Prudent Diet Reduces Risk of RA and Gout
For those inclined to “do something” to take charge of their RA or Gout, here is food-4-thot. I get asked this a lot by patients. The answer boils down to simple things: eat less, exercise more, de-stress. Easier said than done, no? But what piques my interest in this article is the inferred possible causes of developing inflammatory diseases: high BMI (read “fat”) and gut microbiome. Fat cells are not just EasyStore, they enumerate lots of pro-inflammatory signals (adipokines). And certain diet types nurture certain gut bacteria populations (enterotypes), with the “shady sorts” inciting the neuro-immuno-endocrine network towards depression, inflammation and obesity.
I’m hearing this more and more from patients: certain foods UNEQUIVOCALLY aggravate their diseases, be it psoriasis, gout, RA, cutaneous vasculitis even. They literally do their own food/food challenge! There is increasing research, and I won’t be surprised if scientific evidence will soon follow. I suspect the Microbiome’s interplay with our mucosal immune system is key to much of our immunological diseases. I now routinely screen my SpA and refractory RA patients’ stool calprotectin for gut inflammation. My tomorrow’s posts will be on gluten!
Could Old Gout Drug Offer New CV Benefits?
Colchicine use among Gout patients may reduce heart attack and stroke risks.
There is a Retro Renaissance going on. In the high impact journal that is The Straits Times today, Aspirin, statins and Thalidomide are gaining traction for non-traditional uses (eg anti-cancer), even as new mechanisms of action are discovered for them. I believe the stocks are rising for another old drug: Metformin. Watch this space.
How fast your heart beats predicts if you will die early
Your resting heart rate predicts your all-cause mortality over the next 20 years.