A new controlled trial at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm suggests that following a gluten-free, vegan diet could provide people with rheumatoid arthritis some protection from strokes and heart attack risks.

The results of this vegan diet trial will be good news to twenty million people globally who suffer from the pain of rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease attributed to the body attacking its own cells after confusing healthy tissues with foreign substances.

Heart attacks and strokes are the leading cause of death for rheumatoid arthritis patients due to the inflammation caused by the disease affecting the patient’s arteries.

This new research has discovered that those who stuck to a gluten-free, vegan diet had lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, bad cholesterol) however the researchers believe the same result may be achieved with a diet that just excludes gluten found in wheat, oats, rye and barley as well as animal products.

Vegans do not use or consume animal products of any kind. They are estimated to total less than 1.5% of the U.S. population. Strict vegan diets are pure types of vegetarian diets which are credited with lowering the risk of high blood pressure, prostate cancer, colon cancer, heart attack, high blood cholesterol and stroke. However, vegan diets can be low in levels of calcium, iodine, vitamin B12 and vitamin D and so Vegans are encouraged to take dietary supplements.