Although the disorder cannot be reversed, maintaining a healthy weight and leading an active lifestyle can help moderate the illness.
Living with RA can be difficult because of the chronic pain, swelling in the joints, and limited mobility that can lower one’s quality of life.
Rheumatoid arthritis develops when your immune system begins to attack your own healthy body tissues, much like any other autoimmune condition. As the disease worsens, RA causes the synovium to inflame and eventually erodes the bone and cartilage that make up the joint. As the tendons and ligaments holding the joint in place deteriorate, RA causes the joint to become misaligned and out of shape.
Most people with rheumatoid arthritis are between the ages of 30 and 50, and women are reported to be more susceptible than men.
There are various risk factors even if the condition’s precise origin is unknown. The risk of developing RA is increased by genetic factors. Your chance of developing RA can be increased by a number of factors, including sex, age, smoking, obesity, and environmental factors. As a result, you can effectively control the illness by adopting healthy behaviours and employing the appropriate management approaches.
You may be more prone to weight gain as a result of arthritis due to decreased physical activity.
One of the most important things your doctor may suggest is losing weight because it can be very helpful in treating arthritis. Obesity and arthritis do not mix well, according to research, and carrying additional weight might be detrimental to your joint health. However, since RA patients experience physical aches, edoema, and weariness, losing weight can be challenging for arthritis patients.
Losing weight will lessen the strain on your joints, increase mobility, lessen pain, and stop further joint injury. People with RA have trouble losing weight since they don’t exercise enough and use specific drugs. This makes it difficult for many people to adequately control their disease.
Patients with RA who follow certain straightforward advice and procedures stand a better chance of losing weight. People need to stop having inflated expectations of their bodies and stop succumbing to online fads like “crash diets,” which frequently cause more harm than benefit to people’s physical structures.
It’s critical to realise that dropping a little weight at a time is healthy and will help you keep your equilibrium. They may initially lose weight with short-term methods, but the effects are likely to be fleeting and may weaken their metabolic rate, impact their immunological system, affect their bowel habits, heighten immune response, and diminish their energy levels, which may ultimately result in greater inflammation.
Therefore, rather than crash dieting, it is advised to adopt a workout routine and a regulated diet.
Establish a cycle between the times of eating and fasting by developing a pattern of eating.
You can follow a cycle of 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating. Your body will have plenty of time to relax during these fasting intervals, which will minimise inflammation. Before beginning your diet, it is advised that you speak with your doctor.
This is a recent food-based strategy that reduces unneeded inflammation in the body of a person. This extremely restricted diet, which primarily consists of meat and vegetables, regulates blood sugar and the immune system to reduce inflammation and balance hormones while also enhancing gut health, creating the right nutrient density, identifying food sensitivities, and determining food sensitivities.
You may get rid of inflammatory foods, intestinal irritants, and immunological stimulants by sticking to this diet for roughly a month. Patients with arthritis should practise mindfulness when eating, pay attention to their body’s signs, and only eat when they are truly hungry. These patients ought to strictly monitor their meals as this can help them avoid emotional eating. Additionally, arthritis patients need to drink 4 to 5 litres of water every day to reduce weight, increase energy, and delay muscle wasting.
Only 2,300 mg of salt, or about a teaspoon of regular table salt with iodine, should be consumed daily by an average adult. You will feel bloated and put on weight if the consumption is higher. To prevent weight gain, one should keep their sodium consumption to 1,500 mg per day. It is advised to consume roughly two-thirds of a teaspoon of salt per day for middle-aged and older persons with high blood pressure.
Other methods can aid with the cramps and can ensure normal muscle function, such as obtaining enough sleep, consuming foods high in vitamin B, D, Omega 3 acids, and magnesium, and supplementing the body with glutamine.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
