Review of dietary therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

There are now sufficient good scientific studies, from the UK and abroad, to suggest that, at least in some patients with RA, dietary therapy may influence at least the symptoms and possibly the progression of the disease. Since dietary treatment is safe and may reduce or avoid the need for drugs, it is appealing to patients, who are increasingly anxious about potential drug toxicity. It must, however, be medically supervised to avoid misinterpretation of results, to avoid patients taking diets to extremes, with resultant malnutrition, particularly in children, and to prevent patients from persisting with ineffective diets when they should be receiving drug treatment. Medical interest in dietary treatment also ensures that patients discuss their diets with orthodox practitioners rather than being driven by our scepticism into the hands of unqualified people who may exploit patients' interest in the subject.