Red Meat Increase Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis?
What does Caring Medical say about this?
In rheumatoid arthritis, the body produces antibodies that attack the synovial membrane enclosing each joint and, in some cases, other body tissues. This autoimmune disorder affects about 2.1 million Americans. It is three times more common in women than in men and generally strikes between the ages of 20 and 50.
Arthritis & Rheumatism, December 2004, reports on a study by Dr. Alan Silman, that seems to suggest that eating a relatively large amount of red meat every day appears to increase the risk of inflammatory arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
The study author says that these findings add to the list of health problems that can be caused by eating too much red meat, and suggests that people should opt for smaller servings, in an interview by Reuters Health of study author Dr. Alan J. Silman.
"Our argument is that the advice to keep red meat intake down, which is good for diseases such as heart disease and cancer, is also good for arthritis prevention," he said.
Certain lifestyle factors may increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Research has linked smoking and drinking a lot of coffee to rheumatoid arthritis, while suggesting that eating lots of fish and vegetables may protect people from the condition.
Silman, who is based at the University of Manchester in the UK, and his colleagues examined data on 25,630 people between the ages of 45 and 75 who were followed for up to 9 years. His study conclusions are that people who developed rheumatoid arthritis ate more red meat and less vitamin C than people who stayed arthritis-free throughout the study.
At Caring Medical and Rehabilitation Services, we take a very different approach to Rheumatoid Arthritis and the effect of food on its development. First it is important to understand the development of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
How does rheumatoid arthritis develop?
The disorder, characterized by the immune system waging an attack on the synovial membrane, usually appears first in the small joints of the hands and feet. Joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis become stiff and swollen as a result of inflammation of the synovial membrane. Gradually, the inflammation damages both the ends of the bones and the cartilage that covers them. In most cases, rheumatoid arthritis affects several joints. Tissues in other parts of the body, such as the eyes, lungs, heart and blood vessels, also may be affected by the inflammation.
The signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis come and go over time. They include pain and swelling in the smaller joints of the hands and feet; generalized aching or stiffness of the joints and muscles, especially after sleeping or periods of rest; loss of motion of the affected joints; loss of strength in muscles attached to the affected joints; fatigue; low grade fever and deformity of the joints over time.
Conventional medical treatments may help relieve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis but they do not address the root of the problem. Generally, by undergoing comprehensive natural medicine testing, the reasons the body is producing antibodies against itself can be found. Some of these reasons include sensitivities or allergies to foods, inhalants and chemicals and various infections.
Unfortunately, we see practitioners in the traditional medicine realm focus on relieving the symptoms and slowing the progression of the diseases. The main traditional treatment used for most autoimmune conditions is Prednisone (steroids). This approach, at best, can just slow the progression of the disease. Used long-term, Prednisone can cause a host of problems, including osteoporosis, immune suppression, weight gain, bloating, thin skin, easy bruising and many other troubling side effects. Prednisone is used because it helps control symptoms; but it does not address the etiology of the underlying condition.
The Natural Medicine Approach to Autoimmune Diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis
We natural medicine practitioners look for the cause of the problem and recommend therapies that address the source of the disease. This involves giving the body what's missing and removing what's harmful.
Since autoimmune diseases are caused by autoantibodies, the question we ask is, "Why is this person making these antibodies?" Most experts in the natural medicine field believe that many of these autoantibodies are produced by the body in response to an infection or allergen. When the offending infection(s) or allergen(s) are removed, the production of these destructive autoantibodies stops.
To help the body stop producing autoantibodies, patients are placed on allergy elimination diets. The offending foods are avoided for three months. To determine if there is an offending organism related to the autoimmune disease, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for the offending organism in the blood is done. The test scans the blood for foreign DNA. The treatment regime varies depending on the type of organism found. Antibiotics are administered for bacteria, antivirals for viruses, antifungals for fungus infections.
Back to the study: This study went on to say that eating a relatively large amount of meat overall also appeared to increase arthritis risk. They defined “relatively large amount of meat” as 54 grams of protein, which is equivalent to about 8 ounces of meat per day. This is certainly not a large amount of protein by any standard. The average 150 pound person usually requires around 70 grams of protein per day.
Silman noted that red meat may increase risk by stimulating the production of antibodies against collagen, or by exposing people to infectious organisms that help trigger the condition.
We typically do not see this kind of thing here at Caring Medical. In fact, it is not uncommon for us to see a patient with rheumatoid arthritis tell us that his/her symptoms have nearly disappeared and use of NSAIDs or other medications has significantly dropped. One particular case of the strong effects food can have on R.A. comes to mind.
"Kelly" is a 50 year old woman. She had always been a very healthy person who rarely got sick. Then one day, she started waking up with joint pain in her hands and wrists. Over a year, this pain progressed to the point where she had a hard time typing or completing tasks with her hands. Eventually, the pain and swelling progressed to her knees and ankles. She eventually decided she should do something about this. She went to her primary care doctor who gave her Prednisone to start taking in order to decrease the swelling and pain. This produced some relief, but then she found that she was right back in the same situation a few weeks later.
Knowing that she didn’t want to start taking steroids or any other kind of medication on a regular basis, she came back to Caring Medical. She had seen us in the past for Prolotherapy for her back pain. Testing revealed significant allergies to dairy products, particularly cheese, peppers, and tomatoes. Unfortunately for Kelly, she loves Mexican food which contains all of these foods, but she was determined to stay off of steroids if at all possible. She stuck to avoiding these foods. She also began taking essential oils in the form of cod liver oil and Omega 3. Her diet typing revealed that she should follow Hauser Diet #4, so she has been trying to faithfully increase the vegetables in her diet. Kelly was also counseled to avoid fried foods, because those worsened her condition. After two weeks of following these recommendations, she was a new woman.
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