One of the best resources on diet available is a book by Hillary Tolmen who now lives pain free after being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis just a few years ago.  To learn how Hillary achieved this, you can click on this link:  Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain Free

Anti-oxidant rich foods are a beneficial addition to the rheumatoid arthritis diet (or RA diet).  These are fruits and vegetables that are rich in color. Try adding blue berries, broccoli, spinach, beets, and plums to your RA diet,  just to name a few. The richer and deeper color is indicative of the anti-oxidant value.

It is easy to add just a bit of chopped broccoli, a few deep green spinach leaves and some pickled beets to a tossed salad. That is an easy rheumatoid arthritis treatment to use, in addition to the RA treatment prescribed by your physician. Dried cranberries are a nice sweet/tangy addition to a chopped salad too.

Be inventive, try some new food combinations. Keep a journal of your body’s reaction to your new eating habits. Everyone reacts differently to standard rheumatoid arthritis treatment, and so it is with adding foods to your treatment.

Another anti-oxidant that you might try is a cup or two of white or green tea. White tea leaves are just immature tea leaves, the green tea leaves are a bit more mature, and the black tea leaves are the most mature. Both can be used in a rheumatoid arthritis diet that is high in anti-oxidants. Both care delicious hot or iced.

What about foods to avoid on a rheumatoid arthritis diet? There may be foods in your diet that actually trigger your RA to become active. Again, we are back to keeping a personal food journal. It is good to keep a journal of foods that are suspect in triggering RA flair ups in your body and then to avoid those in future.

Saturated fats in your diet may cause your body to produce prostaglandins. Prostaglandins cause inflammation. In fact, some of the medications taken are specifically targeted to decrease the prostaglandins response. So it just makes sense that decreasing your saturated fats will be a great start for your rheumatoid arthritis diet.

That brings up omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are the fats found in some vegetable oils. Omega-6 is not found in olive oil. Do not confuse omega-6 fatty acids in vegetable oil with the good omega-3 fatty acids found in cold water fish. This can all be confusing, as you start your RA diet, but it can be worth the effort to understand.

Another rhematoid arthritis diet you might want to try is the Mediterranean diet. This diet features fresh fruits and vegetables, and very little red meat. Fish and shellfish are eaten often. And of course olive oil is used instead of the other oils typically used in a non-Mediterranean diet.

Can a rheumatoid arthritis diet help you? The answer is yes. Keep a journal. See what works for you.  What foods make you feel better and worse. Eliminate any foods that trigger a flare up, and keep adding foods that are healthy for you. At the very least, you will be living a healthier life style. Eliminating known triggers may decrease your RA flair ups, and keeping the food journal will help you eliminate your specific triggers.

If you would like more specific and detailed guidance on this matter, I recommend Hillary Tolmen’s book which you can find at www.RheumatoidArthritisPainFree.com.

The mangosteen fruit grows on a tropical evergreen tree. The mangosteen probably originated around Sumatra. It is an old plant that has been around for centuries. It needs warm, humid climates to grow and thrive. The fruit ripens to a deep purple color that contains a large amount of antioxidant properties. There is some thought that antioxidants may help in rheumatoid arthritis therapy.

The exciting aspect of the mangosteen fruit is the high level of xanthones, which have anti-inflammatory properties. People suffering from rheumatoid arthritis joint pain gain relief from anti-inflammatory medications. Some of the medications contain steroids and some do not. The xanthones are a non steroidal anti-inflammatory. Xanthones are being touted as a cure for several conditions, but the truth, is the body of knowledge still growing.

The real question is do the xanthones of the mangosteen fruit provide the anti-inflammatory levels needed to be a proven rheumatoid arthritis therapy? Unfortunately, there has not yet been enough clinical based research to provide a clear answer. Some patients have received symptomatic relief from rheumatoid arthritis joint pain when taking mangosteen.

Mangosteen is readily available in juice or tablet form. The juice form of the mangosteen is sometimes mixed with other juices. Labels may or may not let the consumer know exactly how much mangosteen juice is actually present in the product. As a consumer, try to make sure that your product contains a significant amount of mangosteen. This after all is the ingredient that you will be investigating to see if it decreases your rheumatoid arthritis pain.

The same is generally true of the pill form of mangosteen. It can be hard to judge exactly how much active ingredient is truly available for your body to use. It is hard to maintain an effective rheumatoid arthritis therapy if the dosage of useable product can’t be determined.

If you are interested in using mangosteen as part of rheumatoid arthritis therapy, be sure to discuss this with your rheumatologist. They may have a recommendation regarding which product to use, and a dosage that is suitable for your situation. They will also be interested in your experience with mangosteen. 

The bottom line of the question “can Mangosteen Juice Help my RA?” is this: does it help you? Keep a record of how your symptoms are responding to the mangosteen. Be sure to keep your rheumatologist in the loop. There are always new studies being conducted on effective rheumatoid arthritis therapies.  Your response is probably the best indicator.