Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. This study found that elderly Japanese subjects with rheumatoid arthritis consumed significantly more grains and less monounsaturated fats, vegetables, and meat compared to their age-matched healthy controls.

joint healthRheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory condition characterized by a painful erosion of cartilage and bone 1. It is an “autoimmune” condition, meaning that the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own healthy tissue 2. Exact numbers of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers are difficult to come by, but rheumatoid arthritis is expected to contribute significantly to the 78 million Americans estimated to have some form of arthritis by the year 2040 3.

As no cure exists, treatment focuses on managing symptoms through medications 4 and diet. First-line medications show benefits within 3 months but improvements plateau after 6 months 5. This has led to a focus on diet and supplementation. Supplementing with anti-inflammatories such as rose hips powder 6 or Andrographis paniculata 7, increasing tea consumption, and decreasing coffee consumption 8 have all contributed to improvements in arthritic symptoms 8.

In a 2017 study 9 208 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (diagnosed according to the American College of Rheumatology) 10 were matched with 205 healthy age-matched control subjects who were participants in the ongoing “TOMORROW” study 11. Each subject completed a food questionnaire used in previous research 12 as well as a questionnaire based on foods from the Mediterranean diet 13 to determine which foods, if any, contributed to an improvement or worsening of their symptoms.

The researchers found a number of dietary differences between the two groups. Compared to the age-matched controls, subjects with rheumatoid arthritis consumed significantly more grains and less monounsaturated fats, vegetables, and meat (cited in grams per 1000 calories):

  • 7.8% lower monounsaturated fats (10.3 vs 9.5, p = 0.003)
  • 6.2% more grains (220.6 vs 207.0, p = 0.002)
  • 16.4% fewer vegetables (82.2 vs 95.7, p = 0.006)
  • 12.7% less meat (30.7 vs. 34.6, p = 0.039)

The researchers concluded that daily monounsaturated fatty acid intake, a component of the Mediterranean diet score, might suppress disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

When suggesting why some of the foods improved rheumatoid symptoms, the researchers focused on monounsaturated fat as it is the centerpiece of the Mediterranean diet. Specifically, they cited the fatty acid in monounsaturated fat called oleic acid that has been shown to decrease the markers of inflammation in human inflammatory neutrophils 14.

There were limitations to this study which should be noted. The study population consisted exclusively of Japanese participants, most of whom were elderly women, and cannot be generalized to other ethnic groups. Also, different ages and better male representation may have produced different results. In addition, dietary intake was assessed at only one time point; therefore, future studies, including a longitudinal study, are warranted.

Source: Matsumoto, Yoshinari, Yuko Sugioka, Masahiro Tada, Tadashi Okano, Kenji Mamoto, Kentaro Inui, Daiki Habu, and Tatsuya Koike. “Monounsaturated fatty acids might be key factors in the Mediterranean diet that suppress rheumatoid arthritis disease activity: The TOMORROW study.” Clinical Nutrition (2017).

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Posted October 5, 2017.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

References:

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