Effect of dietary restrictions on disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis.

Additions in five steps were made, as a possible therapeutic measure, to the diet of 27 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after a period of two weeks of a basal isocaloric diet free from pulses, cereals, milk, and non-vegetarian protein foods. Fourteen patients finally took part in the trial, 10 (71%) of whom showed significant clinical improvement. Only three patients (11%) adhered to the diet for a period of 10 months. The others discontinued the diet and were then treated with conventional disease modifying drugs. The study indicates that dietary factors may influence inflammatory response in RA.