Aching for Coffee

Health Articles

Aching for a Cup of Coffee

Richard J B Willis

BUC Health Ministries Director

Fed up with the aches and pains of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)? Want to cheer yourself up with a cup of coffee? Think again, your coffee may be contributing to the problem since a link has been established between coffee drinking and an increase in RA symptoms.

RA is an inflammatory condition affecting and deforming the various joints in the body, causing them to become painful, stiff and swollen. Usually starting in early adulthood, RA is an autoimmune disorder (in which the body's own immune system attacks body tissue) and takes the form of recurring moderate attacks.

A study of 19,000 people with RA in Finland, at the National Public Health Institute (Helsinki) showed that the number of cups of coffee drank each day is directly linked to an increase in rheumatoid factor positive RA (one of around 200 or so types of RA). People drinking 4 or more cups of coffee daily were twice as likely to develop the symptoms of rheumatoid factor positive RA. The same study showed that diets low in the trace element selenium and low levels of the antioxidant alpha-tocopheral contributed to an increased risk of all forms of arthritis.

Studies in the USA found that drinking decaffeinated coffee also had the effect of increasing RA risk. These studies, involving 31,000 women aged 55-69 years, showed that drinking 4 or more cups of decaffeinated coffee per day increased the risk of developing RA 2.5 times above that of non-coffee users.

Research into controlling the symptoms of RA, at the Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm) revealed that a vegan, gluten-free diet was helpful in relieving RA discomfort but not joint disformity. Nine months after starting the vegan diet 34.3 per cent of the people with RA were very much improved, compared with only 3.8 per cent of the non-vegan group. It is thought that the benefits of the vegan, gluten-free diet may be due to a reduction in the immunoreactivity to food antigens.

A Belgian study also highlights the importance of dietary factors in the management of arthritic symptoms. Tablets made from avocado and soybean oil extracts helped control osteoarthritic pain. Other studies have found that people with RA who omit foods from the nightshade family ease their symptoms. These foods include potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines, and peppers (as well as tobacco!).

Whilst the causes of RA are not known, the knowledge of things which might affect the symptoms assume major importance. Experimentation with fairly common lifestyle factors may help the 8 million or so RA sufferers in the UK find relief, and reduce a fifth of all GP visits.