Vitamin C May Fight Inflammatory Arthritis

[Guest guest]

Vitamin C May Fight Rheumatoid Arthritis: Not Getting Enough Vitamin C

From Fruit and Vegetables Raises Risks

http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/88/99940.htm

June 9, 2004 -- Getting plenty of vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables

in your diet may help prevent rheumatoid arthritis.

A new study shows people who ate the least amount of fruits and

vegetables were twice as likely to develop inflammation in the joints

characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis compared with those who ate the

most, and researchers say the antioxidant vitamin C seems to be largely

responsible for the protective effect.

Researchers say people had the lowest levels of vitamin C in their diet

were three times more likely to develop inflammatory arthritis than

people who got the most of the vitamin from fruits and vegetables, such

as citrus fruits, strawberries, and raw, red sweet peppers.

But experts say that doesn't mean you should start popping vitamin C

supplements to lower your risk of inflammatory arthritis. In fact, a

recent study suggested that long-term use of vitamin C supplements might

aggravate another common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis.

Vitamin C Linked to Lower Rheumatoid Arthritis Risks

In this study, published in the current issue of ls of Rheumatic

Diseases, researchers looked at the link between fruit and vegetable and

dietary antioxidant intake and the development of inflammatory arthritis

and rheumatoid arthritis in a group of 23,000 men and women who entered

a large cancer study in the U.K. between 1993 and 1997. As a part of

that study, the participants kept track of what they ate in a weekly

food diary.

Between 1993 and 2001, 73 people developed inflammatory arthritis

affecting two or more painfully swollen joints for at least a month, and

40% of them met the criteria for having rheumatoid arthritis.

Compared with those who did not develop the disease, researchers found

that those with arthritis ate fewer fruits and vegetables. Specifically,

people who ate the least amount of fruits and vegetables had double the

risk of developing inflammatory arthritis.

The study also showed that there was a major difference in the amount of

vitamin C that the people with arthritis consumed vs. those who did not

develop the disease. People who got the least vitamin C in their diet

had three times the risk of developing inflammatory arthritis than those

who got the most.

Researchers found that lower intakes of other antioxidants were mildly

associated with higher arthritis risks, but the link was not nearly as

strong as the one with vitamin C intake.

For example, the study showed that people who got less than 40 mg of

vitamin C from fruits and vegetables had four times the risk of

developing inflammatory arthritis. In the U.S., the recommended dietary

allowance for men is 90 milligrams of vitamin C a day and for women is

75 milligrams.

Previous studies suggest that antioxidants may help prevent some forms

of arthritis by fighting the free radicals (unstable molecules that

cause damage to cells) associated with the development of the disease.

SOURCES: Pattison, D. ls of Rheumatic Diseases, July 2004; vol 63:

pp 843047. WebMD Medical News: " Excess Vitamin C May Worsen Osteoarthritis. "