It’s inspiring to see how much current scientific research focuses on the role of the gut in both health and disease. Researchers are continuously shedding light on just how important those little gut microbes are in promoting and maintaining health and how gut imbalances are closely linked to many chronic illnesses.
For some time now, researchers have been especially interested in the link between gut imbalance and autoimmune diseases such as ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis.
But what about rheumatoid arthritis (RA)? This chronic inflammatory disorder affects the joints, causing painful swelling and can even lead to bone erosion, joint deformity, low red blood cell count, inflammation around the lungs and inflammation around the heart. Just like the diseases previously listed, RA is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system mistakes your own cells, tissues and organs as a threat and attacks them head on.
Could RA also be linked to an imbalanced microbiome?
In a study published last month in Nature Medicine, researchers discovered that there is, in fact, a very strong connection between altered gut microbes and RA.
They compared the fecal, dental and saliva samples of people with RA to those of a healthy control group. Gut microbial imbalances were found in the RA subjects’ samples, revealing less of one kind of bacteria and too much of another when compared with the healthy subjects’ samples.
The researchers also discovered that the gut microbes of those with RA were so greatly altered that even the transport and metabolism of iron, sulfer, zinc and arginine were impaired in their remaining bacteria.
Luckily, research has shown that oral probiotics can help restore the gut’s beneficial bacteria and help reduce inflammation in those with RA. A 2014 study of women with RA showed that after 8 weeks of taking oral probiotics, inflammatory markers, tenderness and swelling of joints decreased.
While probiotics are not a cure for RA, they are certainly an easy and side effect-free means of helping decrease inflammation in the body and restoring the gut back to a healthier state.
Adding fermented vegetables (especially home-made sauerkraut) to one’s diet is another way to reintroduce good microbes back into the gut, and is even more effective than probiotics in doing so. Click here for my fermented vegetables recipe.
The link between RA and gut health drives home how important it is to nurture those gut microbes – through natural, wholesome nutrition, probiotics and fermented vegetables; by avoiding antibiotics unless absolutely necessary; and by avoiding GMO, pesticides, RF and EMF radiation whenever possible.
Sources:
“Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Mayoclinic.org.
“Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Wikipedia.org.
Image: canva.com
Clinically diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 28, Pam chose an alternative approach to recovery. Now decades later and still symptom free, she coaches others on how to treat the root cause of chronic disease, using a holistic approach. She can teach you how, too.
Pam is the author of Become a Wellness Champion and founder of Live Disease Free. She is a wellness expert, coach and speaker.
The Live Disease Free Academy has helped hundreds of Wellness Champions in over 15 countries take charge of their health and experience profound improvements in their life.
