Insights & Discussion
Vitamin D and Omega 3 fatty acids supplementation appears to reduce the risk of autoimmune diseases.
In this nationwide, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, 25,871 male and female participants over the ages of 50 and 55 respectively, were given either Vitamin D (2000 IU/day), Omega 3 fatty acids (1000 mg/day), both, or a placebo. Over the median follow-up period of 5.3 years, participants self-reported cases of autoimmune diseases, and these were verified by thorough medical record review.
In the discussion of results, it was found that Vitamin D supplementation, regardless of the presence of Omega 3, seemed to reduce the occurrence of autoimmune diseases by 22%. Meanwhile, Omega 3 supplementation alone didn't show a statistically significant reduction in autoimmune diseases, but it did show a larger effect in reducing autoimmune diseases than the reference arm (that received placebo for both Vitamin D and Omega 3).
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High doses of omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin D supplementation, and dietary sodium restriction showed significant improvement in reducing rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.
2020 Nutrition Reviews Rheumatoid arthritis and dietary interventions: systematic review of clinical trials Philippou E, Petersson SD, Rodomar C, Nikiphorou E
Systematic Review Omega-3 Fatty Acids Rheumatoid Arthritis Vitamin D
The study method involved conducting a systematic review, with all methods prespecified, in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Relevant articles were found on Medline and Embase. Data were extracted from these articles by two independent reviewers, eventually identifying a total of 70 human studies that fit the scope of the research.
The results indicated that the administration of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in high doses led to a decrease in rheumatoid arthritis disease activity, as well reduced failure rates of pharmacotherapy. Also, supplementing with Vitamin D and dietary sodium restriction had beneficial effects on some rheumatoid arthritis outcomes. Fasting resulted in significant but brief subjective improvements. Whilst the Mediterranean diet showed improvements in some rheumatoid arthritis disease activity measures, the results from vegetarian, elimination, peptide, or elemental diets implied that the responses are very individualized.