Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating autoimmune disorder that mostly affects the small joints of the hands and feet.
It causes painful swelling that progresses into cartilage damage, bone erosion and joint deformity.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects around 400,000 people in the UK.
The condition is known to affect adults at any age, but most commonly starts between the ages of 40 and 50, with women being three times as likely to be affected compared to men.
Some people with arthritis experience periods of intense inflammation, called flares.
There’s no current cure for the condition, but treatments can help manage the condition.
Research has found sipping a common hot drink could help ease the pain.
Green tea contains powerful antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties, with studies showing it may help relieve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
Can green tea help with arthritis?
In the journal Arthritis and Rheumatology, researchers explained how the compound – called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) – helped with arthritic symptoms found in mice being tested.
After giving EGCG to mouse models of RA for 10 days, the team noticed that treatment with the compound led to a significant reduction in ankle swelling.
EGCG is a chemical compound that belongs to a class of flavanols known as catechins. It is most abundant in green tea and the dried leaves of white tea, and the compound is known to have anti-inflammatory properties.
The study concluded that EGCG has high potential as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis because of how effectively the molecule blocks the effects of the disease without disrupting other cellular functions.
"Existing drugs for rheumatoid arthritis are expensive, immunosuppressive and sometimes unsuitable for long-term use," said Salah-uddin Ahmed, the lead researcher in the study.
"This study has opened the field of research into using EGCG for targeting TAK1 - an important signalling protein, through which proinflammatory cytokines transmit their signals to cause inflammation and tissue destruction in rheumatoid arthritis."
A Swedish study published in the National Library of Medicine looked at tea consumption for reducing arthritis symptoms.
The research involved collecting data on tea consumption for 2,237 arthritis cases.
Tea consumption was classified into no (0 cups/day), irregular (less than one cup a day), regular (one to two cups a day), and high (over two cups per day) consumption, and irregular consumption was used as the reference category.
“High tea consumption had an inverse association to the risk of RA compared to irregular consumption, but the association lost statistical significance in the adjusted model,” noted the study.”
This study concluded that a protective effect of high consumption of tea drinkers was evident in helping to reduce arthritis symptoms.
Foods to lower arthritis symptoms
Other foods said to help manage the condition include:
- Fatty fish
- Dark leafy greens
- Nuts
- Olive oil
- Berries
- Garlic and onions.
