Diet for rheumatoid arthritis
For those who are familiar with rheumatoid arthritis, there is no need to talk about excruciating joint pain, attacks of morning weakness and hands twisted by the disease.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, accompanied by changes in appearance, habits and even character. It has the character of a hereditary predisposition, but it can also be provoked by the systematic use of certain substances in unfavorable conditions.
The disease is chronic and, after visible periods of relief, an exacerbation may occur at any time. Therefore, the presence of the disease leaves an imprint on the habits and lifestyle of a person for the rest of his life.
Achieving effective results requires a combination approach: following the doctor's prescriptions for medication, exercise and nutrition with special diets for rheumatoid arthritis.
Content:
- Traditional treatment
- Role of nutrition in treatment
- Basic principles of the diet
- Diet during an exacerbation
- High protein diet
Traditional treatment
Medical treatment with steroids and anti-inflammatory drugs is aimed at achieving the following results:
- temperature removal;
- easing of pain;
- elimination of physical weakness;
- fight against asthenia.
Since the disease is almost always accompanied by asthenia, the diet should be as nutritious as possible and, at the same time, contain only those substances that promote the healing of the connective tissue of the joints.
You cannot be treated according to the prescriptions of your friend suffering from the same disease. Some drugs have side effects. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can cause stomach ulcers or spikes in blood pressure. The doctor alone can decide which medication is right for your body.
Physician-prescribed treatments, physical procedures and a healthy diet are the only sources of true health.
These procedures can be supplemented with alternative treatments: compresses, lotions and ointments based on folk recipes.
Role of nutrition in treatment
A weakened immune system requires a sufficient amount of vitamins to normalize its condition. The normal diet and diet periods should be filled with meals containing niacides, ascorbic acid, and bioflavonoids.
Vitamin C stabilizes hormonal levels, strengthens the walls of blood vessels, and increases anti-hyaluronidase activity. Bioflavonoids help reduce the permeability of the vascular walls. Niacin strengthens the circulatory system and helps the stomach function.
Included in the diet: lemons, apples, rose hips, bell peppers, black currants and other available berries, vegetables and fruits can significantly improve the functioning of the whole body and help it fight arthritis.
Studies conducted by medical centers in Western Europe and the United States have found a pattern linking increased symptoms with dairy and fiber consumption. After being excluded from the diet, the food ceased to be effective and the patient began to feel much better.
Basic principles of the diet
Diet change is a measure that is definitely necessary for people undergoing complex treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. The purpose of special nutrition is to replenish the nutrients needed to resist the disease and to eliminate foods that are not absorbed by the body and cause exacerbation.
So, you need to exclude the withdrawal of calcium from the body - give up coffee, cocoa and chocolate, spinach, sorrel, rhubarb. Salt is also one of the most active calcium-removing elements.
To enrich the body with magnesium, which is especially necessary during an exacerbation, it is necessary to include cereals in the diet, except for oatmeal, wheat, corn and some types of legumes.
Eliminate at least for the duration of the diet:
- Fatty dairy products;
- Fat meat;
- Sugar, jam, honey;
- Nuts;
- Alcohol;
- Tomatoes, potatoes and eggplants are sources of solanine;
- Citrus;
- Salt (or halve your salt intake).
During the intensification of pain, it is necessary to switch to a strict diet.
Diet during an exacerbation
- Breakfast (option 1): Omelet of 2 eggs, unsalted buckwheat porridge, tea.
- Breakfast (option 2): Buckwheat porridge, boiled soft-boiled egg, unsweetened baked apple, tea;
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Lunch (option 1): Vegetable soup, boiled beef with noodles, compote;
- Lunch (option 2): Vegetarian borscht, boiled fish with rice, compote;
- Dinner (option 1): Boiled fish with boiled potatoes, tea with lemon;
- Dinner (option 2): Steamed carrot and beef meatballs with noodles, tea.
Bread and sugar in the active phase are excluded, food is prepared without salt, slightly salted just before use.
Using the scheme below, you can create a menu for periods without exacerbation for each day, based on your own habits and preferences. Then the diet will not seem violent, you will accept it with pleasure and, perhaps, make it a habit for life.
High protein diet
Breakfast (option 1): buckwheat porridge, scrambled eggs from 2 eggs or boiled soft-boiled egg, barley coffee;
Breakfast (option 2): casserole or cottage cheese pancakes, 1-2 soft-boiled eggs, barley coffee with a small amount of milk;
Lunch (option 1): beef meatballs or steam cutlets with rice or buckwheat porridge, fish soup, dried fruit compote;
Lunch (option 2): borscht with beef broth, boiled fish with rice, tea with lemon;
Dinner (option 1): cauliflower and chicken breast - stewed with a small amount of oil or boiled, compote;
Dinner (option 2): buckwheat porridge with boiled beef goulash, tea with lemon.
The elements of such a diet can be composed and varied in various combinations. Each meal contains the ideal amount of calories and nutrients. The main conditions are low-fat meat and fish, low-fat milk, a large amount of greens, a minimum of oil, salt and a preference for boiled and steamed food.
In between meals, it is useful to drink decoctions of berries and rose hips, to eat baked apples as a useful delicacy. A glass of low-fat kefir or yogurt is allowed at night.
This diet contains the simplest foods and is adapted for use in Central Russia. Vitamins and microelements obtained from this way of nutrition fully satisfy the needs of the body, exhausted by the disease.
The author of the article: Kuzmina Vera Valerievna | Endocrinologist, nutritionist
Education: Diploma of the Russian State Medical University named after NI Pirogov with a degree in General Medicine (2004). Residency at Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, diploma in Endocrinology (2006).
