Arthritis & Antioxidants

Millions of people in the U.S. suffer from arthritis, a condition that causes painful and swollen joints. Although past conventional wisdom was that diet had no effect on any type of arthritis, newer research indicates the opposite. It appears that a diet rich in antioxidants may play a part in disease management, though it's not a cure.

Vegan Diet

An uncooked vegan diet, consisting mainly of plant-derived foods and devoid of animal-derived foods, is naturally low in saturated fat but high in antioxidants. According to a 2001 "Rheumatology" journal study in which researchers studied the effects on a vegan diet on patients with rheumatoid arthritis, researchers led by I. Hafstrom at the Huddinge University Hospital's Department of Rheumatology in Stockholm, Sweden, concluded that a vegan diet improved arthritis symptoms. Scientists speculate that vegan diets dramatically reduce the overall amount of fat in the diet, altering fat composition. This may affect the body's immune process. Furthermore, patients lose weight on a vegan diet, which may also lead to symptom relief. And because vegetables are rich in antioxidants that neutralize free radicals so that they can't attack body parts such as the joints, they may ease joint pain and inflammation.

Preventing Arhtritis

Although a diet filled with antioxidants may help manage arthritis, it doesn't help prevent it, according to research findings of Karen H. Costenbader, Jae Hee Kang and Elizabeth W. Karlson of the Rheumatology Division of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. After tracking nearly 185,000 women for up to 24 years, they found no clear link between antioxidant intake and rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis. Published in 2010 in the "American Journal of Epidemiology," their findings contradict earlier research suggesting that antioxidants might help lower your risk for developing arthritis.

Antioxidant Dosing

Dosing, duration and timing of antioxidant therapy remains unclear, and there are no government guidelines to help consumers determine how much and what types of food or supplements they should take to get arthritis benefit from antioxidants. Lack of consensus among nutritionists about uniform antioxidant measurements is a major barrier to developing these guidelines.

Antioxidant Food Sources

A USDA study led by Ronald L. Prior, a chemist and nutritionist with the USDA's Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, revealed that fruits and vegetables are your best bets for getting antioxidants into your body, along with nuts and spices. After analyzing antioxidant levels in more than 100 food types, the 2004 study recognized cranberries, blueberries and blackberries as containing the highest amount of antioxidants in the fruit category. Beans, artichokes and Russet potatoes were tops among the vegetables, with pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts at the top of the nut category. Ground cloves, ground cinnamon and oregano are the spices with the highest concentrations of antioxidants.