Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 1997; 2: 197
Habits of nutrition, attitudes towards nutritional therapy and the frequency of clinical deterioration after consumption of certain food items were to be determined by a survey among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The results are to serve as a basis for further information and therapeutic offers for patients, for medical training and research projects.
105 patients (84 females, 21 males, age 29 to 87, average 61 years) were recruited from the ambulance as well as the wards of the Rheuma-Klinik Berlin-Buch. Diagnosis of RA had been proven according to ARA criteria (83% sero-positive, 17% sero-negative) with a mean duration of disease of 11 years. They were given a self-developed questionnaire once. There were no sex-differences with regard to age, duration of illness or activity of the disease.
Habits of nutrition: 32% of the patients live on vegetarian diet most of the time. 29% avoid certain food items because of disorders in the stomach or in the small as well as large bowels (meteorism, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, eructation, full feeling). Only 7 patients (6.5%) complained of joint symptoms (pain, swelling or erythema) after particular food items (4 × meat, 1 × sausage, 4 × alcoholic drinks, 1 × preservative). Alcoholic drinks are avoided by 39%, 80% were non smokers, 12% never drank coffee. Attitudes towards nutritional therapy: An interaction between RA and nutrition is assumed by one third of the patients. About half of them would change their nutritional habits according to recommendations of their doctors, almost a third would only change if there were a good chance to improve their rheumatism. 22 patients (21%) changed their eating habits in the past. 7 of them (6.5% of all, resp. 32% of those who changed) felt an improvement of their rheumatic activity after this (less pain and swelling of joints, improved movability and general feeling). When asked about fasting as a therapy, 18 patients knew about it. After explanation of the idea of fasting, 86% of patients acknowledged their interest in fasting themselves.
Interest in information on nutritional therapy of RA has a high prevalence among these patients. Also there is a relatively high readiness to try nutritional therapy including fasting, provided that doctors will recommend it. As there is certain evidence from case reports, uncontrolled and controlled clinical trials, that the course of RA can be improved by nutritional therapy. It seems important to pay more attention to this adjuvant method in the treatment of rheumatic diseases.
