Mediterranean Diet Improves Rheumatoid Arthritis

UMEÅ, Sweden--A high-fat diet may help rheumatoid arthritis sufferers, according to Scandinavian researchers. Following a Mediterranean diet--which consists of as much as 40 percent fat in the form of omega-3 fatty acids and monosaturated fats--appeared to ease the pain of this disease, according to a study in the March Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (62, 3:208-14, 2003) (http://ard.bmjjournals.com).

Researchers led by Lars Sköldstam from Umeå University randomly allocated a Mediterranean diet or Western diet to 51 people who had been living with rheumatoid arthritis for at least two years. Clinical examinations were performed at baseline and the third, sixth and twelfth weeks. Researchers found those on the Mediterranean diet had increased vitality and a decrease in symptoms compared to one year earlier. No significant changes were noted in the control diet.

"The results indicate that patients with rheumatoid arthritis, by adjusting to a Mediterranean diet, did obtain a reduction in inflammatory activity, an increase in physical function and improved vitality," Sköldstam and colleagues concluded.