Researchers have found eating foods high in vitamin C can protect people from polyarthritis, a form of rheumatoid arthritis that affects at least two joints. According to the study, people who ate small amounts of fruits, vegetables and vitamin C increased their risk of polyarthritis.

In fact, patients who ate the lowest amounts of vitamin C increased their chances of developing polyarthritis by threefold over those who ate the highest number of healthy foods. However, there was little evidence linking the consumption of low amounts of vitamin E and beta-carotene with inflammatory polyarthritis.

The study was based on a survey of more than 23,000 men and women in the UK from 1993-97. During that four-year period, 73 people, ranging in age from 45 to 74, suffered from polyarthritis for at least a month. Then, the diets of each arthritis sufferer were compared with two people of the same gender who weren't affected.

The findings also conflict with another report that showed high doses of vitamin C worsened disease in guinea pigs with osteoarthritis, the common kind of arthritis associated with aging.

The conflicting findings could be associated with the causes of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, researchers say. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself whereas osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition that gets worse as time passes.

Annals of Rheumatic Disease July 2004 63(7):843-7

News-Medical Net June 10, 2004

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Perhaps some physicians are finally starting to figure out what I've been saying for a very long time is true: Eating the right foods is a much healthier, more natural way for you to heal your body than taking a litany of medications that never get to root of the real problem. Since 1989, most of the 3,000 patients I've treated with rheumatoid arthritis, using a revision of Dr. Brown's antibiotic protocol, have responded very well. However, I have revised the system further and found that mild cases of RA do not even require the antibiotics. It all starts with figuring out your specific metabolic type. Unlike other eating plans that force people to fit into their programs, everyone has a different metabolic type that's as distinctive as a fingerprint. Once you better understand your metabolic type, you'll know why eating the right foods can make you naturally healthier and strengthen and protect your body from disease. If you want to know more about metabolic typing, you may want to consider my new book. Along with a step-by-step guide to metabolic typing, my book includes 150 delicious and nutritious recipes that will ease your transition to healthy eating. Another book that I suspect you will find worthwhile is Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Infection Connection (Targeting and Treating the Cause of Chronic Illness), one of the books included in my most highly Recommended Books section. Related Articles: How To Virtually Eliminate Your Risk Of Rheumatoid Arthritis or MS Combination RA Drug Therapy Offers No Long-Term Benefits Doctors Debate Over Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy Helpful Tools for Rheumatoid Arthritis Physicians' Protocol For Using Antibiotics in Rheumatic Disease