Arthritis: The Dietary Do’s And The Don’ts

Contributed by – Healthians Team

Did you know that there are more than 100 types of arthritis?

Generally used as a synonym for joint pains, stiffness and inflammation arthritis is a major health problem globally. Severe arthritis causes chronic pain, difficulty in walking and climbing stairs; everyday activities may seem impossible for a person suffering from severe arthritis. The most common types of arthritis are:

• Oesteoarthritis- The most common type of arthritis caused due to damage, breakage and wearing down of the cartilage which further leads to severe joint problems like swelling, pain, stiffness of joints. Although the elderly or aged people are the most common victims of this disorder, it can also affect the adults and the children.
• Gouty Arthritis– More commonly known as gout is identified with sudden and excruciating attacks of joint pains.
•  Rheumatoid Arthritis– An autoimmune disorder where the immune system mistakenly attack  the joints and body’s tissues. It causes severe damage, painful swelling and can eventually lead to joint deformity.

Arthritis can be really scary but few changes in our daily diet can help us tackle the problem. All of us know the magic of healthy eating, our daily habits can make or break our health. It is important to know about the right kinds of foods to understand what should be eaten and what should be avoided.

The Dietary Do’s For Arthritis

Medicines can never be enough, inorder to stay healthy and fight chronic disease like arthritis our dietary habits play a crucial role. The important steps that are absolutely necessary to fight arthritis are:

• Add more calcium rich foods in your diet like milk products, spinach, fenugreek leaves etc.
• Include ghee (Clarified butter) in your diet as it helps in providing lubrication and reducing inflammation in joint areas ( recommended 3 tsp in a day)
• Increase fluid intake helps to avoid the accumulation of toxic waste products like uric acid which causes hyperuricemia
•  Antioxidants in your diet help control the inflammation and bring relief, foods like whole grains, nuts, oilseeds, fruits, green leafy vegetables, tea, fish etc. are highly recommended
• Aim for a weight slightly lower than the ideal body weight to reduce the burden on the joints
• Include turmeric, blackpepper, green tea in your diet as they have anti- inflammatory actions
• Use flaxseeds, sunflowers seeds  for their abundance in Omega -6 fatty acids as it reduces stiffness , swelling and soreness
• Exposure to sun for atleast 40 mins per day

The Dietary Don’ts For Arthritis

The dietary don’ts are extremely important as by avoiding few foods one can reduce the effect of arthritis. The important don’ts are:

• Avoid junk foods as it depletes our hdl ( high density lipo-protien)stores
• Stop having iron rich foods along with calcium rich foods as it hinders calcium absorption
• Too much consumption of potatoes, brinjal and tomatoes can also cause joint pain due to presence of toxic
• Avoid alcohol intake in case of gouty arthritis as it interferes with excretory mechanism of uric acid
• Avoid staying indoors for longer time as sun exposure enhance calcium absorption and bone strengthening

Few really small changes in our diet can bring really huge results. It is extremely important to take care of your health, so start today with these small but important changes.