Arthritis
is a disorder characterized by pain and inflammation of the joints. Although
there are different types of arthritis (psoriatic, rheumatoid, and
osteoarthritis), treatment for all types focuses on reducing inflammation.
Certain
foods often cause painful swelling, and your doctor will likely recommend that
you try an elimination diet to find out which ones bother you the most. There
is no diet that can cure arthritis, but you can have fewer attacks by paying attention
to your diet and eating healthy foods.
Here
are the most common foods that bother people with arthritis. And pay particular
attention to numbers 6 and 7.
1. Dairy products
There
is a type of protein present in a diary product that could irritate the tissues
around the joints. It doesn't bother everyone, but adults don't need a lot of
milk in their diet.
Try
eliminating dairy products to see if your bad arthritis days are getting
shorter. Replacing dairy protein with foods such as nut jars of butter, tofu, quinoa,
lentils, beans and spinach is easy.
2. Added sugars
A
painful condition you want to avoid is inflammation, but consuming high daily
sugar intake leads directly to it.
This
is due to an increase in advanced glycation end products (or AGEs), which occur
during the interaction between the proteins or fats in the body. Ages are
responsible for Inflammation, diabetes, accelerated aging, and increased risk
factors for heart disease.
Processed
sugar also causes the release of the body's inflammatory messengers: cytokines.
3. MSG
Food
additives are remarkably problematic for people with arthritis, and MSG is a very
good example. It is a salt-based powder added to many Asian foods, such as soy
sauce, but not just to Asian foods.
You
can find MSG in many delicious dressings, soup mixes, snacks, and meats. The
main problem is probably the sodium content, which can cause fluid retention
and swelling.
4. Tobacco
Technically
it is not food, but tobacco is very harmful to the body.
Studies
show that smokers are at increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis and are
harmful to joints, bones, and connective tissue. If you don't have arthritis
yet, you can avoid it if you leave now.
If
you've been diagnosed, quit smoking permanently! Smoking causes painful
symptoms; it makes the treatment of arthritis less effective and can cause
complications if there is a need for surgery.
5. Alcohol
Drinking
alcohol often increases the likelihood of developing gout, a disease that can
cause arthritis primarily in the feet.
When
you have gout, uric acid is not metabolized properly, creating small crystals that
would irritate your gout and result in inflammation. Excess alcohol consumption
also forces the liver to work overtime, weakening it and causing more
inflammation.
On
a final note, when you drink too much, you are not mentally prepared to make
wise decisions about your basic health like sleep, proper diet, and exercise.
6. Salt
Another
thing your doctor will recommend you to shy away from is salt, and this is because
of its potential to cause inflammation in your joints.
Salt
doesn't affect everyone the same, but the consumption rate in people differ.
Reducing sodium in your diet is a good idea for several health reasons.
The
best way to do this is to cook most meals at home with whole foods. Packaged
products usually have high salt content, in addition to the disturbing
artificial preservatives.
7. Saturated fat
Consumption
of foods high in saturated fat worsens the inflammation of arthritis,
especially in the fatty tissue (fat). Fat inflammation is also an indicator of
heart disease.
Saturated
fat is mostly loaded in high-fat dairy products, red meat, and fried and
processed foods.
A
study conducted at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2009 found that
significantly reducing the amount of saturated fat in your diet also reduces
inflammation and keeps your body's natural defenses strong.
8. Corn oil / omega-6
Omega
6 fatty acids are needed in our diet for healthy growth and development. However,
we do not need omega-6 as much as new need omega-3 (found in fish oil).
Omega-6
is found in oils such as sunflower, peanuts, grapes, corn, vegetables, soy, and
safflower, as well as in products such as salad dressing and mayonnaise.
Since
excess omega-6 triggers the release of inflammatory chemicals in your body, try
to get a better ratio between omega-6 and omega-3 by switching to olive oil and
improving your diet by adding seeds like flax and pumpkin.
Take a break, don't let's dwell on foods never to eat only, read foods you can eat to ease Arthritis pain.
9. Aspartame
Avoiding aspartame (chemical additive) is a wise
option. We know it's a challenge when you're probably trying to cut down on
added sugar.
But
aspartame does not contain nutrients and, when made in the laboratory, can make
your body react as if a foreign invader had attacked you.
The
result is the dreaded inflammatory response. Not everyone has this sensitivity
to aspartame, but it is quite common and worth a try.
10. Refined carbs
The
white flour present in products like bread, cookies, cakes, and cereals, is so
highly processed that it does not have the nutritional value offered by the
original wheat.
Refined
carbohydrates cause internal inflammation by breaking down into sugar in your
body, which increases cytokines and other pro-inflammatory compounds in the
blood.
Instead,
choose to be healthier by considering a healthier option like whole grains to
bread, rice, cereals, and pasta
11. Food cooked at high temperatures.
Previously,
we talked about AGEs (advanced glycation end-products) and how they cause
inflammation in the body. AGEs also occur when food is heated to a high
temperature.
All
these delicious grilled, fried, or pasteurized dishes release cytokines when
ingested and trigger inflammatory messages throughout the body.
Each
arthritis patient is different, and you will probably find that some of the
items highlighted bother you less than others.
Nevertheless,
it is important to carry out systematic experiments with your diet, with the advice of your doctor.
Understanding your arthritis and your specific triggers can minimize pain and provide a much higher quality of life. There are also foods that are helpful in easing knee and joint pain.
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