I recently read about this research team who did some tests on patients to take a look at their microbiomes. They examined fecal matter from patients who fell into the following three groups: those who were healthy; those who had chronic, treated rheumatoid arthritis; or those who had just been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

What they found was that patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis had a substantially higher number of a bacteria strain called Prevotella copri (P. copri) compared to the healthy individuals and patients with chronic, treated rheumatoid arthritis. Furthermore, growth of P. copri was associated with lower amounts of beneficial gut bacteria.

This is interesting because gut bacteria has been previously linked to autoimmune disorders and inflammation. And although rheumatoid arthritis is genetic, it can also be affected by lifestyle and environmental factors.

So basically, the only common denominator for causation of rheumatoid arthritis is an imbalanced microbiome.

Now, it’s very important to mention that this is still in the early stages of exploration and a lot more work has to be done. For starters, researchers need to learn whether or not elevated P. copri is a cause or consequence of rheumatoid arthritis. Once they learn that, they have to learn how to treat it. It is conceivable, however, that a probiotic supplement might help.

Currently, the known way to improve or encourage a healthy, balanced microbiome is through dietary measures. A healthy, balanced diet is reflected in your microbiome, and eating foods with probiotics and prebiotics is a great way to keep flora energized and effective—and maybe even prevent the onset of arthritis.