Arthritis and Food

Question: Does the kind of diet a person usually has have anything to do with whether and how his arthritis will affect him? One of my friends who has arthritis is being careful not to eat certain foods. I thought arthritis had nothing to do with what you eat so long as you have a healthy diet.

Answer: The conventional advice for patients with rheumatoid arthritis has been to have a regular, well-balanced diet; however, the results of some studies suggest that for individual patients, diet may make a difference and may even be of therapeutic significance.

The management of rheumatoid arthritis covers a number of areas, including education, exercise, physical therapy and medication. Rheumatoid arthritis can be quite destructive, and patients should work closely with their physicians in an effort to minimize the damage.

If you have a medical question, write to Neil Solomon, MD, P.O. Box 36184, Baltimore, Md . 21286-6184) .