If you’ve ever woken up with achy and stiff joints, it can really make your morning much longer. Now just imagine that you spend all day with that feeling, except it’s much more painful. This is what’s known as arthritis, which affects your joints through inflammation, causing pain, swelling and many other symptoms. There are more than 100 types of arthritis, with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid being the most common of the bunch.
There are plenty of ways that you can treat arthritis, although there is no known cure. The best way that you can relieve joint pain caused by arthritis is sticking to a specific diet. Even if you don’t have arthritis, eating a proper diet is helpful in preventing this disorder from ever happening to you. Let’s take a look at some of the foods that you should be eating on a weekly basis, and ones that you want to cut out from your diet completely to relieve arthritis.
Cherries
Sweet cherries, tart cherries, it doesn’t matter what types of cherries you’re eating, as they’re all helpful for arthritis. The benefits of cherries have been known for generations, and have withstood the test of time. Simply drinking cherry juice was also shown to have benefits, as studies concluded that people who drank 16 ounces of cherry juice for six weeks showed large reduction in pain and stiffness in their joints.
Even taking a small amount in a separate study showed that more than half of the patients reduced their pain significantly. Cherries are also fantastic for those that suffer from gout pain, as they reduce flare ups by around 50 percent within just two days. Many of the participants in these studies were given cherry juice or pills, but simply eating cherries was also effective for pain reduction.
Broccoli
Pretty much all vegetables are going to be good at relieving arthritis symptoms, especially the green ones. Among the vegetables that help the most, though, is broccoli. Broccoli contains a chemical called sulforaphane that isn’t found too commonly in other foods. This chemical blocks inflammation and can even further damage, which also means that it’s great for preventing arthritis in the first place.
Even though broccoli does contain sulforaphane, you can take supplements that equal a larger amount that will give you the maximum benefits. Doctors have said that the ideal amount of sulforaphane would mean that you have to eat more than five pounds of broccoli. You don’t have to eat that much to get this helpful chemical, and any little bit certainly helps more than avoiding broccoli altogether!
Cantaloupe
Cantaloupe is one of the sweetest and most delicious fruits that you can find, and it just happens to be incredibly good for you in a lot of different ways. Cantaloupe has been shown to help boost your skin and immune system, while also being able to help prevent cancer! The cancer preventing phytochemicals within cantaloupe will also help your joints and ease arthritis symptoms.
These phytochemicals are anti-inflammatory by nature, which reduces the oxidative stress in your bones. People say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and cantaloupe is a fantastic way to get your day started. It’s also easy to eat cantaloupe as a snack or even dessert, making this a versatile food both in terms of health benefits and culinary wise.
Fish
Just like cantaloupe, eating fish has many benefits outside of arthritis relief that includes reducing your chances of cancer and boosting your brain to prevent neurological diseases. Most fish, including salmon and trout, contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. While the name not might suggest healthiness, it’s actually one of the best things that you can add to your diet. In terms of helping arthritis pain, omega-3 fatty acids prevent inflammation by blocking leukocytes and cytokines in your body.
This means that not only can you reduce your arthritis symptoms after they’ve already started, but you can prevent them from happening in the first place. Doctors say that omega-3 works as an anti-inflammatory on a cellular level, and is one of the more potent anti-inflammatories known to man. Doctors say that you should be eating smaller fish to get the maximum benefit since they’re known to contain less mercury, which keeps your brain and nervous system in check. Mackerel, trout, salmon and herring are all fine examples of fish that bring the most benefits with the fewest risks.
Kidney Beans
Professionals say that people with arthritis that want to relieve their symptoms should aim at eating one cup of beans, twice each week. Beans contain many of the phytonutrients that we talked about earlier, as well as a high amount of fiber that can help just about any aspect of your health. Protein in beans also supports your muscles, further relieving pain that you might be feeling, especially in your legs.
There of course are many different types of beans, and doctors say that red kidney beans are the best that you can get. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, kidney beans contain more antioxidants and have more anti-inflammatory properties than other beans. If you don’t have access to kidney beans, don’t worry, as there are still plenty of benefits for relieving arthritis by eating other types of beans.
Olive Oil
While more of an ingredient than a food, there’s a chance that you’re getting more olive oil in your diet than you realize. If you’re not getting much, consider adding more since it’s great for arthritis, even when just swallowing a spoonful. Olive oil contains oleocanthal that prevents two major inflammatory enzymes from producing in your body. Researchers have said that olive oil has the same characteristics of ibuprofen, but works even faster!
Olive oil was shown to have a significant improvement for patients that had both chronic inflammation and acute inflammation. The amount that was used for patients was 3.5 teaspoons, which is actually quite a bit, especially in terms of calories. You don’t have to take that much at a time, and make sure not to heat olive oil so that it maintains its ability to prevent inflammation.
Garlic
Like olive oil, garlic is another ingredient that you don’t need to eat a lot of at once to see an improvement to your arthritis symptoms. Garlic is shown to reduce swelling in people of any form of arthritis no matter how you’re eating it. Garlic prevents inflammation, while also blocking microbes and oxidants from attacking your body. Garlic certainly has an overall benefit for your health, and studies showed that nearly 90 percent of patients with arthritis that took garlic saw an improvement to their symptoms.
Foods to Avoid
While all of these foods we mentioned are going to improve your quality of life if you have arthritis, there are certain ones that you want to steer clear of, as they can trigger flare ups. These foods cause inflammation in your body, and don’t have much nutritional value in terms of vitamins and minerals that can counteract some of the symptoms. Foods to avoid include:
- Sugary Foods (Such as Candy and Soda)
- Any Fried Foods (Such as Chicken and Frozen Dinners)
- Foods with High Sodium (And Preservatives)
- Most Dairy Products (Except Low or Non-Fat Dairy)
- Grilled Meats
- Corn Oil
- Alcohol
As long as you’re sticking to the foods we listed earlier and avoiding these ones, you should enjoy the benefits of being free from arthritis pain. If you suffer from arthritis, you certainly know how much it can affect your life. Even if you don’t have arthritis, sticking to this diet can make sure that you never have to know what it’s like!