Mediterranean diet and exercise programme improves quality of life for people with rheumatoid arthritis

Combining an exercise programme with a Mediterranean diet improves quality of life and function of women with rheumatoid arthritis who have low disease activity, says research in the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology.

A total of 144 women with rheumatoid arthritis who were receiving conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs were split into four groups for 24 weeks.

Those who followed a Mediterranean diet and did the exercise programme had a 15 point increase in health related quality of life, as did those who only followed the exercise programme. Diet alone led to improvement (3.5 point) but people who followed neither diet or exercise experienced reduced quality of life (-4.6 points).

It was a similar picture when it came to function. After 24 weeks, women who adhered to both diet and exercise improved by over 15 points and those in the exercise group improved by 12 points. Following the diet without exercise led to a five point increase, but those who did neither had worse function (-1.7 points).

Arthritis Digest Magazine was selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 5 Arthritis Blogs on the internet in 2018.

For more in-depth features, interviews and information, subscribe to Arthritis Digest magazine, a popular title that’s published six times a year. Click here for the digital version or tel 0845 643 8470 to order your had copy. You’ll know what your doctor is talking about, what new drugs are in the pipeline and be up to date on helpful products.