A drink a day for your joints
A fascinating study recently published in the journal, Rheumatology, concluded that not only is alcohol a terrific preventive against rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a regular moderate intake of alcohol can also help ease RA symptoms effectively.
RA is an auto-immune disorder (the body “attacks” its own cells) and like other auto-immune conditions (e.g. Type 1 diabetes, MS, celiac disease), there is no known cause, although it’s thought that in many cases, the immune reaction is set off by some toxic element, such as an infection.
In this study, researchers interviewed 873 people with RA and compared them with 1004 healthy subjects, and they concluded that the more alcohol a person drinks (although it has to be within moderate levels), the lower their risk of developing RA, and in fact, in this study, teetotalers had roughly a 4 times greater risk of developing RA than did people who drank moderate amounts of alcohol regularly.
As well, in people who already had RA, a moderate intake of alcohol helped lessen the severity of their symptoms and inflammation, that is, they not only complained of less pain and swelling than did non-drinkers, but objective tests such as Xrays and blood tests revealed less joint damage and less joint inflammation.
Written by Dr. Art Hister
Thursday, 05 August 2010 17:31
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