Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease, which affects approximately 1% of the world’s adult population. It is characterized by the inflammation of synovial tissue from multiple articulations, leading to tissue destruction, pain, deformities and reduced quality of life. RA etiology is complex and largely unknown, although studies support the influence of genetic and environmental factors on its pathogenesis. According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, RA is categorized under the “Bi” or impediment disease, which means a group of diseases caused by the invasion of wind, cold, dampness, or heat pathogen on the meridians involving muscles, sinews, bones, and joints, manifested by local pain, soreness, heaviness, or hotness, and even articular swelling, stiffness, and deformities, also referring to arthralgia. According to Chinese nutritional therapy, all patients with pain in the joints should avoid the consumption of dairy products. Purpose: To demonstrate that patient with rheumatoid arthritis need to avoid the ingestion of dairy products. Methods: Through an extensive literature review by PubMed and NCBI on rheumatoid arthritis in Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine and the report of a clinical case demonstrating the importance of dietary counseling avoiding the ingestion of dairy products in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis patients. This patient is a 26-year-old male, with diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis since 5 years ago, and was using immunosuppressive medications and corticosteroids to control the pains in all joints. He began to treat his pains with a Chinese medicine doctor who advises him to avoid all dairy products, cold water, raw food and sweets. The second group of foods that was orientated to avoid was fried foods, chocolate, honey, melted cheese, coconut, alcoholic beverages and the third group of foods to avoid was coffee, soda and matte tea. The patient also was submitted to auricular acupuncture with apex ear bloodletting and radiesthesia procedure. All his seven chakra´s were in the lowest level of energy (rated 1 out of 8) and he was medicated with high diluted medications for a period of one year or more. Results: The patient improved from his symptoms after the oriental medicine tools and avoiding all dairy products and after less one month of treatment he was able to withdrawn his high concentrated medications (corticosteroids and immune suppressant medications) and never need to use them anymore. Conclusion: Rheumatoid arthritis patients should be advised to avoid the consumption of dairy products because all the patients’ symptoms were normally attributed to the disease but, thought this case report, the author is demonstrating the necessity of take out all dairy products from the patients’ diet to improve all the symptoms related to pain in rheumatoid arthritis.
Journal of Orthopaedic Disorders received 9 citations as per Google Scholar report