Drinking moderately can slow down arthritis progress

A new study has found out that moderate drinking is capable of slowing down the progress of arthritis. Research on animals in the past has suggested that alcohol prevents Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). On the other hand, drinking heavily is known to promote inflammation. However it is not certain yet whether drinking moderately slows down RA progression

To examine this, researchers tested 2,908 Swiss adults. These adults were also a part of the national database of arthritis patients. They were followed for four long years and all of them had at least 2 sets of X-rays of their feet and hands over this duration.

Out of these 37% were non drinkers and the rest of them used to drink occasionally. It was found out that those who were occasional drinkers and those who drank only one time a day had less damage progression of their joint than those who did not drink at all. It was also found out that the relationship between damage progressions of joint and drinking was stronger in men than women.

All these findings of the study gave the suggestion that moderate drinking should not be discouraged in RA patients since it slows down the damage progression among joints.