Does a Vitamin Deficiency make Rheumatoid Arthritis’s symptoms worse?

Rheumatoid Arthritis is one out of the 100 different types of manifestations of arthritis disease. Commonly understood as a problem in joints, it is also called a systematic disease, since it can affect the entire body systems such as the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, simply by triggering body’s auto immune system to attack its own joints and systems.

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The disease generally targets the feet, wrists, knees and elbows, and chances are, if one side of your body has suffered Rheumatoid Arthritis’s attack, the other side is going to suffer too. This makes dealing with the disease even more difficult. Rheumatoid Arthritis can show up as early as the age of 2 in children, whereas in adults, the symptoms show up around the age of 30.

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Symptoms:

Patients suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis complain about frequent feelings of fatigue and stiffness in joints, especially if they don’t move for sometime. Other issues include soreness in the joints coupled with unexplained weight-loss. The symptoms however, vary with people depending on the severity of the disease as well as their genetic background, age and gender.

Diagnosis:

The first step in diagnosis involves a blood test, which would look for the presence of anti-CCP (anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide), rheumatoid factor antibodies, ESR (elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate) or CRP (C-reactive protein). The test reports would diagnose patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis if presence of aforementioned substances are confirmed.

A test for anaemia, if negative would identify a low RBC count signifying systemic chronic illness.

Thirdly, imaging tests, such as MRI, Ultrasound or X-ray of the affected body systems can further identify the progress of the disease within your body and would give an idea as to what treatment method should be employed.

Treatment:

Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis are often sensitive or allergic to certain food which is why it can get pretty challenging for them to get adequate supply of nutrients. The disease also causes unexplained weight loss because of which even more nutrients supply in patient’s body gets depleted. This nutrients deficiency makes the symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis much worse since the much needed vitamins in the body are running on an edge. In order to reduce the symptoms and live an active and productive life, it is customary for patients to revitalize their vitamins supply on a daily basis.

Mentioned below are a few vitamins which work ideally in alleviating the symptoms:

Vitamin D:

Since Vitamin-D is essential for calcium absorption and bone growth, its deficiency can cause arthritis’s symptoms to worsen.

However, refuelling your body with Vitamin-D is easy. All you need to do is sit in natural sunlight daily, or eat Vitamin-D enriched food such as fish, egg, milk and fruit juices. Alternatively, you can take supplements to supply your vitamin reserves. These supplements are available in both liquid forms as well as pills and a regular intake can give your body the fuel it needs to fight the disease.

Vitamin E:

It is needed to increase the efficiency of RA medicines and is normally found in vegetable oils, nuts and green leafy-vegetables.

Omega-3 fatty acids:

Found in soy beans, salmons and walnuts, it eases joint stiffness,

Other vitamins which can be taken include folic-acid which reduces folic acid absorption in patients, Bromelain which serves as a natural pain killer and Gama linoleic-acid which reduces pain and swellings in patients.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a painful disease, one which can become unbearable with its extremely frustrating symptoms. Its diagnosis and treatment at the right time is very important, and simply by taking the right amount vitamins and supplements you can prepare your body to fight the disease appropriately.