Alcohol: Natural Remedy rheumatoid arthritis?

Could drinking alcohol be a natural remedy for rheumatoid arthritis? According to research by scientists at the University of Sheffield and partly funded by Arthritis Research UK, drinking alcohol eases the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as well as appearing to reduce its severity too.

In the study, 873 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 1,004 people who did not have it were asked how often they had drunk alcohol in the month prior to the start of the study plus completed a detailed questionnaire, had X-rays and blood tests taken and a nurse examined their joints. It was found that patients who had drunk alcohol most frequently had symptoms that were less severe than those who had never drunk alcohol or only drank it infrequently. This may possibly be attributed to the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of alcohol. X-rays further showed that there was less damage to their joints, blood tests showed lower levels of inflammation. Patients reported less joint pain, swelling and disability.

CAUTION: Arthritis Research UK do not recommend rheumatoid arthritis sufferers to take this research to mean that they should go out and start drinking alcohol frequently and in large amounts as this could be detrimental to their health. Some RA treatments, like the immunosuppressant drug methotrexate, could damage the liver when taken with large amounts of alcohol.

Books on rheumatoid arthritis

Green-lipped mussels fight arthritis

Coastal-dwelling Maori have been observed to have very low incidence of arthritis and related diseases and researchers have attributed this to their consumption of green-lipped mussels found exclusively in the pristine marine waters of New Zealand:



Now a Hong Kong clinical trial led by Prof. CS Lau of University of Hong Kong rheumatology division Department of Medicine have shown that a lipid extract from green-lipped mussels is effective in reducing pain and improving arthritic condition and improvement of joint function. In the clinical trial, 70% of 60 osteoarthritis patients put on a diet of the green-lipped mussels lipid extract were found to have experienced significant improvement in joint tenderness, morning joint stiffness, grip strength and overall have better mobility after four and eight weeks.

In another six month long clinical trial in Glassgow, Scotland, 76% of rheumatoid arthritis patients put on the green-lipped mussels lipid extract reported significant improvement.

Green-lipped mussels products


Products for arthritis