Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet: Further Research Is Needed

One may ponder whether eating certain foods does cause a flare-up in people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis or not. Rheumatoid arthritis diets may affect the symptoms in people in different ways depending on the foods the patient eats. There is however, no definitive evidence to suggest that a rheumatoid arthritis diet will have a particular effect on joint pain or inflammation though it is thought that oranges as well as certain fish oils may have a positive effect on the patient and help reduce inflammation in a person suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. There is need for more research on rheumatoid arthritis diet to establish whether food habits do have a positive influence in treating rheumatoid arthritis or not.

Maintain Healthy Weight And Take A Balanced Diet

In case one perceives that certain foods increase the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis then there is nothing lost in eliminating those foods from the diet to see whether it helps or not but it is not wise to exclude food groups or large number of foods without first consulting the doctor. Also, one should maintain a good and healthy weight and do so by taking a balanced diet since excess weight would add to the stress on the weight-bearing joints thus causing more joint pain as well as stiffness and inflammation.

The rheumatoid arthritis diet should contain the correct amount of calories, protein as well as calcium and a multitude of supplements may also be useful and so are fish oils, enzymes called bromelain and pancreatin as also antioxidants like vitamins A, C and E.

To effectively manage rheumatoid arthritis diet, it is important to change the type of fat in your nutrition and Omega3 fatty acids have an important role to play in the inflammatory pathway of the human body and are often used in dietary management. Foods rich in Omega3 fatty acids include canola oil, salmon oil, soybean oil, soybeans, walnut oil, walnuts and avocado and avocado oil.

There are also certain foods that one should avoid that aggravate the rheumatoid arthritis and may cause flare-ups and these include alcohol, dairy, berries, tea, coffee, refined wheat, saturated fats, salts, processed foods, and fried and grilled foods. It is wise to restrict these foods and in case one is not sure whether the foods consumed are causing a flare-up or not, one should follow an eliminating diet whereby the suspect foods are restricted, if not eliminated and one may then add them one at a time to identify which foods were the culprits behind the flare-up.