April 25, 2022 – The pain and pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis appears to be related to what we eat, but researchers have failed to develop the ideal diet for the patient. ..
Currently, a new study in women shows that adopting a low-fat vegan diet and then removing trigger foods will probably help patients lose weight quickly, resulting in relief within a few months. It has been suggested that there is a possibility.
The unusual design of the study and its small size make it impossible to know if the diet (or part of it) actually works. Still, diet is a “life-changing experience for people,” said lead author Neil D. Bernard, MD, a medical expert and chairman of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “Doctors should know about it and they should try it for themselves.”
The study was published on April 3 American Journal of Lifestyle Management..
In the United States, 1 in 200 people (or more than 1.6 million people) have rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is caused when the immune system is weakened and attacks the joints of the body. It is common in women and causes symptoms such as swelling, stiffness and pain.
Doctors have associated rheumatoid arthritis with diet for decades. In a 2017 survey of 217 patients with this condition, 19% said that certain foods, such as sweet soda and sweets, exacerbated their symptoms. However, there is no consensus on the best diet for relief.
A 2021 review of the study found positive results for a Mediterranean diet, high doses of omega 3 fatty acids (included in fish oil), vitamin D supplements, and salt cuts. Other approaches, such as fasting and vegan diets, have not yielded definitive results.
For a new study, researchers wanted to explore the possible benefits of a “practical and easy-to-prescribe diet” without calorie restriction, Bernard says.
The researchers randomly assigned 44 women (mean age 57 years, 66% white, 16% black) to one of the two diets for 16 weeks. After that, the woman took a break for 4 weeks and ate another meal for 16 weeks. This “crossover” approach means that all 32 people who completed the study were exposed to each meal.
One meal was low fat and vegan. After four weeks, people on a diet did not use foods that trigger common rheumatoid arthritis, such as gluten, nuts, citrus fruits, and grains containing chocolate. Seven weeks later, the woman added one trigger food at a time and continued her diet if it did not seem to cause symptoms.
People on other diets took placebo.
After 16 weeks of eating a low-fat vegan diet, participants reported that the average number of joint swellings decreased from 7 to just over 3, and overall symptoms improved.
The average weight decreased by a whopping 14 pounds among the people in the diet group, while the people in the placebo group increased by almost 2 pounds on average.
Daniel Solomon, MD, a rheumatologist at Harvard Medical School who reviewed WebMD’s findings, is not clear whether weight loss is responsible for dietary benefits over real foods. Another possibility is that it was due to a specific part of the diet, not a complete diet, he says.
“I am confident that motivated patients can follow such a diet, but first need to determine if a particular diet was an important issue or if weight loss was more important. I have.”
Bernard, the lead author of the study, says the patient tolerated the diet well. “It’s practical in everyday life,” he says, cheaper than a diet with meat and dairy products.
He encourages patients to try changing their dietary patterns before taking any medications.
“It’s a good idea for everyone to have the opportunity to try out diet changes,” he says. “We’ll see if it works within a few weeks.”
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