Vegan diet reduces joint pain, swelling in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
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Adults with rheumatoid arthritis who adopted a vegan diet experienced improved joint pain, lower cholesterol and weight loss, according to a small, randomized study published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.
“A plant-based diet could be the prescription to alleviate joint pain for millions of people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis,” Neal Barnard, MD, the president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, said in a press release. “And all of the side effects, including weight loss and lower cholesterol, are only beneficial.”
Because RA is an autoimmune disease, Barnard told Healio “it is likely that one or more dietary antigens are fueling the inflammatory process.” A vegan diet is free of the antigenic proteins contained in dairy, meat and egg products.
In a randomized, crossover trial, Barnard and colleagues evaluated 44 adults who were previously diagnosed with RA. Of these participants, 32 completed the study, all of whom were women. Their mean age was 57 years; 66% were white, 16% Black and 9% Asian or Pacific Islander.
Half of the participants were assigned to a vegan diet for 4 weeks with the elimination of additional foods, such as glutenous grains, soy products, potatoes, chocolate and other foods, for another 3 weeks. The eliminated foods were then reintroduced one at a time every 2 days over a period of 9 weeks. Participants in the diet phase were invited to attend voluntary weekly, 1-hour nutritional support group sessions. The other half of participants were allowed an unrestricted diet with a daily placebo supplement. After a 4-week washout period, the groups switched treatment plans for an additional 16 weeks.
The participants purchased and handled their own food without any caloric limits in place. The researchers used the Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS-28) and the visual analog scale (VAS) to assess joint pain and swelling outcomes.
Barnard and colleagues reported that participants reduced their joint pain from 4.2 to 2.5 DAS-28 points (P < .001) during the diet phase of the study compared with a reduction from 3.2 to 2.9 DAS-28 points during the placebo phase. Also, the average number of swollen joints felt by participants decreased from seven to 3.3 (P = .03) in the diet phase compared with an increase from 4.7 to five in the placebo phase. The women who completed the study saw significantly improved VAS ratings during the diet phase compared with the placebo phase, according to the researchers.
Overall, participants lost an average of 6.5 kg (treatment effect = 7.3 kg; 95% CI, 9.4 to 5.1) during the diet phase and gained 0.8 kg pounds during the placebo phase. Total LDL cholesterol also decreased during the diet phase.
“Before committing a patient to lifelong medication use, practitioners should always try a diet approach,” Barnard said. “It is free of the risks of immune suppression and enormous cost of current medication regimens. A couple of months’ trial will show whether it works or not.”
References:
Barnard ND, et al. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2022;doi:10.1177/15598276221081819.
Vegan diet eases arthritis pain, finds new study. https://www.pcrm.org/news/news-releases/vegan-diet-eases-arthritis-pain-finds-new-study. Published April 4, 2022. Accessed April 6, 2022.