Hello Everybody,
For many people, as they get older, arthritis becomes a real problem. There are numerous different types of arthritis but they are all painful. One of the most common is rheumatoid arthritis, which is an inflammatory disorder of the joints. There is medication available to help, but it is also emerging that a change of diet can decrease inflammation and relieve the pain.
In a review published in the British Journal of Nutrition Professor Philip Calder of the University of Southampton suggests that dietary changes might provide rheumatoid arthritis relief as well as helping a range of other inflammatory conditions. The key ingredients of the proposed diet are oily fish, fruit, vegetables, legumes and spices. Professor Calder says that some ingredients, such as the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oils and compounds in spices, have direct anti-inflammatory properties. Anti-oxidants in fruit and vegetables also help curb the action of free radicals which destroy healthy cells and damage inflamed areas.
Another good thing about oily fish is that omega-3 affects biological ageing. It does this by slowing down the rate at which protective caps on the ends of chromosomes shorten. To put it as simply as I can, each time a cell divides the caps - called telomeres - get shorter until a point is reached at which DNA becomes damaged and the cell may die. So slow down the shortening process and you slow down the ageing process.
This, of course, is all very familiar as we are speaking of the major ingredients of the Mediterranean Diet. There are, however, a few additional items suggested such as spices and garlic, both known to reduce inflammation. We should also not forget the need to cut out foods which can increase inflammation. These include trans fats (artificially created fats) saturated fats from red meat, dairy products, white bread and sugars.
If they do consider changing their diet older people should be aware that a Mediterranean Diet, or variations of it, can result in some weight loss even without much exercise. There can be natural weight loss in old age anyway, so they should make sure they are not losing an excessive amount of weight due to the diet.
Professor Calder says more studies need to be carried out to confirm these benefits.
‘It is certainly not a miracle cure,’ he says. ‘But it is one factor, along with genetic predisposition and other lifestyle habits such as smoking, that can affect inflammation and the likelihood of getting related diseases.’
There is, of course, no guarantee that rheumatoid arthritis relief will come as a result of changing diet. However there is plenty of evidence that it can work and for sufferers it must be worth a try.
See you soon,
Peter Stockwell
21 January 2010
Photo. algo(Flickr)
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