Foods to Beat Arthritis

Hippocrates once said, “Let food be thy medicine” and if you suffer from arthritis, this may be some really good advice for you. Studies have shown that certain foods can help relieve tender joints, reduce morning stiffness and may even help reduce the amount of medication for arthritis sufferers. However, there are some foods that can actually worsen the pain and inflammation caused by arthritis. Even though there is no cure for this painful disease, eating an anti-inflammatory diet can help relieve some of the symptoms and may also lower your risk for other chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and maybe even Alzheimer’s disease.

Check out these anti-inflammatory foods that can be beneficial to those who suffer from arthritis:

Oily Fish, such as herring, salmon, mackerel and tuna contain the omega-3 fatty acids (or fish oil supplements) and are considered to be among the most powerful anti-inflammatory compounds in food. Studies show that fish oil combats joint pain and morning stiffness and that people with RA were able to lower their dose of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs if they took fish oil. Shellfish, another source of omega-3 fatty acids, can help improve walking pace, grip, strength, joint stiffness and pain in people with OA when they ate mussels.

In addition, supplementing your diet with a combination of fish oil and olive oil can result in greater relief of joint pain, hand grip, strength, morning stiffness and fatigue than taking just fish oil alone.

Tart cherries may be another food to beat arthritis. They have the highest anti-inflammatory content of any food. Scientists have found that in a study of women with inflammatory OA, drinking tart cherry juice twice a day for two weeks significantly reduced their markers of inflammation. In an earlier study, OA patients found that a daily dose of tart cherries (extract form) reduced OA pain by more than 20 percent for the majority of men and women in the study.

If you are taking medications, speak with your healthcare provider or pharmacist before making major changes to your diet because some foods have negative interactions with certain drugs. For more information regarding foods that may be harmful to your arthritis condition click here: http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/foods-to-avoid-with-arthritis?utm_medium=yahhp

Source:

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/diet-defeat-arthritis