Ann Rheum Dis. 1988 Jan; 47(1): 69-72.

Effect of dietary restrictions on disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis.

Beri D, Malaviya AN, Shandilya R, Singh RR.

Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

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.