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- A new study looked at how plant-based diets can help rheumatoid arthritis.
- Participants were on either a vegan or unrestricted diet for 16 weeks.
- While on the vegan diet, participants reported less pain and inflammation.
A new study has found that a low-fat vegan diet without calorie restrictions improved joint pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
The study published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine investigated the effects of a dietary intervention on arthritis pain and disease severity in people previously diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease that causes painful inflammation and attacks the joints, especially in the hands and feet.
The study enrolled 44 adults with the condition. The participants were divided into two groups and randomly assigned to a diet phase. They were on a vegan diet for four weeks, followed by an elimination diet for three weeks, and then reintroduction of the eliminated foods individually over nine weeks. The members of the second group were on an unrestricted diet for four weeks. The groups swapped diets every four weeks for 16 weeks.
The researchers used a Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS28) to measure the impact of the diet phases on rheumatoid arthritis.
Reduction in joint pain
The research found that pain and swelling in the joints decreased during the vegan diet phase and increased during the unrestricted diet.
The study also found that the vegan diet led to a decrease in body weight of about six kilograms on average, compared with a gain of almost a kilogram on the unrestricted diet. The researchers also observed lower cholesterol levels during the vegan phase.
“A plant-based diet could be the prescription to alleviate joint pain for millions of people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. And all of the side effects, including weight loss and lower cholesterol, are only beneficial,” said lead author Dr Neal Barnard in a press statement.
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