Our gut Microbiome composes 70% of our immune system. One of the principal functions of the immune system is to produce inflammation as a warning and as a healing mechanism. Said inflammation may be overdone, which may lead to problems throughout the body, including our joints.
Think of a “Gut-Joint Axis.” This is why a plant-based diet is anti-inflammatory: it regulates inflammation for the better by feeding the good bacteria in our gut. Meat and sugar-based diets promote and dysregulate this inflammatory process by feeding inflammation-producing bacteria.
References
Momentum Builds for Microbiome as Rheumatoid Arthritis Trigger
Second study published in a week’s time to implicate intestinal bacteria in joint pathology. by John Gever; MedPage, October 26, 2022
Another study has suggested that a component of the gut microbiome may contribute to development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) — but now it’s a different bug from those previously implicated in the condition. In a series of animal experiments and clinical studies, the culprit appeared to be an intestinal organism in the genus Subdoligranulum, according to Kristine A. Kuhn, MD, PhD, of the University of Colorado in Aurora, and colleagues. As reported in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers confirmed “cross-reactivity between RA-relevant autoantigens and bacterial taxa in the closely related families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae.” Both are represented in the typical human microbiome and the latter includes Subdoligranulum.
