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The standard treatment for rheumatoid arthritis at present is to use drugs that suppress inflammation, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, gold salts and penicillamine. Unfortunately, these can all have various side-effects, and they do little more than suppress – or partially suppress – the symptoms. Corticosteroids, the most effective anti-inflammatory drugs, are only used in severe attacks.

The idea that food intolerance can play a part in causing rheumatoid arthritis is not widely accepted among rheumatologists. However, some specialists in this field report excellent results when they try their patients out on an elimination diet. One of these is Dr Gail Darlington. According to Dr Darlington, about three-quarters of patients show some improvement when they identify culprit foods and eliminate them from their diet. Some of these patients lose their symptoms entirely – a dramatic improvement which drug treatment rarely achieves.

How food intolerance might trigger the inflammation in the joint is still an open question. The idea that immune complexes (consisting of food molecules and their antigens) are deposited in the joint is tempting, but there is no evidence for this at present.

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