Rheumatoid arthritis and food: a case study.

Effects of a Very Low-Fat, Vegan Diet in Subjects with Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…Benefits from dietary manipulation have been observed with water-only fasts (Hafstrom et al, 1988;Kroker et al, 1984;Panush et al, 1986), vegetable and fruit juice fasts (Lithell et al, 1983;Skoldstam et al, 1979Skoldstam et al, , 1991Sundqvist et al, 1982), lactovegetarian diets (Kjeldsen-Kragh et al, 1991;Skoldstam et al, 1979;Sundqvist et al, 1982), pure vegetarian (vegan) diets (Beri et al, 1988;Darlington et al, 1991;Kjeldsen-Kragh et al, 1991;Nenonen et al, 1998;Parke et al, 1981;Ratner et al, 1985;Seignalet, 1992), and elimination diets (Darlington et al, 1986;Hicklin et al, 1980;Kavanaghi et al, 1995;van de Laar et al, 1992). By their very nature of limited calorie intake, fasts can only be sustained for short periods of time and with return to usual eating, the arthritis symptoms have been shown to return in almost every case.…”

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and Milk Allergy

“…It is probable that our patient was sensitized by direct contact with tobacco leaf in his cigarette rather than to a volatile component of tobacco or to a product of combustion. We have so far been unable to determine the precise allergen, although previous studies suggest that it is unlikely to be nicotine itself (Silvette et al 1957 (Parke & Hughes 1981, Williams 1981, Little et al 1983), but juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) associated with milk allergy has not been noted. The 14-year-old patient reported here had a 6-year history compatible with a diagnosis of JRA and recovered after the elimination of all cow's milk protein from her diet.…”

“…This slow response to dietary elimination is not typical of IgE-mediated food allergies (Goldman & Heiner 1977). None of the 7 cases of food sensitivity and arthritis reported by Little et al (1983) was sensitive to milk, and 6 were seropositive; furthermore, their reaction time following challenge was measured in hours, indicating that both our case and that of Parke & Hughes (1981) (Ratner et al 1984). We have demonstrated specific antibodies to beta-lactoglobulin.…”

“…The case of rheumatoid arthritis reported by Parke & Hughes (1981) was seronegative and allergic to milk. It took their patient 3 weeks to respond to an elimination diet, a similar reaction time to that observed in our patient.…”

Neurogenic Switching: A Hypothesis for a Mechanism for Shifting the Site of Inflammation in Allergy and Chemical Sensitivity

“…Food hypersensitivity can also manifest as arthritis (8,9) and migraine (10,11). Histamine from gut mast cells could bind to sensory nerves to produce an afferent signal, which could be rerouted via the central nervous system to another site, as depicted in Figure 1 (12) (13 (17,18).…”