Lifestyle and Rheumatic Diseases

Author: Wendy Walrabenstein, PhD · Registered dietitian (Netherlands)
Medically reviewed by: Carlijn Wagenaar, MD, PhD
Last updated: September 23, 2026

Can Plants for Health help with rheumatic conditions?

Living with a rheumatic disease can have a major impact on daily life. Many people experience ongoing pain, stiffness, and fatigue. Medication is often necessary, but it does not always relieve all symptoms.

Do you live with a rheumatic disease and wonder whether Plants for Health could support you? Perhaps you have gout, lupus, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, or Sjögren’s syndrome. If so, this is a very logical question.

More and more people with rheumatic diseases are looking for ways to improve their health themselves. They want to feel better, regain energy, and reduce inflammation where possible. This is exactly where lifestyle becomes important.

In this article, we explain what scientific research shows about lifestyle, plant-based nutrition, and different rheumatic diseases. We also describe what this knowledge can mean for you in everyday life.

Why lifestyle is so important in rheumatic diseases

Many rheumatic diseases share an important underlying factor: chronic low-grade inflammation. This type of inflammation can be aggravated by unhealthy nutrition, too little physical activity, long-term stress, and poor sleep quality.

These lifestyle factors influence not only how you feel on a daily basis, but also how active the disease is. The positive aspect is that lifestyle choices are something you can influence yourself.

For this reason, the European rheumatology recommendations (EULAR) state that a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, a healthy and balanced diet, and a healthy body weight, is important for people with rheumatic diseases, alongside their medical treatment (20). Improving lifestyle habits can contribute to less inflammation, a better quality of life, and more energy. It also lowers the risk of developing other chronic conditions.

What does the Plants for Joints study show?

The Plants for Joints studies, led by the founders of Plants for Health, investigated a 16-week lifestyle program consisting of a whole-food plant-based diet, physical activity, and attention to sleep and stress management. Two randomized controlled trials were carried out: one among people with rheumatoid arthritis and one among people with hip or knee osteoarthritis and metabolic syndrome (1,2).

The results were clear and encouraging. In people with rheumatoid arthritis, disease activity decreased significantly compared with the control group (1). In people with osteoarthritis, pain and stiffness were reduced, and physical functioning improved (2).

Beyond joint-related outcomes, participants in both studies lost more weight and reduced their waist circumference, and their LDL cholesterol and HbA1c (a measure of long-term blood sugar) improved. In the osteoarthritis study, the inflammatory marker CRP also decreased (1,2). Because inflammation plays a central role in many rheumatic diseases, it is logical to explore whether this lifestyle approach may also benefit other conditions.

Gout and a plant-based diet

What Does Research Say About Gout?

Scientific research shows that a healthy plant-based dietary pattern is linked to a lower risk of gout. In a large American study, people whose diet consisted mainly of healthy plant foods, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts, had about a 21% lower risk of developing gout than people who ate the fewest of these foods (3).

In contrast, a plant-based diet that is high in refined and processed foods was associated with a higher risk of gout (3). A higher intake of meat and seafood is also associated with an increased risk (4,5), while soy foods and other legumes, such as lentils, are linked to a lower risk (4).

Purines and gout explained

In people with gout, reducing purine intake is often recommended. Purines are broken down in the body into uric acid. When uric acid levels become too high, crystals can accumulate in the joints and trigger painful gout attacks.

A plant-based diet is generally low in purines. Purines are mainly found in red meat, organ meats, certain types of fish and shellfish, and beer. Alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages also raise uric acid levels, through other mechanisms. Although some plant foods contain purines, research shows that purine-rich vegetables do not increase the risk of gout in the way that meat and seafood do (5).

What did Plants for Health find in gout?

In a small pilot study by the Plants for Health team, a 16-week Mediterranean-style whole-food plant-based diet led to lower uric acid levels. Participants also reported less pain and less severe gout symptoms. The number of gout flares did not differ between the groups during this short study (7).

In addition, improvements were seen in body weight, waist circumference, and LDL cholesterol (7). These changes matter, because people with gout have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (6).

Inflammatory rheumatic diseases

Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus)

For systemic lupus erythematosus, less research is available than for other rheumatic diseases. In a large study among Seventh-day Adventists in North America, vegetarians tended to be less likely to report being treated for lupus than non-vegetarians (8). In people with lupus, closer adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with lower disease activity (9).

A higher intake of dietary fiber was linked to a lower risk of active disease (10). A small case series describes three women with lupus and Sjögren’s syndrome whose symptoms largely disappeared on a mostly raw, whole-food plant-based diet. Two of them remained symptom-free for more than six years without recent medication use (11). Individual cases like these are encouraging, but they do not show that a diet works for everyone. Regular exercise helps reduce fatigue and improves fitness and physical functioning. Lifestyle changes complement medical treatment; they do not replace it (12).

Psoriatic Arthritis

In psoriatic arthritis, lower adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with higher disease activity (13). In psoriasis, the skin condition that often accompanies psoriatic arthritis, closer adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with less severe disease (14). Two case reports describe people with psoriatic arthritis whose symptoms disappeared after switching to a whole-food plant-based diet, in one case after a medically supervised water-only fast. One was able to stop methotrexate, the other corticosteroids (15,16). These are individual cases: most people with psoriatic arthritis continue to need medication.

Physical activity also plays an important role. Regular exercise helps reduce pain and supports daily functioning (18).

Axial Spondyloarthritis

In a study among people with axial spondyloarthritis, participants who moved closer to a Mediterranean diet after receiving dietary advice more often saw their disease activity improve (17). Exercise has a positive effect on pain and physical function, and in axial spondyloarthritis also on disease activity (18).

Sjögren’s Syndrome

For Sjögren’s syndrome, research on nutrition and lifestyle is still limited. In women with Sjögren’s syndrome, a more anti-inflammatory diet was associated with a healthier body composition and better cholesterol levels, but not with lower disease activity (19). The case series mentioned above included women whose Sjögren’s symptoms, such as dry eyes and a dry mouth, improved on a plant-based diet (11).

More research is needed. Even so, a healthy lifestyle is safe and supports your overall health.

What does this mean for you?

Although more research is needed, one conclusion stands out clearly: a healthy lifestyle has few risks and many benefits.

For people living with rheumatic diseases, lifestyle changes can contribute to lower inflammation, more energy, better physical fitness, and an improved quality of life. At the same time, they reduce the risk of developing other chronic diseases.

For this reason, Plants for Health may be a valuable addition to standard medical treatment for a wide range of rheumatic diseases. Always discuss changes to your diet or medication with your doctor or rheumatologist. Read more about The Inflammation Practice Program and discover how a plant-based lifestyle can support your health.