Rheumatoid arthritis patients could reduce the likelihood of their getting heart attacks and strokes with a vegan, gluten-free diet, so a research study suggests.
Strokes and heart attacks are some of the key causes of death for arthritis sufferers, due to the inflammation which this disease gives rise to affecting the arteries.
However, an Arthritis Research and Therapy study discovered that those who adhered to a vegan regime suffered from less “bad” cholesterol .
Clogged arteries are a key risk for heart problems .
There are approximately 350,000 rheumatoid arthritis sufferers in the UK.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, state that the risk of this disease can be lowered through a diet which leaves out animal products and gluten, found in oats, wheat and barley.
A vegan diet can be helpful in lowering cholesterol, however, it is not easy to get adequate key nutrients on a vegan diet.
There are such non-vegetarian foods, like oily fish which can lower inflammation and other risk factors for getting arthritis.
The Vegan Society emphasised that it is crucial for people to follow all kinds of diet to make sure that they get sufficient quantities of the correct micronutrients .