How to lose weight with rheumatoid arthritis?
Aside from the obvious health dangers of obesity, carrying excess weight puts additional strain on already painful joints in those with RA. It also raises the chances of developing RA comorbidities, including osteoporosis and heart disease. That’s why it’s important to reduce any excess weight and maintain a healthy weight once you’ve achieved your target.
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Here are a few types of rheumatoid arthritis that can affect the human body,
Seropositive RA:
Positive anti-CCP and RF blood tests indicate a seropositive RA diagnosis. Anti-CCP is a test for antibodies that attack healthy cells in the body, causing inflammation.
Rheumatoid arthritis’s early symptoms last a lifetime and might improve or worsen at any time, producing swelling, pain, and stiffness in the joints. Multiple joints will be damaged and will usually be symmetrically impacted (for example, both knees are usually affected instead of just one).
Seropositive RA is thought to be more severe and progressive than seronegative RA. Seropositive RA is linked to increased joint damage, deformity, rheumatoid nodules, vasculitis, lung problems, and extra-articular symptoms.
Seronegative Arthritis:
Anti-CCP and RA antibodies are absent in seronegative rheumatoid arthritis, which is less prevalent than seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. In a research from the early 2000s, 12 out of every 100,000 RA patients were seronegative, rising to 20 per 100,000 years later.
The symptoms of this kind of RA are similar to those of classic RA; however, they are often milder and more unpredictable. The signs and symptoms of seronegative RA, such as morning stiffness, joint stiffness, swelling, pain, and symmetrical involvement of numerous joints, are used to make the diagnosis.
Systemic symptoms, including fever and tiredness, are prevalent in seropositive RA. Seronegative RA patients are less prone to develop rheumatoid nodules, vasculitis, or lung problems.
Juvenile RA:
Juvenile RA, also known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), is a kind of RA that affects adolescents under the age of 16.
While growing pains are common in children, the pain, stiffness, and oedema associated with JIA are symptoms of the disease that require treatment. Fever, rash, and enlarged lymph nodes are all symptoms of JIA in children.
JIA treatment aims to keep the child active and social by reducing inflammation and pain. Medication and treatment are used to treat JIA. Surgery may be necessary in some cases.
Although RA is a serious, lifelong disease, it is possible to retain a good quality of life with the correct treatment. Keeping note of your own symptoms and flares might assist you and your doctor in determining how effective your medicine is. While knowing your RA type won’t impact your treatment, understanding the various types might help you set realistic expectations.
Is losing weight with rheumatoid arthritis possible?
Though losing weight can assist with rheumatoid arthritis, dieting can be tough. Here are six tips to lose weight and keep it off.
Indulge in foods that reduce inflammation:
Plants, such as vegetables and fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes, and herbs and spices, provide the majority of these nutrients. An anti-inflammatory diet can assist if you’re attempting to lose weight, but it’s especially vital if you have arthritis. These foods can help your body deal with normal inflammation as well as the excessive inflammation associated with inflammatory arthritis.
Consuming a low-calorie diet food:
Choose largely fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and low-fat dairy items to consume fewer calories:
- Fibre-rich foods will make you feel fuller, allowing you to eat fewer calories.
- Sugar, salt, and bad fat should all be avoided in your diet. To compensate for the absence of flavour when the fat is eliminated, they are frequently laced with salt or sugar. Take a look at the labels.)
- You can, for example, use blackstrap molasses instead of sugar. While molasses is still a type of sugar, it also includes magnesium, an antioxidant.
Portion control:
You can’t eat too much just because you’re eating healthy meals. These meals still have calories in them. There are still some good fats in there, so keep your portion sizes in check. Speak to your doctor about the best way to lose weight with rheumatoid arthritis.
Performing exercises that don’t cause much pain to the joint
When your joints hurt and you’re tired, it’s hard to get motivated to exercise, yet exercises that help you lose weight and is often suggested for joint pain symptoms. Low-impact exercises like strolling, stationary cycling, ballet barre workouts, and Pilates may make exercising more manageable. Water aerobics in a heated pool is a great option because the warm water is pleasant and can help ease arthritic pain and stiffness.
Muscle exercises:
You should strengthen the muscles around rheumatoid arthritis-affected joints in addition to low-impact aerobic workouts. Muscle strength will help you accomplish daily duties more effortlessly by improving joint stability. Strengthening exercises can be done with anything from lightweight therapeutic bands to medicine balls, dumbbells, and resistance machines. Reach out to the best rheumatologist in Coimbatore to undergo advanced rheumatology treatment.
Make a note of what you eat:
Keeping a meal diary is recommended by many weight reduction professionals. It’s a good idea to write down everything you eat, including how much and when you eat it, and then go over it again; you might be eating a lot more than you know, which could explain why the bathroom scale isn’t moving. Be honest with yourself when you fill out your meal journal. A food diary might also help you keep track of foods that trigger symptom flare-ups.
Why is it important to reduce the extra weight if you have rheumatoid arthritis?
In the case of arthritis, losing weight is critical because fat tissues release cytokines that can trigger inflammation in the body, aggravating the disease’s symptoms. Obesity and arthritis do not mix, according to studies, because excess weight can wreak havoc on your joints.
Weight loss for rheumatoid arthritis sufferers can relieve stress on arthritic joints. A lower BMI has also been demonstrated to minimize the risk of RA. Adults who are obese and have rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to become handicapped earlier than those who maintain a healthy diet food for weight loss. This paradox might be difficult for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other serious conditions to reconcile.