Natural Arthritis Diet

Natural Arthritis Diet

Overview

About 46 million Americans suffer from a form of arthritis, which causes joint pain, stiffness and inflammation. Over-the-counter and prescription drugs are common arthritis treatments. However, they can produce severe side effects that motivate many arthritis patients to seek natural or alternative remedies. One natural approach is diet, and researchers have been exploring its role in arthritis since the 1930s, according to the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center.

Definition and Causes

The two most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis usually results from aging and injury, states MedlinePlus, a website of the National Institutes of Health. It usually develops after age 40. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes your body's immune system to attack the joints and tissues. This form of arthritis affects both children and adults. Rheumatoid arthritis is also the form of arthritis on which diet research tends to focus.

Foods that Help

There is evidence that vegetarian and vegan diets can relieve symptoms of arthritis, such as one study conducted by researchers at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm. They found that a gluten-free vegan diet could increase the levels of antibodies that combat substances that contribute to inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. Fatty fish, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and tart bing cherries may also relieve arthritis-related inflammation.

Foods that Hurt

According to the Arthritis Foundation, researchers at the University of Oslo looked at the antibodies of people with rheumatoid arthritis, or RA. They discovered that their intestinal fluid contained higher levels of antibodies to proteins in foods, such as cereal, cow's milk, eggs and pork, compared to people without RA. In essence, their bodies reacted to these foods as allergens.



Milk, meat and processed foods are leading allergy suspects, states Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center. An elimination diet--cutting out certain foods for a period of time to see if your arthritis improves--can be useful to pinpoint your RA allergy triggers. The Arthritis Foundation also recommends limiting sugar, salt and alcohol intake, if you have arthritis.

Fasting

The Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center warns that fasting is a risky, short-term treatment that is not accepted as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. While fasting may improve your symptoms for a few days, it has no proven long-term benefits.

Placebo Effect

Although these studies and others show that diet can improve symptoms for some arthritis patients, the debate on the diet-arthritis connection isn't over. According to the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center, some experts suggest that in certain cases, dietary changes may simply result in a placebo effect, which means you may feel better from a treatment, but there's no physical improvement. However, switching to a healthier diet is a low-risk strategy to manage arthritis--and it improves your overall health.

source : livestrong.com