MUFAs May Fight Rheumatoid Arthritis

A Japanese study pub­lished ear­lier this year sought to find out which part of the Mediterranean diet helps alle­vi­ate symp­toms of rheuma­toid arthri­tis.

The study, pub­lished in Clinical Nutrition, found that the key lies in monoun­sat­u­rated fatty acids like those found in olive oil, sesame oil, nuts, seeds, avo­ca­dos, and peanut but­ter.
See Also:Olive Oil Health Benefits
Up until this stage, we’ve known that the Mediterranean diet is effec­tive in reduc­ing dis­ease activ­ity in rheuma­toid arthri­tis; Matsumoto et al. from Osaka City University took it a step fur­ther and looked for the key ele­ments of the diet that make this so.

The study began in 2010 and was con­cluded in 2017. The par­tic­i­pants in the study included 208 patients with rheuma­toid arthri­tis (or RA), and 205 healthy vol­un­teers who formed the con­trol group. The par­tic­i­pants’ food and nutri­ent intake were assessed. This was done using the BDHQ (or brief self-admin­is­tered diet his­tory ques­tion­naire). Disease activ­ity scores were mea­sured using the DAS28-ESR (or 28 joints and ery­thro­cyte sed­i­men­ta­tion rates).

The results showed that MUFA (monoun­sat­u­rated fatty acids) intake was lower in the RA group than in the con­trol group. Furthermore, the MUFA/SFA (SFA stands for sat­u­rated fatty acid) ratio dif­fered within the RA group. The study con­cluded that daily MUFA intake might sup­press dis­ease activ­ity in RA patients.

Monounsaturated fats also help reduce lev­els of bad cho­les­terol in the blood, which also decreases the risk of strokes and heart dis­ease. Eating a diet high in MUFAs has also been encour­aged as a way to reduce belly fat and assist with weight loss.

Last year, the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology jour­nal cited that ​“eat­ing a Mediterranean diet with no limit on calo­ries and plenty of olive oil is the best way to stay healthy.” For years, it has been a cul­tural norm for diets to pro­mote eat­ing low-fat and low-calo­rie foods, and fats which form part of the Mediterranean diet enjoyed in Southern Europe have been shunned. However, other stud­ies have shown that par­tic­i­pants saw the great­est amount of weight loss eat­ing the Mediterranean diet with olive oil as a key com­po­nent.

Aseem Malhotra, a car­di­ol­o­gist advi­sor to the National Obesity Forum, said: ​“A high-fat Mediterranean diet which I fol­low and tell my patients to not only doesn’t lead to weight gain but is also the most pro­tec­tive dietary pat­tern against heart dis­ease, can­cer and demen­tia.”

Rheumatoid arthri­tis is an autoim­mune dis­ease in which the immune sys­tem destroys healthy body tis­sues. This can result in severe joint pain and exhaus­tion in patients who suf­fer from the dis­ease. Over time, this results in pro­gres­sive joint and car­ti­lage destruc­tion. Findings such as these may help suf­fer­ers make dietary adjust­ments that will help them in the long term.

• Express.co.uk


• NCBI