A balanced and healthy diet has health benefits, for example it has a positive effect on the psyche and cardiovascular system. However, it cannot really affect the course of diseases of the muscular and skeletal systems. Scientists draw this conclusion from an evaluation of 24 systematic reviews and 150 clinical studies on the issue.

Most studies involving osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis examined the effects of a variety of diets and supplements: animal products, certain diets and foods, fruits, vegetables or other plant-based foods, minerals, vitamins, and others. Some studies also included uncommon diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriatic arthritis, systemic sclerosis, gout or axial spondyloarthritis.

All dietary interventions studied, including probiotics, vitamin D, fish oil/omega-3, chondroitin, glucosamine, avocado, and soybeans, had little, if any, “clinically meaningful” improvement on joint disease progression. was not. No effect in everyday life. The quality of validity of the studies was also rated as low to moderate. This means, for example, that there were too few studies, patient groups that were too small, or that the studies came to conflicting results.

“Based on current scientific knowledge, there is no single nutritional remedy that provides significant benefit,” conclude the authors. Still, they recommend eating healthy and above all, not gaining too much weight, as being overweight has negative effects on joint diseases.

Source: DOI 10.1136/rmdopen-2021-002167