VEGETARIAN DIET FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Report #6339 10/14/94

In the last year, several scientific papers have shown that low-fat,/ low-calorie/ and vegetarian diets/ and fasting/ each help to alleviate the pain of rheumatoid arthritis.

Scientist don't have the foggiest idea why low fat and low calorie diets help, but rheumatoid arthritis is thought to be an autoimmune disease. When a germ gets into your body, your immune cells produce proteins called antibodies that grab on to the germs and kill them. These antibodies are never supposed to attack your own body, but people who have rheumatoid arthritis have antibodies that attack their own joints and damage them. We know that a high-fat diet and eating too many calories can interfere with your body's immune response. So any diet that reduces your fat or calorie intake may help to control your immunity.

Most patients with rheumatoid arthritis will not get better with dietary changes/ and until recently, most doctors have denied that dietary changes can treat arthritis. However, rheumatoid arthritis can cause severe and permanent joint destruction, often requiring joint replacement surgery. The present treatment regimen includes using powerful drugs that suppress immunity and can cause serious side effects such as liver and kidney damage and a lowering of your red or white blood cell counts. Recently, several papers show that reducing calories and fat can help relieve the pain and suffering of some patients with rheumatoid arthritis. If you have rheumatoid arthritis, check with your doctor and see if you can benefit from eating more fruits, vegetables, grains, cereals and beans and reducing your intake of meat, chicken, dairy products, eggs, oils, fried foods and most bakery products.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News