Aching from arthritis?
Relief is as near as your kitchen, according to three just-published books that claim you can cure, or ease, arthritis symptoms through your diet.
The authors point to familiar magic bullets, including antioxidants and bioflavonoids, found in fruits and vegetables and already touted as helpful to good health ` from staving off old age to helping prevent cancer.
But it's not so simple, many doctors say. "There is no one magic food, diet or supplement that will cure or even dramatically improve your arthritis," says Dr. Doyt Conn, senior vice president of medical affairs for the Arthritis Foundation.
The latest spate of books continues decades-long debates about food and its connection with arthritis. With 40 million Americans - nearly one in every six - affected by one or more of the 100-plus types of arthritis-related problems, there's an audience for anything that claims to ease chronic pain.
Doctors, in fact, do consider diet important in treating arthritis and don't disregard food-related research. But many argue that enough clinical studies haven't been done to prove specific claims.
"Through the years, people have tried a lot of different diets," says Dr. Marc Hochberg, head of the rheumatology division at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Some eliminated foods with high acid content, like citrus and tomatoes. Some eliminated whole food groups. The problem is, there are so few well-done studies out there that can support the claims."
To support their positions, the authors, who aren't rheumatologists, rely on selected studies, and they note that medical science is limited in what it can offer. By changing your diet, they write, you can help yourself.
"If you suffer from the chronic pain of osteoarthritis, your doctor will probably tell you there's noting to be done except take painkillers that only mask the symptoms and can make you sick," says Brenda Adderly, who wrote "The Arthritis Cure Cookbook" (LifeLine Press, $24.95) with Lissa De Angelis. "But there's more you can do."
Adderly, who has a master's degree in health administration, and Drs. Joseph Kandel and David Sudderth, neurologists and authors of "The Anti-Arthritis Diet" (Prima Health, $16) focus on easing symptoms of osteoarthritis, which affects the joint cartilage and is the most common type.
