These foods are all culprits for causing inflammation which can result in joint pain. They can be challenging to cut out of your diet, but once you start feeling better, it will become a lot easier.
Limit These Foods For Joint Pain Relief
- Processed Sugar: This includes not only the sugar itself but all the processed foods that contain sugar such as pastries, chocolate, candy, soda, fruit juices, etc. When you eat sugar, it releases cytokines, which cause inflammation and joint pain. Just remember it might not be listed as sugar on labels, so look for other ingredients such as maltose, corn syrup, sucrose, and fructose. Unfortunately, you also should avoid many sugar alternatives, including aspartame and sucralose.
- Saturated Fats: Many foods contain saturated fats, including high-fat dairy products like cheese, butter and ice creams, fatty meats like lamb and beef, and the skin of poultry. Saturated fats cause inflammation and are doubly damaging when combined with sugar.
- Fried Foods: Fried foods are usually made with cooking oils high in omega-6 fatty acids such as corn, canola, safflower, and soybean. These oils increase inflammation, which in turn increases joint pain.
- Gluten: White flour is found in many products, especially breads, pastas, baked goods, and many processed foods. It suppresses prostaglandin E3 that contributes to omega-3 deficiencies (not to be confused with omega-6), which causes inflammation. You also will want to avoid wheat, barley, and rye as they also contain gluten.
- Alcohol: Cutting alcohol out completely is your safest bet to reduce inflammation and ease joint pain.
As a bonus, by avoiding these foods, you will lose weight, which can reduce pressure on your joints and reduce joint pain.
Eat More of These Foods
Foods that can help promote joint health include:
- Fatty Fish: Fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and trout have high omega-3 fatty acid content that acts as an anti-inflammatory. If you are vegan, choose flax seed, chia seeds, and organic soybeans as an alternative.
- Berries: Replace sugary snacks with an assortment of berries such as strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries that contain antioxidants to decrease inflammation.
- Olive Oil: The oleocanthal in olive oil can work much like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs without the side effects.
- Organic Green Tea: Green tea is an effective anti-inflammatory that also changes arthritis-related immune responses.
- Turmeric and Ginger: These spices have been used as an Asian medicine to treat inflammation for centuries and have also been linked to the prevention of both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.
- Cruciferous Vegetables: This family of vegetables includes broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and kale and provides a powerful combination of vitamins, fiber and sulforaphane, an antioxidant which blocks enzymes that cause inflammation and joint pain.
By replacing these unhealthy foods with our healthy food suggestions, you will not only reduce joint pain but also lose weight and feel much healthier overall.
If you would like information tips to help reduce joint pain or for information on our treatments for joint pain, contact our office today.