 Hello everyone, I am Dr. Shalu Haseen Gagneja, consultant rheumatologist at Manipal Hospital, Palam Vihar. I deal with patients who have autoimmune disorders or inflammatory arthritis that is pain and swelling in the joints. So today I would be talking about a very interesting topic and that is what diet needs to be taken in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. When patients come to me, their first question is what food should be taken, they are not interested in medications, more in the diet. I would like to tell you here that medication is the baseline. So regular medication is very important to avoid complications in rheumatoid arthritis. However, diet also plays an important role and helps in healing faster. So in diet, I will be talking about two parts. First is what to eat and the second would be what not to eat. So what to eat? This is just general knowledge, common sense. What to eat? We need to eat healthy fruits, fresh fruits, green vegetables, nuts, all these are good. These are known to be anti-inflammatory and help in healing of the joints faster. Along with the medication, again I would like to emphasize and of course there are certain foods which are good in omega 3 fatty acids such as fish and non-vegetarian food and again nuts, olives, flaxseed, chia seeds which are good for vegetarian people. So in general, all these foods apart from rheumatoid arthritis, they are also good for the general population. So there is no rocket science here that what should be eaten and what not. So just a pure healthy diet would be good along with exercise. Now coming to what not to eat. So this is something which I really need to emphasize as a lot of patients when they come to me, they are practically on a diet of just some soups and vegetables without any spices. So I often tell them that you are ill and along with that you are not taking a good diet. So that is adding on to your disease, there is lack of vitamins and minerals because of this. A lot of people from their relatives, friends, they hear a lot of things and stop eating practically everything. So what we need to know here is what not to eat is again common sense. What you don't need to eat is fried food, oily food, food which is rich in butter, oil, ghee and certain foods like alcohol, smoking should be absolutely no. So these are the things which should not be taken and foods which are high in sugar content such as bakery foods. All these foods can lead to more inflammation and should be avoided in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. And in general also these foods can lead to increase weight and again cause joint damage indirectly. So again these should be avoided. Now coming to a third point which is very interesting, some patients tell me that you know after taking kadhi, I am sure everybody knows about it, they have joint pains or some other food when they take some food in the morning they have more joint pains. My simple answer would be to that that if you feel that yes some vegetable or some food is causing problem you can avoid that. However, no books say that certain foods can cause problem or cannot but if there is certain food which is causing problem to you avoid it otherwise if there is no problem you can eat it without any restriction. So to summarize I would like to say is just a good healthy diet without much restrictions and along with physical activity, exercise, weight loss and the last but not the least regular medication. All these factors together will help you in leading a very normal life without any complications and you can live just as a other person who does not have rheumatoid arthritis. So as world arthritis day is coming up I would like to say all is in your hands. So take action now, take your medications regularly and leave and live a pain free life. Thank you.