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everydayhealth.com - 10 Foods to Help Beat Rheumatoid Arthritis Inflammation

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The most troubling symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis — pain, stiffness, and swelling — stem from the same source: inflammation. What to do? Part of the answer may involve your diet. Findings from a study published in April 2021 in Arthritis Research & Therapy, showed that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) had significantly more pro-inflammatory diets, and those individuals with RA who were able to lower diet-associated inflammation between 2011 and 2017 were also able to maintain low disease activity. “That particular result was extraordinarily strong and consistent as indicated by more than 3.5 times greater odds of maintaining good control over the disease compared with those who did not adopt a more anti-inflammatory diet,” said study coauthor James R. Hébert, MSPH, ScD, Health Sciences Distinguished Professor and director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Even more important, since the study was conducted over a number of years, it shows that the beneficial effect of a low inflammatory diet is long-term. “Because such a diet can be extraordinarily diverse and sensually pleasing, it can be very easy to maintain over very long periods of time,” added Hébert, via email.

Related: Does the Autoimmune Protocol Diet Help Rheumatoid Arthritis?

There’s additional evidence that diets high in polyunsaturated fatty acids and plant fiber — think omega-3 fatty acids and lots of fruits and vegetables — may decrease the risk of RA. It’s also thought that both fiber and polyunsaturated fatty acids can lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), which is an indicator of joint inflammation. Researchers theorize that fiber in particular is beneficial, but it may be that the phytonutrients in fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, and grains contribute to lessening it. Studies have also found that regularly eating fish high in omega-3s, such as salmon, herring, mackerel, trout, and tuna, may decrease swollen joints and tenderness.

Is There Such a Thing as a Joint-Friendly Food?

Although the compounds in many foods are said to improve RA symptoms, more research is needed to determine just how much of those compounds would have to be eaten to derive the benefit. What scientists know for sure is that there are important links between your stomach and inflammation, and that Western diets, with their emphasis on the fast, cheap, and highly flavorful, create the conditions for diseases like RA to flourish. It’s certain, for starters, that obesity is a risk factor for inflammatory conditions. Body fat generates substances that generate inflammation, and the more fat there is, the more inflamed the body will be. In addition, the foods that lead to obesity — ones high in fat, sugar, salt, and processed ingredients — are known to increase inflammation. Also, scientists are increasingly finding out more about the ways that intestinal bacterial imbalances, which may result from high-fat low-nutrient diets, contribute to these conditions.

RELATED: What Is an Anti-Inflammatory Diet?

That said, changing your diet probably won't reduce inflammation enough for you to forgo other RA management treatments. But it can help reduce the amount of medication needed and the side effects of the medication, says Lona Sandon, PhD, RDN, an associate professor in the department of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, who is also an RA patient. And, Dr. Sandon adds, eating well has never been known to make any condition worse. Read on to find out what foods could help ease your symptoms and keep you healthy.

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