Foods That Help with Rheumatoid Arthritis
When you or a loved one are diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), it is normal to want to know everything possible about the disease and what changes need to be made for the best results from treatment. This includes everything from the kinds of exercise to take and the amount of sleep to the everyday diet. While it is obvious that a healthy diet is best for everyone, the question arises as to whether a special diet can help RA or possibly even help prevent it.
Any diet needs to include proteins, carbohydrates and fats as well as water and fiber and essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. The problem is that the average American diet is often deficient in one or more essential components. Merely correcting the diet to one that is balanced and complete can increase overall health and be helpful for those with RA. A low calorie diet may be important if the RA patient is overweight since this increases stress on the joints and worsens pain and loss of mobility. It is important that nutritional value is not lost along with the excess calories, so consultation with a dietician or nutritionist may be critically important.
It is known that deficiencies in certain nutrients are found commonly in patients who have RA and there is some evidence that high levels of some nutrients such as boron may even help prevent the development of RA. Boron and other important nutrients are found in fruits and vegetables and these should make up a large part of the diet for people with RA as well as everyone else. Increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables usually improves the health of RA patients and some even advocate a vegetarian diet. In some studies, patients had a decrease in pain, stiffness and inflammation as quickly as four weeks into a vegetarian diet, so this may be a simple experiment for RA sufferers to try.
Other studies have considered whether some foods might actually make RA worse. If this is true, relief could come from avoiding certain foods, and red meat has often been mentioned. It is known that red meat and other foods high in purines make gout, another arthritic disease, worse, so finding dietary triggers for flares in RA would not be surprising. Another class of food implicated as a troublemaker in arthritis is the nightshade family. This food group includes white potatoes, tomatoes, egg plant and most types of peppers. While there is no hard evidence these are problematic, experimenting in eliminating them could be simple and worth a try.
Other foods that have been targeted as possibly harmful in RA are eggs, sugar, coffee, wheat, rye, milk and even citrus fruits. Eliminating all of these would likely result in a deficient and harmful diet, but trying to eliminate each one for awhile is usually okay. Like all kinds of treatments and supplements, changing the diet should be done in consultation with a health care professional.
Tea and in particular green tea has been touted for its antioxidant content and can be a pleasant addition to the diet. Forms without caffeine are available for those bothered by it. Another food recommended is anything containing omega 3 fatty acids. This can take the form of fish oil capsules but many people complain of a nasty aftertaste and belching, so eating foods rich in this nutrient makes more sense. Flax seed contains omega 3 and adds a nutty flavor to baked goods as well as beneficial fiber. Certain fish is also rich in omega three, including mackerel, herring, anchovies, mullet and salmon.
One curious food often recommended for RA is gin soaked raisins. No actual study has ever found any positive effect from these but they are seen being advocated all over the internet. The alcohol content might take the edge off of pain, but there are better treatments than alcohol for discomfort! However, in the small dose recommended, they are probably harmless and at least the raisins are rich in antioxidants.
Resources
Excellent About.com about RA diets and supplements: arthritis.about.com/od/radiet/Rheumatoid_Arthritis_Diet.htm
Foods believed to be helpful and harmful in RA: www.4-arthritis-info.com/arthritis-foods.php
Article mostly dubious about helpful foods but recommends fish and plant oils: arthritis.about.com/od/arthqa/f/dietarthritis.htm
Benefits of fruits and vegetables as a possible way to prevent RA: arthritis.about.com/od/nutrition/a/fruitsvegetable.htm
Good WebMD article about diets and supplements in RA: www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/guide/arthritis-diets-supplements