Role of diet in rheumatoid arthritis, gout and reducing systemic inflammation with Dr. Micah Yu

Joining us today is Dr. Micah Yu, an integrative rheumatologist who incorporates complementary medicine with traditional rheumatology. Dr. Yu is board certified in internal medicine and lifestyle medicine and holds a Masters in healthcare administration and biomedical sciences. He just completed his rheumatology fellowship at Loma Linda University and is currently taking further courses in functional medicine. He strives to blend traditional with alternative medicine to give the best treatment plans for his patients. 

In this episode we cover: 

• His experience being diagnosed with three autoimmune diseases and how he discovered plant-based nutrition 
• What exactly rheumatology entails 
• Common symptoms associated with rheumatic diseases and how they’re treated 
• The role of genetics and environmental factors 
• Nutritional effects on rheumatic disease 
• The mechanisms behind why fibre is so health promoting 
• His thoughts on lectins and inflammation 
• The problem with high animal protein diets 
• His thoughts on fish and omega 3s 
• Important lifestyle factors that influence flair-ups 
• The most essential nutritional changes patients with rheumatoid arthritis should make 
• Whether people with gout should avoid plant sources of purines 
• Specific foods that help lower inflammation 

You can connect with Dr. Yu on Instagram: @myautoimmunemd, Twitter: @myautoimmunemd and Facebook: @MYAutoimmuneMD 

Dr. Yu and her partner, Dr. Melissa Mondalla have a joint website here: https://www.drlifestyle.org and his personal website is here: https://micahyumd.com 

Episode resources: 

• Book an appointment with Micah through IOPBM: https://iopbm.com/pages/dr-micah-yu-personal-page 
• Film: Forks over Knives 
• Nutrients. 2019: Uric acid and plant-based nutrition 
• Front Nutr. 2019: Nutrition interventions in rheumatoid arthritis: the potential use of plant-based diets. A review 
• Open Rheumatol J. 2018: Role of diet in influencing rheumatoid arthritis disease activity 
• Arthritis. 2015: Whole foods, plant-based diet alleviates the symptoms of osteoarthritis 

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IG: Muzammil: @dr.plantbased, Cass: @plant_fueled. 

Facebook: @theplantprescription. 

Music credit: Scott Holmes. 

*Please appreciate that this information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, always seek the opinion of a physician or qualified healthcare provider!*