Two studies presented at the November 2015 American College of Rheumatology annual meeting in San Francisco established that people who made specific diet choices were significantly more likely to develop arthritis than those who ate differently.
These studies are evidence that arthritis is caused by diet and lifestyle, and you can therefore reverse it using diet and lifestyle changes.
What makes these studies especially interesting is that the diet changes are not very drastic – something that anyone could do.
As subjects, both studies used almost 94,000 American women, ages 25 and 42, who reported details about their diet every four years between 1991 and 2011. They also underwent medical checkups during this period.
The first study concluded that those whose diets were loaded with red and processed meats, refined grains, fried foods, high-fat dairy, and sugary sweets were more likely to develop arthritis than those who stacked up on vegetables, fruit, whole grain fish, poultry, and legumes.
The second study found that those who followed the official US federal dietary guidelines had a much lower risk of arthritis.
This may surprise many people, as the The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s dietary guidelines are not particularly stringent.
Their 2015 recommendations include eating plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, use whole grain, replace red meat with white most of the time, and cut down on sugar and salt.
Now as we said, these guidelines are pretty easy to follow. But if you already suffer arthritis, they’re not enough to reverse it.
let me know as I am interested because I have arthritis
My husband have osteoarthritis at the knee hard for him to walk for long what diet should he follow. Could you sample of menu plan for breakfasts lunch and dinner
About 7 or 8 years ago, I was diagnosed with RA. Later I was told that I was ‘borderline’ diabetic and in order to keep from having type 2 diabetes, I should change my diet and eliminate carbs. I set about doing so and have tried to do this as much as possible since then. My RA has pretty much gone into remission, but of course it could revisit me at any time. I stay away from bread, white potatoes, rice, pasta, wheat products, etc. I eat oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, nuts, and a whole lot of chicken and tossed salads. I read one article that said ‘find what works for you and stick to eating that’ so my go-to meal is usually a baked chicken breast and a salad comprised of lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a low carb salad dressing – like Kraft House Lite. It only has 2 carbs per serving. Also note that up to 1 oz. of cheese has no carbs and provides calcium. When buying yogurt, it is very important to look for low carb. Different kinds vary extensively. I use Dannon Light and Fit Greek. It has the lowest carbs that I have found, plus it gives me the needed calcium. My go-to snack is almonds. I keep a bag in my desk drawer and some at home. Anytime I start craving a snack, that is what I eat. There are many articles written about the benefits of almonds. I also eat an apple daily as well as other fruit. Of course what works for one person does not always work for every one else.