbation. Fasting followed by a vegetarian gluten free diet also decreases inflammation possibly due to the decrease in intake of food antigens.
Implementation
Due to the uncertainty of fasting, vegan and Mediterranean diets in the nutritional therapy of rheumatoid arthritis, the current recommendations remain to be a well balanced high protein diet. The inclusion of Mediterranean and vegan dietary rules may be beneficial. Eat a variety of the five food groups, which are grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy and meat and beans, but limit red meats and high fat dairy products and substitute butter and margarine for olive oil or canola oil, which are high in vitamin E and omega fats.
References
- Journal of the American Dietetic Association; Effectiveness and Safety of Dietary Interventions for Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials; May, 2010
- Krause's Food and Nutrition Therapy; L Kathleen Mahan & Sylvia Escott Stump; 2006
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