Arthritis Allergies:
What Really Causes Rheumatoid Arthritis and Can a Simple Food Allergy Test Provide a Long Awaited Cure?
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Rheumatoid arthritis has long been hailed by the conventional medical community as an ailment best treated with anti-inflammatory medication or painkillers. The painful disorder is most commonly described as an incurable autoimmune disease whose effects can only be eased, but not cured or prevented.
Fortunately, the widespread belief that arthritis has no known cause or cure has not stopped many doctors, scientists, and sufferers from finding innovative, useful, and alternative solutions to the arthritis problem.
While anti-inflammatories and painkillers do provide temporary relief to sufferers, they do not do help prevent the rheumatoid arthritis from occurring or progressing. With the breakthrough of new scientific studies and technologies, scientists have now found that there may actually be light at the end of the tunnel for people suffering from this debilitating affliction, and their answers lie in the form of food allergy diagnosis.
But to truly understand the significance of these new treatments and possible cures we need to understand what rheumatoid arthritis actually is.
What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease that causes chronic inflammation of your joints. It can also cause inflammation of the tissue around your joints, in addition to other organs in your body. It is painful, debilitating and, in severe cases, can result in bone erosion and joint deformity.
Scientifically, it is referred to as an autoimmune disease, which basically means that it is an illness that occurs when your immune system “mistakenly” attacks its own tissue.
A recent report in the American Journal of Medicine estimates that:
“The most common inflammatory arthritis… afflicts an estimated 25 men and 54 woman per 100,000 population and is responsible for 250,000 hospitalizations and 9 million physician visits in the US each year.”
With the disease being so common and widespread, one would think that the modern medical community would be able to pinpoint an accurate root cause. However, unfortunately, what patients most often will hear from their doctors is something similar to what the lead authors of the above study have to say about it, which is:
“The etiology of rheumatoid arthritis is not fully understood but involves a complex interplay of environmental and genetic factors. Genetics also play a role in disease severity. A triggering event, possibly autoimmune or infectious, initiates joint in?ammation.”
Why Would Your Own Immune System “Mistakenly” Attack Your Body Tissue?
In the case of people afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis, their bodies contain “faulty” antibodies that want to attack their body’s own tissue. These antibodies are not supposed to do this, which is why many believe that rheumatoid arthritis is incurable. They simply treat the antibodies’ “mistake” as an untreatable bodily dysfunction. Normally, antibodies only want to target and attack infections, bacteria or other potential threats to your body. However, people with autoimmune diseases seem to have a system that doesn’t realize it is attacking itself.
Yet, there is another part of the arthritis story that brings a different light to this commonplace understanding of the disease. Specifically, recent studies and reports have shown that, in rheumatoid arthritis sufferers, antibodies might actually have a reason for their “faulty” attack, specifically, they are reacting to foods that the body might be allergic or sensitive to.
A report by Darlington and Ramsey in The British Journal of Rheumatology states that:
"There are now sufficient good scientific studies, from the UK and abroad, to suggest that, at least in some patients with RA, dietary therapy may influence at least the symptoms and possibly the progression of the disease."
But How Can Food Trigger an Antibody Reaction?
Your body generally sends antibodies to attack any foreign threats or substances that enter. For instance, if bacteria enter your body, it will send antibodies to attack the bacteria. This immune response generally causes some swelling and inflammation.
The situation is no different when it comes to food. If you eat a type of food that your body doesn’t “want,” you may have an immune response, which, like other immune responses, involves swelling. In the case of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers, this swelling may occur in the joints or tissue surrounding the joints.
The research surrounding food allergies as a cause of rheumatoid arthritis has many doctors doing in-depth studies that have encouraging results. A ground-breaking study by the Department of Rheumatology, Karolinska Institutet at Huddinge University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden:
“...decided to study the clinical effects of a vegan diet free of gluten in RA and to quantify the levels of antibodies to key food antigens not present in the vegan diet.”
The study found amazing evidence that pointed to food allergies as a significant piece to the rheumatoid arthritis puzzle. Specifically, the report found:
“... evidence that dietary modification may be of clinical benefit for certain RA patients, and that this benefit may be related to a reduction in immunoreactivity to food antigens eliminated by the change in diet.”
Of course, these studies do not apply to all arthritis sufferers and, as is the case with all medical treatments, they need to be further studied and carefully monitored by a healthcare professional.
How to Determine if You Have Food Allergies … and How Do You Know if Your Arthritis is Caused or Affected by These Allergies?
