Following a vegan diet is found to be helpful to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases and alleviate the symptoms of different health conditions. Studies suggest that a vegan diet might be helpful for you to effectively control your rheumatology symptoms.
A vegan diet includes eating only plant-based foods. This diet totally excludes all animal-derived products including meat, fish, dairy, egg, and even honey.
As a vegan diet involves many super healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, cereals, whole grains, etc., they can be greatly beneficial for you to improve your general health and well-being. Studies suggest that these foods can help with reducing the pain, inflammation, and swelling caused by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory conditions.
Foods To Eliminate If You Have RA
There are certain foods that can make your RA symptoms worse by triggering inflammation and other adverse effects. Some of the foods that are advised by health experts to avoid if you have RA include:
- Red meat
- Processed foods
- Sugary foods and beverages
- Foods that come with a lot of additives
- Alcohol
How Plant-Based Foods Can Help With Inflammation?
Most plant-based foods come with a wide range of nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They can be helpful for you to improve your health and reduce the inflammatory responses in your body.
Additionally, a lot of phytochemicals are found to have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects that can help with rheumatic pain treatment.
Also, plant-based foods come with higher levels of antioxidants that can be greatly beneficial for controlling the inflammatory responses created by the body.
Hence, avoiding certain animal foods and following a diet that is rich in plant-based foods can be highly beneficial for you to get relief from your RA symptoms.
Tips To Switch To A Plant-Based Diet
A transition to plant-based diets is not easy. It is a process that you have to do with great care and patience. Do not swap all your animal-derived foods for plant foods at once, as there is a great possibility for you to fail.
Make the transition slowly, and give yourself enough time to adjust to this diet. Reduce the consumption of animal foods slowly and increase the amount of plant-based foods.
Do not overstress yourself and keep it simple. Make fruits and vegetables the star of your diet.
But when switching to a vegan diet, you have to make sure that you get sufficient amounts of all nutrients. Consult a dietician to make sure that you can make a healthy transition to a vegan diet.