Good diet seems to reduce inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis says new small study

The inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis is increased when diets are unhealthy, says a new small study in Nutrients.

A research team was interested in whether dietary quality is associated with disease activity and inflammation in people with rheumatoid arthritis. They looked at data from 66 Swedish participants, who each completed a food frequency questionnaire. Food intake was scored by a dietary quality index and disease activity was measured.

High dietary quality (ie a high intake of fish, shellfish, whole grain, fruit and vegetables and low intake of sausages and sweets) was not related to disease activity. But it was associated with markers of inflammation even when taking into account body mass index, age, education, smoking and gender. The team concludes:

“Among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, high dietary quality was associated with reduced inflammation but not with disease activity.”

Click here to read the original research

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