Nutrition for rheumatoid arthritis: how different substances affect the disease
People suffering from rheumatoid arthritis have probably heard about a special diet or individual foods that help ease the pain, remove stiffness and eliminate weakness. Indeed, special nutrition with rheumatoid arthritis can reduce the intensity of its manifestations and reduce painful sensations.
Moreover, in the future, food can become a specific medium of medical therapy for patients with such a disease. To date, experts have reliable information that will help to distinguish real facts from fictions in relation to nutrition in rheumatoid arthritis.
Effect of diet on rheumatoid arthritis
The use of certain foods or vice versa, excluding them from the daily diet can help in overcoming the symptoms of this disease. According to reliable information, to date, there is no specially designed and scientifically-based diet that would be recommended for arthritis.
Therefore, modern science, as well as the causes of rheumatoid arthritis, products that are struggling with it are still unknown, which means that there are no exact recommendations on the diet in this case. From another point of view, many patients notice that certain foods can aggravate or vice versa, weaken the symptoms of the disease, changing their diet in accordance with such facts. It is noteworthy that a similar effect of ration in children's rheumatoid arthritis has not been observed.
Based on recent studies, 35-40% of patients with this diagnosis feel better, after excluding "suspicious" products from their diets. In fact, they observe the so-called elimination diet, which allows you to completely exclude from the diet products that are original triggers for the symptoms of the disease.
At the same time, accurate data on how the protein-free diet affects the body in rheumatoid arthritis is not present, therefore, when choosing such a diet regime, one should focus exclusively on one's own feelings. After a while, such products can be gradually returned to the diet and monitor how the symptoms of the disease change. Some patients noted that due to a decrease in the number of certain products, there is a significant weakening of the symptoms of the disease.
Effect of fats on the inflammatory process
According to researchers, saturated fats are able to activate inflammatory processes in the human body. Products containing a large number of saturated fats, in particular, products of animal origin, will burn up the production of enzymes, which in turn affect the inflammatory processes.
Moreover, according to some data, meat contains a large amount of so-called arachidonic acid, belonging to the category of fatty acids, which can excite inflammatory processes in the body. Some patients are surprised to find that a vegetarian diet provides an opportunity to overcome the symptoms of the disease, while others do not affect such changes.
Effect of fatty acids
Fatty acids in large quantities are contained in vegetable oil. According to the results of numerous studies, a typical Western diet contains more Omega-6 fatty acids than Omega-3.In this case, omega-3 fatty acid belongs to the category of polyunsaturated fats, which are contained in cold-loving fish. It is noteworthy that vitamins for rheumatoid arthritis also need to be selected with caution.
Eating foods rich in Omega-6 acids in excessive amounts can cause diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular pathology. In addition, the effects of excessive consumption of such products can be autoimmune diseases, which include rheumatoid arthritis.
The reduction in the intake of Omega-6 acids and the addition of Omega-3-containing products to the diet can suppress inflammatory processes, including rheumatoid arthritis.
Effect of Omega-3 Acids on Rheumatoid Arthritis
It has been proven that fatty acids of this type have a very positive effect on the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, since they have an anti-inflammatory effect. Thanks to some studies it became known that the positive effect of products containing Omega-3 acids extends not only to the symptoms of arthritis, but also to cardiovascular diseases. Such influence is very important, as in patients with arthritis the risk of diseases of the cardiovascular system is much higher.