Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Med diet found to benefit arthritis sufferers

Women suffering from arthritis who adhered to a Mediterranean diet for only nine months experienced "significant" alleviations in pain, according to a new study.

Writing in the September issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, the researchers noted that the gain from a Mediterranean-type diet intervention in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is potentially twofold.

Firstly, improvement in disease activity and secondly, reduction in cardiovascular risk - since people with RA are known to be at increased of suffering from, or dying from, cardiovascular disease.

The study involved a six-week dietary intervention in 130 female patients from different hospitals in Glasgow, UK. Participants were aged between 30 and 70, and had suffered from RA for eight years.

"This study shows that this intervention was achievable and well received by patients. Intake of fruit, vegetables and legumes increased significantly over 3 months in the intervention group and the use of monounsaturated compared with saturated fats improved."

Bonnie - nice to see more research into the diet/pain relationship.

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