It is well-known that significant cause of autoimmune-related arthritis is the formation of antigen-antibody complexes that can float in the blood and get deposited into joints, causing inflammation to inflict a discomfort. 

Another proven cause of such immune complexes is the leakage of incompletely digested protein into the blood stream.

Although chewing is a normal digestive function, food chewed very well can certainly help to minimise the amount of undigested protein that would otherwise cause problems. 

To stay healthy, you need to avoid eating more proteins than your body needs. To avoid too much protein in your dish, you need to alternate foods like beef, chicken, or fish with intake of at least 25 grammes of protein.

People are commonly exposed to animal fats but there are also proteins in some fruits and vegetables.  For example cooked spinach, corn contains approximately 5 grammes of protein. 

It is estimated that a cup of peas contains over 8 grammes of protein and even Irish potato can make up to 5 grammes of protein.

This means you can easily depend on fruits and vegetables to get enough protein and without eating any animal foods at all. 

My view does not call for people to become strict vegans to overcome arthritis but strive to demonstrate how it is possible to eat more proteins than your body needs. Over-consumption of proteins is a critical mistake when addressing autoimmune illness.

Proven clinical evidence shows that animal-based protein especially when cooked at high temperature can lead to antigen-antibody complex formation in people with autoimmune-related arthritis more easily than plant-based protein.

To best support recovery from autoimmune-related arthritis over the long term, It is recommendable to feed on low temperature cooked animal proteins such as steaming or boiling.

People who are already diagnosed of arthritis, we recommend to avoid all animal-based proteins for a period of six months so as to give the digestive tract complete rest. People with chronic arthritis tend to have weakened immune system and cannot afford to digest complex animal proteins. 

It is also advisable to avoid large amounts of protein-dense plant foods such as nuts, seeds, and legumes. These vegetables contain a lot of plant proteins. However, some green vegetables like broccoli and cabbage are good and contain average protein for our daily body needs.

According to nutritionist protocol, you can avoid animal proteins for six months and use light on protein-dense plant foods, then gradually increase your protein intake until you are eating approximately one gramme of protein per day for every two pounds of your body weight, with no more than one major serving of animal-based protein. 

The most recommendable food nutrients that can prevent and reverse autoimmune-related arthritis include vegetables, whole grains, and fruits. 

You can also feed on small amounts of legumes for a period of six months to give your body the rest and nutrients that it needs to support best recovery.

Eat a fresh salad every day that includes colourful vegetables such as tomatoes and carrots, among others. 

Steamed vegetables are also excellent food materials to overcome auto-immune illness. Steaming helps to extract more nutrients from the plant-protein foods. 

Steaming can also soften the fibre found in plant protein foods, which can be helpful if the digestive tract is sensitive to large amounts of raw fiber.

Try eating steamed vegetables with healthy salad dressings or even soups that can serve as nourishing and flavoured sauces. 

Eating vegetables in their raw state allows you to benefit from naturally occurring enzymes that are destroyed with cooking. 

Eating vegetables that are steamed or boiled allows you to eat more of them and extract more nutrients out of them than you can when they are raw. Freshly pressed vegetable juices provide intact enzymes, and because they are nutrients that have already been extracted from fibrous vegetables, they provide a concentrated batch of nutrients that are readily absorbed into your body system to nourish body cells. 

Whole grains like millet and oats can provide you with plenty of complex carbohydrates that can take care of the bulk of daily caloric needs. Whole grains are also rich in B vitamins and a wide range of minerals.

Dr Joseph Kamugisha is a resident oncologist at Jerusalem Hospital, Israel