Polyphenols found in green tea may both prevent arthritis and reduce the severity of symptoms according to a study published in the April 1999 edition of the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers compared mice who were fed water containing 0.2% green tea polyphenols with mice who received pure water after the mice were injected with collagen in order to induce arthritis.

A study on mice, presented in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007, has suggested that moderate alcohol consumption may actually protect against arthritis.

Researchers at the Gothenburg University in Sweden injected mice with collagen to initiate collagen induced arthritis (CIA) in the mice. The mice were injected at the beginning of the experiment and received an additional injection after three weeks. CIA development in mice is as established model of rheumatoid arthritis in humans.

It is well known that arthritis sufferers are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. A new study has found that switching to a vegan diet, free of gluten, may both reduce the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in those with the illness.

The study, lead by researchers at the Karolisnka Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, followed 66 volunteers who had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

Fruits and vegetables that are rich in certain carotenoids may reduce an individuals chances of developing arthritis according to recent evidence.

One such study was conducted by researchers at the University of Manchester and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2005, and involved following 25,000 participants from the EPIC study between 1993 and 2001. During the study, 88 people developed inflammatory polyarthritis, which was defined as arthritis in 2 or more joint groups.