What dietary taboos should you pay attention to in rheumatoid arthritis?

There are no foods that patients with rheumatoid arthritis need to abstain from. The popular saying on the Internet that “all food cannot be eaten” is a complete misunderstanding. Malnutrition caused by excessive food taboos will actually reduce immunity and aggravate joint damage. Aunt Zhang, who I treated last week, is a typical example. When she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis half a year ago, her symptoms were actually very mild. She heard from neighbors in the community that seafood, beef and mutton are "hairy substances" that will aggravate the condition. She didn't dare to touch a bite. She drank white porridge with stir-fried vegetables every day. This time, the albumin was significantly lower during the follow-up test, and the morning stiffness lasted twice as long as when she was first diagnosed. The gain outweighed the gain.

Of course, this does not mean that if you have rheumatoid arthritis, you can eat as much as you want without any scruples. There are some types of foods that you still need to adjust your intake according to your physical condition.

The rheumatology community has actually been arguing for many years about whether high-purine foods should be banned. One school of thought believes that high-purine foods will increase blood uric acid and aggravate inflammation in joints. It is best to avoid all foods.； The other group believes that the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and gout are completely different. As long as the uric acid level is normal, there is no need for additional restrictions. Now the latest clinical consensus has actually made this controversy clear: If you have high uric acid or gout, you should eat as little animal offal, thick broth, and shelled seafood as possible. ； If your uric acid has been stable within the normal range and your joints are not red, swollen or painful after eating shrimps and crabs, it is perfectly fine to eat it once or twice a week to satisfy your cravings, and you don’t need to be too harsh on yourself.

Unlike the controversy over high-purine foods, almost all rheumatologists will actively advise patients to avoid foods high in sugar and trans-fatty acids. A while ago, a young girl who had just entered college came for a follow-up consultation and said that she had been taking her medicine on time, but her joint pain had suddenly worsened in the past half month. After careful questioning, she found out that she drank milk tea for three days in a row and ate fried chicken twice last week. This type of high-sugar and high-fat food will promote the release of inflammatory factors in the body. You can understand it this way: Rheumatoid disease is originally the immune system "setting fire" in the joints. These foods are just adding fuel to the fire, which will naturally make the inflammatory reaction more severe and joint pain worse.

Another point of attention that is easily overlooked by everyone is that you must strictly avoid foods you are allergic to if you eat them. There was a male patient in his 20s who had inexplicable pain in his joints for two or three days every time he ate pasta. After checking his allergens for a long time, he discovered that he was allergic to wheat gluten. After he stopped eating regular pasta and replaced it with gluten-free staple food, most of his symptoms were relieved immediately. Allergies activate the immune system. When the already disordered immune function is stimulated, it will naturally involve inflammatory reactions in the joints.

Many patients also ask if they can drink medicinal wine to "remove rheumatism", but I have to stop them every time. Alcohol itself will increase the burden of liver metabolism. Many anti-rheumatic drugs we usually take also need to be metabolized by the liver. The combination of the two can easily cause liver damage, not to mention that alcohol itself may also stimulate inflammatory reactions, which is completely worth the loss.

In fact, to put it bluntly, there is no unified standard answer to the rheumatoid diet. You may not be fine after others eat something that makes you uncomfortable. Don’t follow the trend and eat food that is high in sugar and oil. Talk to the doctor about your diet during regular check-ups, and you will slowly be able to find the rhythm that suits you best.