Arthritis And Diet: Sorting The Myths From The Facts

Arthritis is a painful condition that causes inflammation of one or more joints. While there are over a hundred different forms, the two most common types are rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs as a result of trauma or wear to a joint, while rheumatoid is the result of an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the inside of the joint.Whichever kind of arthritis you have, though, the symptoms are very similar, with swelling, pain and dysfunction. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States: 20 million people are affected. 

The mechanism why which you develop arthritis might differ but the effect is the same in all types: the inner lining of the joint, the smooth surfaces that coat the bone where joints meet, is damaged and eventually bone is in direct contact with bone. This is extremely painful, and it can be the cause of secondary or referred pain. If the joint that's affected is your knee or ankle, for instance, you're likely to alter your gait (walking pattern) to accommodate the fact that your leg hurts.The net thing you know, you have hip and low back pain from your new, off-balance walk. You can also suffer secondary pain and swelling around the affected joint because you can't move it, meaning the muscles around it can tighten up.

All this sounds terrible, right?

If you do, you'd find side effects that testify to just how painful arthritis really is: no-one who didn't really need it would take this stuff.

For instance, one popular arthritis medication, Enbrel, is an immunosuppressant. Immunosuppressed people suffer less from autoimmune problems, sure — but they suffer more from the infections the immune system is meant to protect us from in the first place. Using Enbrel can lay you open to fungal infections, tuberculosis, and viral and bacterial infections. Bad enough? Wait, there's more. In some patients, Enbrel can increase the risk of lymphoma. This isn't to vilify Enbrel — it has good reviews from patients and does a great job at giving people with terrible pain some of their lives back. But it doesn't come without risks.

So it's no surprise that many people either turn to natural cures, or supplement their medication with them. Some of these are totally ineffective — homeopathy, for instance. Others can be downright dangerous: the risk associated with Enbrel pales into insignificance when you consider that herbal medicines imported from China don't just have no dosage control, but up to a third of them are contaminated with dangerous heavy metals at clinically significant levels. (Plus, Enbrel works...)

READ Hand Splints May Ease Pain for People Suffering Degenerative Arthritis

An ever-popular way to tackle disease is through diet. And it's obvious that dietary changes can have a big effect on how a disease progresses. Imagine you ate nothing but fast food for a month. Go check out Supersize Me. That's a poor diet, contributing to all kinds of health problems. But what about positive changes? Is there anything you can eat or drink that will help you actually control your arthritis symptoms, or that is likely to make them worse?

Arthritis And Foods: The Myths And The Facts

Let's find out what's really true when it comes to diet and arthritis and what's just scaremongering and wishful thinking.

Fact: Losing weight helps

Obesity is strongly linked to risk of arthritis. If you have arthritis, losing weight can help your symptoms improve or slow down the rate at which they get worse. And mobilising arthritic joints is often helpful, so as you lose weight it's easier to move — and as you move, it's easier to lose weight and your joints become less painful.

Myth: Cider vinegar helps

Cider vinegar is the Greek-style yoghurt of natural cures. According to its advocates, it cures everything. Trouble is, it's not so easy to get cider vinegar into your joints, and you really wouldn't want it there anyway. If you have acid in your joints, you'll know all about it: that's gout! There's also no way for cider vinegar, or anything else you eat or drink, to alter the pH of your blood or of your body as a whole. The hydrochloric acid in your stomach is hundreds of times stronger than vinegar. Your body has ways to balance pH so your blood stays a steady pH7.34-7.45, unless you have really serious kidney problems. There's lots of anecdotal evidence to support using this, but no science at all, so if you're using it and it works, by all means carry on, but it's almost certainly just the placebo effect.

Fact: Omega 3 can help

Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid. It's found in oily fish and other sources, including tree nuts. Omega-3 may help to reduce arthritis pain, and it does have a beneficial effect on mood. Arthritis can make you feel down, because the lack of function is frustrating and it's depressing to be in pain, so this effect is important and may be linked to its pain-reducing properties. 

Myth: Citrus fruits erode the lining of your joints

Citrus fruits are said to erode the lining of your joints, accelerating the damage arthritis causes and making it more painful faster. However, there's no proof that this is true. In fact, it's the mirror image of the truth. Eating more citrus fruits may actually help you if you have arthritis. In the Framingham heart study in Massachusetts, people who ate over 152mg of vitamin C (equivalent to about 5 lemons) sea their osteoarthritis symptoms improve!

There's a huge amount of information out there on arthritis and diet, but most of it is poorly supported by the evidence and often the actual opposite of the truth coffee, so far from causing gout, can actually decrease your chances of getting it, for instance. Red meat doesn't "acidify the body" (nothing does), and red wine doesn't fix arthritis — though it does contain a class of anti-inflammatory chemicals called resveratrol that may help if you drink it moderately.

READ Apple Cider Vinegar for Weight Loss: Real People, Real Experiences

If you think I've got it right, got it wrong, or just didn't get it at all, whether you're an arthritis sufferer, a professional in the field or you just have something to say, get in touch in the comments section below!