Will Diet Help Control Arthritis?

In September 1993, arthritis researchers in Boston reported startling results from a three-month study involving 60 people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The people in the study were taken off their regular arthritis medications; half were given a placebo, an inactive substance; the other half were given oral doses of Type II collagen, a major component in joint cartilage — from chickens. The researchers reported that the chicken collagen group experienced a measurable decrease in swollen and tender joints, with no side effects.

That kind of news makes every purveyor of quack remedies and unproven treatments sound a bit more scientific. Although the Boston researchers were quick to downplay the significance of the results, citing a need for further and more in-depth study, less cautious (and far less scientific) observers were quick to see a kind of validation by association for every arthritis remedy ever proposed—including chicken soup.

The idea of a link between diet and arthritis just won't go away, and scientific 'discoveries' like the chicken collagen study only add fuel to the fire. In fact, there are numerous such studies: One done on an isolated group of Greenland Inuit suggested that omega-3 fatty acids, found in cold-water fish oils, may alleviate inflammation in some people. However, there was no proof that the oils actually altered the course of anyone's RA; the best that could be said for them is that they may be useful as complementary therapy to current medication.

In fact, you'd probably derive more benefit — nutritional and otherwise — from tucking into a platter of fish than you would from popping capsules of fish oil. And there's something else to consider: Fish oils used in research are highly refined, with the naturally occurring vitamins largely removed. By comparison, fish oils sold in health-food stores are bunker crude; anyone tempted to mega-dose on them runs the risk of ingesting toxic levels of vitamins A and D.

OK, then, what about fasting? Yes, over short periods fasting can be beneficial: Malnutrition suppresses the immune system, reducing disease activity in inflammatory arthritis. Eventually, though, you have to eat, and symptoms flare up again. Still, a 1991 study published in the distinguished British scientific journal The Lancet suggested that fasting, followed by a strict vegetarian diet, could benefit people with RA. According to chief investigator Dr. Jens Kjeldsen-Kragh, 'this dietary regimen seems to be a useful supplement to conventional medical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.'

But there were two important qualifiers. Fasting and a strict vegetarian diet require the supervision of a physician and a registered dietitian to ensure proper nutrition. In addition, the participants continued to take their medication; there was no suggestion that any kind of dietary regimen can replace a prescribed treatment plan. 
 

This page was last reviewed/updated on : 02/23/2008