New research shows that rheumatoid arthritis patients who follow a gluten-free, vegan diet could have a reduced risk of heart attack or stroke.

According to an article published on WebMD, Swedish researchers studied the effects of the diet on a small group of rheumatoid arthritis patients and noted improvement in several markers for heart disease.

“Sticking to a gluten-free vegan diet lowers the most damaging forms of artery-clogging cholesterol and increases levels of antibodies that may be protective against the inflammation that contributes to both RA [rheumatoid arthritis] and heart disease, researchers report in the March 18 issue of Arthritis Research & Therapy.”

The researchers say larger studies are needed to find out exactly which elements of the gluten-free vegan diet offer the greatest benefit. Read more about the study.