Nearly 60 million adults in the United States will have arthritis by the year 2020, New York Presbyterian Hospital reports. If you have arthritis, follow the advice given to you by your health care team. In addition, nutrition plays an important role in the management of arthritis. If you're looking for a natural way to reduce your arthritis pain, consider these diets that ease arthritis pain.
Vegan Diet
A vegan diet doesn't allow the consumption of any food derived from animals. This includes most baked goods, dairy products, meat and eggs. People with rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, who switch to a vegan diet may significantly improve their symptoms, reports John McDougall of St. Helena Hospital. In a study published in the February 2002 issue of "The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine," McDougall prescribed a low-fat, vegan diet to a group of people with moderate RA. At the end of one month, inflammation and RA-related pain significantly decreased. To follow a vegan diet, replace animal products with fresh veggies, whole grains, fruits, nuts, beans and soy.
Elimination Diet
Eating certain "trigger foods" can make pain worse for those with RA, Johns Hopkins reports. You may have a food allergy or food intolerance to certain foods in your diet. Eating them can increase the inflammation in your joints. However, identifying the foods that are responsible for your pain can be a challenge. The elimination diet is a diet that targets a specific food group that commonly exacerbates pain. If symptoms improve after eliminating this food group, then it is likely that the food was contributing to your pain. To benefit from an elimination diet, it is crucial that you continue to avoid the trigger food. Johns Hopkins warns that reverting back to your old diet will likely result in the same pain you experienced before the elimination diet.
Gluten-Free Diet
Gluten is a protein derived from wheat and it is found in foods such as bread, pasta, sauces, lunch meat and baked goods. Many people have an allergic response to gluten that worsens RA pain, reports Hafström Ringertz of Huddinge University Hospital. In a paper published in the May 2001 issue of "Rheumatology," Ringertz found that RA patients that switched to a vegan diet that was free of gluten significantly reduced pain levels in 40 percent of volunteers.
References
- New York-Presbyterian: Arthritis Statistics
- The Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center: Nutrition & Rheumatoid Arthritis
- "The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine": Effects of a Very Low-Fat, Vegan Diet in Subjects with Rheumatoid Arthritis
- "Rheumatology": A vegan diet free of gluten improves the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis: the effects on arthritis correlate with a reduction in antibodies to food antigens
