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If you haverheumatoid arthritis, you may experience the joint aches, pains and stiffness, fatigue and weakness make living with RA a challenge for the more than1.3 million Americanswho have the condition. Long-term, RA can increase your risk forheart disease and diabetes. Along with medications, a healthy lifestyle can go a long way in managing the disease. Now, a new study suggests that there may be one diet that’s especially good for people with RA: the vegan diet.
Healthy Vegan Recipes
In a small study of people with RA, eating a vegan diet for four months was associated with a 53% reduction in pain and inflammation levels compared to a placebo protocol, according to results published in theAmerican Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.
RA is anautoimmune disease. There areover 100autoimmune conditions, a type of disease where your own immune system confuses your own cells for foreign ones and mounts an immune response to attack them. In the case of RA, immune cells begin toattack healthy cellsnear joints, causing inflammation and the severe pain and swelling that goes with it.
What the Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet Study Found
The researchers aggregated a pool of 44 participants, all of whom were previously diagnosed with RA. They randomly assigned half of the group to follow a vegan diet for a 16-week protocol. That protocol was broken up into three phases:
During the experiment, vegan dieters purchased and prepared their own food based on instructions from the research team and took part in group counseling sessions to help make meal planning easier. They were given no caloric restrictions and were instructed to take a vitamin B12 supplement. (Vegans and vegetarians are often at risk forB12 deficiency). Whole grains, veggies, fruit, lentils and beans were in high supply among the “diet” participants—similar to what you’ll find on thevegan meal plan for beginners.
The other half of the participants were assigned to a placebo “supplement” treatment group. They were told their placebo pill included anti-inflammatory nutrients like ALA omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E.
After a 4-week “washout” period to allow their bodies to balance out, participants switched to the opposite protocol, so that each group went on the vegan diet and each took the placebo supplement.
#1 Food to Fight Inflammation, According to a Dietitian
Since RA is so related to inflammation, the oft-recommendedbest diets for arthritisare theanti-inflammatory dietand theMediterranean diet. Neither can “cure” RA, but both include plenty of inflammation-taming healthy fats, fresh fruits and vegetables and fiber-rich whole grains, and limitpro-inflammatoryred meats, processed foods, refined grains and excess sugar.
While effective medical interventions are available and an important part of any RA treatment plan, regularlow-impact exercisecan also increase muscle strength around the joints and improve mobility.
The Best and Worst Foods for Your Joints
The Bottom Line
This RA study was fairly small and involved self-reported diet logs and symptoms ratings and still needs to be replicated in larger groups. For instance, previous RA diet findings have pointed to thebenefits of eating fish; could a vegan diet plus seafood or other elements also improve symptoms?
Until we know more, if you have RA or another autoimmune condition, it can’t hurt to talk to your doctor or dietitian about how a vegan diet oranti-inflammatory Mediterranean dietmight impact (and potentially improve) your symptoms.
Autoimmune condition or not, yourbrainandbodywill benefit from filling up on inflammation-fighting, gut-friendly foods. Thisanti-Inflammatory meal plan for beginnerscan help get you started.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet Plan
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