Fasting followed by vegetarian diet in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review.

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Scand J Rheumatol 2001;30(1):1-10

Fasting followed by vegetarian diet in patients with rheumatoid

arthritis: a systematic review.

Muller H, de Toledo FW, Resch KL.

Balneology and Rehabilitation Sciences Research Institute (FBK), Bad

Elster, Germany. horst.mueller@...

Clinical experience suggests that fasting followed by vegetarian

diet may help patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We reviewed

the available scientific evidence, because patients frequently ask

for dietary advice, and exclusive pharmacological treatment of RA is

often not satisfying. Fasting studies in RA were searched in MEDLINE

and by checking references in relevant reports. The results of the

controlled studies which reported follow-up data for at least three

months after fasting were quantitatively pooled. Thirty-one reports

of fasting studies in patients with RA were found. Only four

controlled studies investigated the effects of fasting and

subsequent diets for at least three months. The pooling of these

studies showed a statistically and clinically significant beneficial

long-term effect. Thus, available evidence suggests that fasting

followed by vegetarian diets might be useful in the treatment of RA.

More randomised long-term studies are needed to confirm this view by

methodologically convincing data.

Publication Types:

* Meta-Analysis

* Review

* Review, Academic

PMID: 11252685 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]