Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) - Definition, Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Diet

4. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses that occur when the body's tissues are mistakenly attacked by their own immune system.

5. Fast Facts

6. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common type of autoimmune arthritis. It is caused when the immune system (the body’s defence system) is not working properly. RA causes pain and swelling in the wrist and small joints of the hand and feet. • Treatments for RA can stop joint pain and swelling. Treatment also prevents joint damage. Early treatment will give better long term results.

7. Causes Rheumatoid Arthritis

8. What causes rheumatoid arthritis? RA is an autoimmune disease. Your immune system is supposed to attack foreigners in your body, like bacteria and viruses, by creating inflammation. In an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakenly sends inflammation to your own healthy tissue.

9. Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosed

10. How is rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed? RA is diagnosed by examining blood test results, examining the joints and organs, and reviewing x-ray or ultrasound images. There is no one test to diagnose RA. Blood tests are run to look for antibodies in the blood that can been seen in RA.

12. Abnormal blood tests commonly seen in RA include

13. Blood Tests • Anemia(a low red blood cell count) • Rheumatoid factor (an antibody, or blood protein, found in about 80% of patients with RA in time, but in as few as 30% at the start of arthritis) • Antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides (pieces of proteins), or anti-CCP for short (found in 60 - 70% of patients with RA)

14. Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated www.dietkundali.com

15. How is rheumatoid arthritis treated? Therapy for RA has improved greatly in the past 30 years. Current treatments give most patients good or excellent relief of symptoms and let them keep functioning at, or near, normal levels. With the right medications, many patients can have no signs of active disease. When the symptoms are completely controlled.

16. Foods to avoid with RA There is no special RA diet or diet "cure" for rheumatoid arthritis. One hundred years ago, it was touted that "night-shade" foods, such as tomatoes, would aggravate rheumatoid arthritis. This is no longer accepted as true. There are no specific foods or food groups that should be universally avoided by individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.

18. Foods that fight RA inflammation Nevertheless, there are some home remedies that may be helpful, although these are not considered as potent or effective as disease-modifying drugs. Fish oils, and omega-3 fatty acids supplements have been shown to be beneficial in some short-term studies in rheumatoid arthritis.

20. Natural Remedies for Rheumatoid Arthritis • Turmeric (Haldi) : Oil from turmeric acts as very good anti-inflammatory agent. • Asafetida (Heeng):Asafetida with ginger paste or coconut oil helps in inflammatory diseases. • Garlic (Lehsun) : Garlic with anti-arthritic properties taken daily in small doses helps to strengthen the immune system.

22. How Diet Kundali helps in Rheumatoid Arthritis Balanced Diet Plan: We at Diet Kundali helps you to create your balanced diet plan online. Generating balanced diet chart will help you in analyzing your nutrition and the food which help in preventing RA symptoms.