A study of 1,388 women with hand arthritis, average age [of] 61, showed that they had higher levels in their colons of the bacteria Bilophila and Desulfovibrio that try to invade their colon cells, as well as a lower level of the genus Roseburia that do not invade colon cells (Arthritis Rheumatol, March 2021).

An anti-inflammatory lifestyle has been shown to help grow healthful bacteria in your colon, which can help to treat rheumatoid arthritis (J. Rheumatol, 2008;35(8):1477-9). If you have rheumatoid arthritis or any other type of arthritis, anti-inflammatory lifestyle habits should be an important part of your treatment program. For many years, exercise has been recommended as part of the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and a recent summary of studies confirms that vigorous exercise is beneficial (Arthritis & Rheumatology, April 2019). An anti-inflammatory diet high in plants and low in meat and sugar (Rheum Dis, 2017;76(8):1357-64), and weight control (Arthritis Res Ther, 2015;17:86), also reduce symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which your own immune system attacks and damages your joints. Nobody knows why some people develop rheumatoid arthritis, while others do not. However, we do know that the joint damage is caused by exactly the same cells and chemicals called cytokines that your body uses to kill germs when they try to invade your body. When your immune system stays active all the time, it is called inflammation (Curr Opin Rheumatol, 2014 Jan;26(1):101-7). Everything that turns on your immune system is called pro-inflammatory and everything that dampens down your immune system is called anti-inflammatory.