Does food cause or cure arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis and most other forms of inflammatory joint disease--systemic rheumatic diseases--remain illnesses of unknown cause for which current therapy often is inadequate. The possibility that food antigens induce or perpetuate symptoms in at least some patients is novel, rational, and exciting. Studies that relate diet with arthritis might offer the potential of identifying new therapeutic approaches for selected patients and of developing new insights into disease pathogenesis.