Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune condition where your immune system goes berserk and starts attacking your joints. People with RA experience joint stiffness, swelling, and pain, along with other symptoms like fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches and lumps under the skin near the joints. RA is a painful and debilitating disease that can prevent you from living an active life. But a healthy diet can make a big difference in autoimmune diseases like RA. It can slash the severity of symptoms, slow disease progression and, in some cases, even send the disease into remission.
A study that came out earlier this year showed that eating fish just a few times per week can take a bite out of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms. In fact, researchers said that eating fish just twice per week is about one-third as effective as the strong drugs used to treat the disease.So if you have an autoimmune disease like RA, and you haven’t already overhauled your diet, it’s time to take a long hard look at what you’re putting on your plate every day. If you notice you’re eating more processed foods, sugar, fried foods and another unhealthy fare than you realized, start nourishing your body better. The best diets for people with RA, according to the available science, are Mediterranean, vegan or elimination diets (diets where you cut out common food allergens and gradually add them back in tosee what foods trigger symptoms).
And thanks to the latest study from KIIT University in India, who went one step beyond just giving you general advice to switch to a Mediterranean, vegan or elimination diet. They created an extensive list of foods that are best for lowering inflammatory cytokines, reducing joint stiffness and pain, and lowering oxidative stress in people with RA.
Here are the 30 foods researchers say people with RA put on their shopping list:
Fruits
- Dried plums
- Grapefruits
- Grapes
- Blueberries
- Pomegranate
- Mango
- Bananas
- Peaches
- Apples
Whole grains and cereals
- Rice
- Wheat
- Oats
- Corn
- Rye
- Barley
- Millet
- Sorghum
- Canary seed
Oils
- Olive oil
- Fish oil
- Borage seed oil (capsules)
Dairy
- Yogurt
- Legumes
- Black soybean
- Black gram
Herbs
- Sallaki (Boswelliaserrata)
- Ashwagandha (Withaniasomnifera)
- Spices
- Ginger
- Turmeric
Tea
- Green tea
- Holy basil (Tulsi) tea
A few additional RA-fighting tips… In addition to the extensive dietary advice, researchers had a few other lifestyle guidelines for people with rheumatoid arthritis… Give up smoking and alcohol. And pump up your probiotic intake… probiotics can help reduce symptoms and slow the progression of the disease. And even though fish wasn’t mentioned in this study (except for fish oil), don’t forget to eat fish a few times a week.
