There is a lot of folklore -- the Web is full of such sites -- about how certain foods or diets can help people with rheumatoid arthritis, but scientific research just doesn't back it up. One study, combining fasting and a vegetarian diet, may shed new light on the subject.
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition focuses on patients who fasted for up to a week and then went on a vegetarian diet for one year. Researchers say these patients had significant improvement in their arthritis symptoms compared to a control group of patients who stayed on their regular diet.
The researchers are puzzled as to why the fasting-diet regimen works based on usual factors, such as a patient's psychological characteristics, antibody activity in the system or changes in other physiological measurements. While this is only one study and more research is needed, they say rheumatoid arthritis patients may benefit from fasting followed by a vegetarian diet in addition to other medications or therapy currently used.
Rheumatoid arthritis is less common than osteoarthritis. It causes inflammation in the lining of the joints and other internal organs. While the cause is not known, the disease is different from person to person.
