VIDEO: Dietary considerations in rheumatoid arthritis

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This is my favorite topic to talk about because I truly believe that we are what we eat in a lot of ways that this all added rings very true. While I would love to tell a patient with rheumatoid arthritis that there is a very specific anti-inflammatory diet, this diet has not been defined clearly as of yet. One thing I can say is that avoiding certain foods or components in one's diet may help with decreasing the inflammation. So avoiding components such as high sucrose, or very refined carbohydrates, avoiding unhealthy fats. You must have heard about trans fats. Avoiding added sugars and artificial additives can all help reduce inflammation. Some people ask, why and how do we know this? Well, there has been well done research that has shown that, for example, a high sucrose diet increases toll-like receptor four, which is a key activator of immune response that has been implicated in rheumatoid arthritis. And not only that, but it also increases IL-1 beta, which is also a pro-inflammatory cytokine that is involved in biology of rheumatoid arthritis. Things like cured meats, so bacon, sausage, and so on can contain a lot of nitrates. And this has been linked with increasing arthritis pain.

You may have heard about the merits of a Mediterranean diet for health in general and for being associated with less joint pain and joint stiffness. And basically, it's all about a diet, eating fruits and vegetables, grains, fish, olive oil, nuts and beans and peas, which just happen to be part of the diet of people living in the Mediterranean region. And if one can follow this diet in general, if you will, that may help with joint pain and stiffness. Another part of some people's diet is alcohol, which can induce inflammation by reducing the production of anti-inflammatory bacteria, the microbiome in the gut, and can increase the production of pro-inflammatory bacteria. So avoiding alcohol may also be helpful for many health reasons, but also to help avoid joint inflammation.