The first step is to get an accurate diagnosis. You should see a healthcare professional who can do in an in-depth analysis and study of your symptoms, and then talk to him or her about the different types of treatments available for the disease. Once your illness has been identified, you can ask your doctor to look into an ALCAT Test Food and Chemical Sensitivity/Intolerance.
What Is an ALCAT Test?
The ALCAT Test:
“... identifies reactions to over 350 foods, chemicals and other substances associated with inflammation that are linked to chronic health problems like migraines, aching joints, fatigue, gastrointestinal disorders, eczema, hyperactivity/ADD, asthma and even obesity.”
The test is a technologically advanced way to check your body for any sensitivities or intolerances to foods, and it has a huge advantage over traditional skin tests because it can measure delayed type reactions in addition to immediate reactions (normal skin tests usually only detect immediate reactions).
Another benefit to this test over traditional treatments is that it doesn’t require you to take ANY prescription or over-the-counter drugs; instead it gives you a list of foods that are “safe” and foods that you should avoid so you can monitor your diet for foods that may cause adverse reactions in your body.
How Does Food Therapy Compare to Conventional Treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis?
The conventional treatments for RA are varied and most often come with heavy side effects. In their report Rheumatoid Arthritis: Diagnosis and Management, Majithia and Geraci state:
“Drug treatment generally involves a 3-pronged approach: non-steroidal anti-in?ammatory drugs and low-dose oral or intra-articular glucocorticoids; disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs; and consideration of biologic response modi?ers/biologics.”
The report also states that:
“Nonsteroidal anti-in?ammatory drugs reduce joint pain and swelling, but do not alter the disease course and should not be used alone. Steroids (prednisone 10 mg daily or equivalent) relieve symptoms and may slow joint damage; they should be prescribed at a low dose for short duration, primarily as “bridge” therapy, and with daily calcium (1500mg) and vitamin D (400-800 IU) oral supplements to limit bone demineralization.”
Essentially, these treatments are strong, and need to be carefully monitored because of their effects on the body. Some of the known side effects to popular medications include:
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Skin rash
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Oral ulcers
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Dizziness
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Respiratory difficulty
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High blood pressure
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Osteoporosis
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While Majithia and Geraci’s report finds that common drugs and medications can help many patients, it also warns that:
“... primary care physician[s] should assess course (improvement or progression), net disability, and medication side effects (including osteoporosis with chronic steroid use).”
It also cautions that:
“Cardiovascular risk factor reduction is warranted due to a higher risk for development of coronary artery disease related to the underlying disease or medications.”
Considering that a healthy diet and exercise are already recommended by many doctors for overall health, it bodes well for anyone suffering from rheumatoid arthritis or other bodily pains or discomforts to consider the idea of food sensitivity testing and dietary modification as a viable treatment for their arthritic conditions.
Not only is this type of treatment safe and drug-free, but it generally can improve your overall well-being and lifestyle in addition to possibly eliminating your bodily pain -- and other health symptoms -- too.
Are There Other Alternative Treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis?
While food sensitivity tests are among the most popular alternative treatments out there, there are also several other alternative avenues that you can try. The Mayo Clinic suggests several types of alternative treatments that have been known to have positive effects for those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
Some of the treatments they suggest are:
As with any medication or medical treatment, holistic or not, a health professional should always be consulted first. Professional involvement in your choice of treatment will ensure that you are monitored and treated properly.
While many professionals will tell you that there are no conclusive studies that can determine the cause of rheumatoid arthritis, their statements don’t have to stop you from seeking out possible cures and answers.
As the medical community becomes more educated in treating diseases and disorders with dietary therapies, it is crucial that anyone suffering from this autoimmune disease consider this drug-free treatment as a viable route to their road to recovery.
Knowing how your body reacts to certain foods not only can effectively help, ease, and even cure your joint pain, but it can also improve your overall health and well-being.
We are in an age where food has become an integral cause of many life-threatening or life-debilitating diseases, and the best way to make sure you don’t become one of those ugly statistics is to inform yourself about what you eat.
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Sources
British Journal of Rheumatology, 32(6):507-14
The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 120, Issue 11, Pages 936-939
Rheumatology (Oxford); 40(10):1175-9
Mayo Clinic, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Alternative Medicine
ALCAT Worldwide
Musculoskeletal Disorders / Joint Pain
The Right Stuff: Use of Alcat Testing to Determine Dietary Factors Affecting Immune Balance, Health, and Longevity
Cell Science Systems Reports Newly Discovered Cause of Delayed Food Allergies (Sensitivities)
Inflammatory symptoms, immune system and food intolerance: One cause – many symptoms
Immune Stress Prevention for Fitness, Performance and Vitality
