Medical Foods for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Medical foods are prescription medicines created from food-based, natural molecules. They deliver highly purified, pharmaceutical-grade ingredients to the body to help restore its own balance and normal metabolic processes.
Prescription medical foods contain highly-concentrated and purified natural ingredients such as flavonoids, the healthy nutrients found in foods like green tea, red wine and dark chocolate. Flavonoids are proven to have anti-inflammatory effects and powerful antioxidants; however, a change in diet cannot pack the same powerful punch as one highly-concentrated medical food capsule or tablet.
Medical foods are intended for the metabolic management of a disease and must be used under a doctor’s supervision, according to federal laws.
The following medical foods may help manage the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumate for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumate is for patients on methotrexate (MTX) therapy for RA and other autoimmune diseases.
Rheumate is a prescription medical food product for the clinical dietary management of the metabolic effects of methotrexate therapy to be used under a physician’s supervision.
Rheumate replenishes folate by delivering a bioavailable form (L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate) that doesn’t need to be converted by the body. This is different from folic acid, which has to be converted to active folate before the body can use it. The folate in Rheumate is superior because MTX can decrease the conversion of folic acid into folate. Also, nearly half of the US population has a genetic defect (MTHFR polymorphism) that blocks the conversion of folic acid into the active form, folate.
Rheumate is a mixture of active folate (L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate), curcumin and vitamin B-12. Curcumin is a powerful antioxidant and addresses methotrexate induced oxidative stress (too many free radicals in the body). Vitamin B- 12 is added to avoid masking borderline deficiency of B-12 from taking folate supplements.
Take one capsule by mouth once or twice a day as directed by a physician.
