Intermittent fasting aids some outcomes for postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis

Intermittent fasting may benefit antioxidant and inflammatory markers in postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a study.

Aryan Tavakoli and colleagues randomly assigned 44 postmenopausal women (with overweight or obesity) with rheumatoid arthritis to either following a 16:8 intermittent fasting diet or their usual diet.

The researchers found that the intermittent fasting group showed significant decreases in serum malondialdehyde levels and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and increased catalase levels versus the control group. There were also significant decreases seen in the liver enzymes aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase in the intermittent fasting group.

"In conclusion, these findings indicate that intermittent fasting may offer a valuable nonpharmacological approach to managing rheumatoid arthritis in this specific population, addressing both the primary disease symptoms and associated metabolic complications," the authors write.

"While further research is needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms and long-term effects, this study provides strong evidence for the potential of intermittent fasting as an adjunct therapy in the management of rheumatoid arthritis, particularly in postmenopausal women who are overweight and obese."

Here is my personal story, experience.
After attending three Christmas parties the second week in December I weighed 213 pounds.
I am 5’9” and 61 years old.
I had never been that weight prior in my life.

So, I called a buddy who has lost over thirty pounds due to intermittent fasting and asked him what exactly he was doing to accomplish this feat.

He doesn’t eat from Sunday after dinner until Tuesday morning. Just drinks black coffee, water and tea.
He repeats this again from Wednesday night after dinner until Friday morning
So, he is fasting about 36 hours each time.
The weekend and other days he eats and drinks normally.
I followed these exact guidelines.
However, I also have not had any alcohol since December 28th.

I had my annual physical about a week ago.
I weighed 195 two days ago.
My total cholesterol dropped from 290 to 206.
My HDL good cholesterol stayed the same.
My LDL bad cholesterol dropped 40 points.
I have had genetically high cholesterol my entire adult life.
It has been over 200 since I was 25.
My trigriserides are also down some.
Although they were never an issue.

Needless to say my doctor was shocked and wanted to know what I was doing differently.
So, I am totally sold on intermittent fasting.
It works.
My wife is also doing it with me.
It really helps to have a partner for support.

The numbers speak for themselves.
My next goal is 189.
When I make that it will be 179-175 which is what my weight should be for a person of my height.

I’m 73 and started doing 16:8 intermittent fasting in 2021. Prior to that, arthritis in my hands was sometimes so bad I could barely hold a pen, and in my wrist such that I had a hard time doing any exercise that put weight on my hands. I was sometimes using Voltaren, and other times Advil. Intermittent fasting has made a big difference, one that I was not expecting. I cannot remember the last time I had arthritis in my hands such that it bothered me at all. This is just common osteoarthritis, not rheumatoid arthritis, so maybe it works the same way on osteoarthritis.

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