The UK spends nearly five million pounds treating rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society reports. RA is a common cause of chronic pain, disability and depression in older people. If you have RA, follow the treatment advice given to you by your health care team. Additionally, you may consider a diet that may help your rheumatoid arthritis symptoms
Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet is an eating plan based on the dietary principles of Mediterranean nations such as Spain and Greece. The diet is abundant in whole grains, veggies, fresh fruits, olive oil and nuts. Followers of the Mediterranean diet tend to strictly limit red meat, packaged foods and sugar. RA sufferers who adopt the Mediterranean diet can significantly improve their symptoms and quality of life, reports Kalmar County Hospital's, L. Skoldstam. Skoldstam and his colleagues investigated the effects of the Mediterranean diet on a group of 26 people that had struggled with RA for at least two years. The Mediterranean diet significantly boosted physical function, reduced pain symptoms and increased vitality when compared with a non-dieting control group.
Vegan Diet
A vegan diet is a type of vegetarian diet in which all animal-derived foods are eliminated. Vegans don't eat foods like meat, eggs, dairy, baked goods and gelatin. Switching to a vegan diet can significantly improve arthritis pain, the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine reports. The Committee adds that dairy food is a common "trigger food" that exacerbates rheumatoid arthritis pain. Eliminating dairy -- and all other animal products -- may help you feel better. The abundance of antioxidant-rich vegetables in a vegan diet may contribute to pain reduction.
No-Gluten Diet
Gluten is a protein found in many common foods in the food supply. Deli meats, bread, pasta and salad dressings are common sources of gluten. People that are sensitive to gluten may worsen their RA symptoms by consuming gluten, reports Hafstrom Ringertz of Karolinska Institutet at Huddinge University Hospital. A study found in the May 2001 edition of "Rheumatology" found that RA patients that eliminated gluten from their diet reduced overall pain levels.
References
- PCRM: Foods and Arthritis
- "Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases": An experimental study of a Mediterranean diet intervention for patients with rheumatoid arthritis
- NRAS: What is RA?
- "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
