A gluten-free vegan diet appears to give protection to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients against cardiovascular problems and stroke.

A randomised study divided 66 RA patients into two groups. 38 volunteers received a gluten-free vegan diet, while 28 were given a well-balanced but non-vegan diet over a period of one year.

Levels of fatty lipid molecules were assessed in blood samples using routine analytical methods. OxidisedLDL and anti-phosphorylcholine factor was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at baseline, at a 3-month interval and again at 12 months.

Those in the gluten-free vegan diet group showed reduced LDL and oxLDL levels and raised antiPC antibodies.

Body-mass index of the volunteers was lowered and levels of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein remained the same.

The team at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm found that none of the indicators differed significantly in the control groups on a conventional diet.

"A gluten-free vegan diet in RA induces changes that are potentially atheroprotective and anti-inflammatory, including decreased LDL and oxLDL levels and raised anti-PC IgM and IgA levels," researchers concluded.

The findings are published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

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