Approaches to Medical Nutrition Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that causes progressive destruction of the joints. The disease seriously affects the quality of life with increased morbidity and decreased life expectancy. Rheumatoid arthritis, which starts at the ages of 40-50 most frequently, is more common in women than in men. Dietary modifications can be used for reducing inflammation, increasing antioxidant levels, changing lipid profile in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The diet models include the Mediterranean diet, anti-inflammatory diet and gluten-free diet. It is stated that the Mediterranean diet model may cause a decrease in inflammatory markers, disease activity and cardiovascular risk factors. Although it has been suggested that the anti-inflammatory diet, which is generally similar to the Mediterranean diet, may have positive effects on rheumatoid arthritis, there is insufficient evidence to reduce disease activity. It is thought that the gluten-free diet used in celiac patients can also be used in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In this review, it is aimed to determine the effect of different diet approaches on disease activity.