Foods To Improve Arthritis Symptoms
Certain foods contain the properties to treat the joint-pain and inflammation caused by arthritis.
Arthritis touches an estimated 91 million American adults 30 percent of whom are ages 18 to 64 according to the Arthritis Foundation. The condition, which refers to joint pain or joint disease, can cause pain and long-term joint damage. While this disease has no known cure, providers are understanding more each day about how to treat the joint-pain and inflammation caused by arthritis.
Science and medicine have come a long way in better understanding the disease and what can ease the side effects. Wessam Labib, MD, MPH, director for geriatric medicine in the Department of Family Medicine at Loma Linda University Health, recommends seven foods that can alleviate inflammation and may help reduce some of the joint pain associated with arthritis.
Garlic For Arthritis Why Is It Effective
Arthritis is a disease that might affect you at any age or stage in life. There is no reversing from this condition.
But there are definitely ways to fight it in order to lead an ordinary life. Proper exercise and diet are equally important for arthritic patients as is regular medications.
A number of complementary or alternative therapy have also been stated in ancient texts to help relieve its symptoms.
While most of these remedies do not have a scientific proof-of-concept few have been tested by the researchers and are proving to be highly effective.
One such home-based remedy for arthritic pain and inflammation is Garlic.
Garlic is a highly researched herbal product and has been used for a number of health conditions. It is a widely used and loved spice.
It can even function as an aphrodisiac and is responsible for numerous other medicinal purposes.
There is clinical evidence for the role of garlic in treating conditions like hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, rheumatoid arthritis, and cold. Also, it has been found responsible for the prevention of different types of tumors and atherosclerosis.
It is said to be responsible for strengthening the immune system and thus treating various disorders affecting the cardiovascular system, and liver.
Apparently, it possesses some anti-bacterial, anti-thrombotic and anti-hypertensive properties as well.
The chief factor responsible for these curative effects from garlic are its biologically active ingredients.
Citrus Fruits Cause Inflammation
Some people believe that they should avoid citrus fruits because the acidity is inflammatory. However, this is not the case. In fact, citrus fruits have anti-inflammatory benefits, as well as being rich in vitamin C and antioxidants.
Grapefruit juice can, however, interact with some medicines that doctors use to treat arthritis. People who are undergoing treatment should check with a doctor before incorporating it into their diet.
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Pickled Garlic Health Benefits You Must Know
Garlic is often used as a flavor for cooking. Its useful for medicine in both modern and ancient times. Its used to handle a wide spectrum of conditions and diseases. Garlic has a unique reputation of being a very strong antioxidant loaded with antiviral, microbial and antibiotic features. It is also quite potent for addressing flu and cold as it provides a decongesting effect. It is also a good source of enzymes, vitamins, and minerals which help in boosting immunity. In summary, garlic is one item that offers a host of benefits when used. But, what are the pickled garlic health benefits you should know?
Green Tea: A Nice Cuppa May Sooth Your Joints
Green tea has an abundance of catechins that interrupt the expression of inflammation. Its effect on rheumatoid arthritis has been long studied one such study, published in August 2017 in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, reported that the consumption of green tea offers an overall anti-inflammatory effect. However, most studies have been on small samples. A newer study, published in the March 20, 2020, issue of Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism looked at a real-world, large scale study. Result: A higher intake of green tea was associated with lesser disease activity.
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What Exactly Is Arthritis
Arthritis, or joint inflammation, describes swelling and tenderness of one or more of the joints. Its main symptoms include joint pain, swelling and stiffness. Arthritis is a general term for a group of over 100 diseases causing inflammation and swelling in and around the joints.
Joint inflammation is a natural response of the body to a disease or injury, but becomes arthritis when the inflammation persists in the absence of joint injury or infection. Arthritis usually worsens with age and may even lead to a loss of joint movement.
There are different types of arthritis such as:
- Warm skin over the joints
- Redness of the skin over the joints
- Reduced range of movement.
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Can My Diet Affect Medication
Its important that you take any medication youve been given as youve been told to by your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
Some drugs need to be taken in a specific way, such as before or after food, or with water you should be told about this, but the information leaflet included with your medication will also explain this, so make sure to read this carefully.
Taking certain drugs with food or after youve eaten can help to reduce the risk of certain side effects such as indigestion, stomach ulcers, feeling sick or vomiting. It can also help your body to absorb the drug properly and can make sure its not washed away by food or drink, for example if you use mouthwashes or gels.
Best And Worst Foods For Arthritis In Seniors
Besides osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and rheumatoid arthritis, many other diseases can affect the joints, including Lyme disease, lupus, Sjogren disease, etc. Despite the different types of arthritis in seniors, they all cause similar symptoms. These include joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. The intensity of the symptoms may vary from day to day, making it frustrating to live with. But in addition to exercises and other targeted treatments, you can eat to relieve symptoms and live your best life. What are the best foods for arthritis? And which are the worst?
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Do Any Foods Interact With My Medication
Your doctor should tell you if there are any foods you need to avoid or eat more of while taking the prescribed drugs for your condition. There should also be information in the patient information leaflet included with your drugs.
Complementary treatments, such as supplements or herbal remedies can also interact with certain medications and could increase the risk of side effects. Its important to let your doctor know if you take any complementary treatments.
Some drugs prescribed for arthritis do interact with certain foods. Below youll find information on some of the most common interactions.
Grapefruit
Grapefruit and grapefruit juice contain compounds that can block enzymes in your body. These enzymes are needed to break down certain drugs, but if theyre blocked, this can increase the levels of the drug in your blood. This could then cause new or worse side effects.
This can happen with some drugs to treat arthritis and related conditions, including:
How To Prevent Arthritis And Other Joint Pains
To date, there is no cure for arthritis. However, getting the right treatment approach coupled with eating the right food can help control the symptoms of arthritis from worsening.
There are a lot of medical approaches in alleviating the pain and discomfort caused by arthritis. The best approach for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is interventional pain management.
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What Are The Foods That Cause Inflammation
Along with the understanding anti-inflammatory foods, it is also important to know about foods that cause inflammation. Try to limit these foods as much as possible:
- Sweets, cakes, cookies or soda: Consumption of foods high in sugar content can lead to an inflammation response as well as weight gain and high cholesterol levels.
- High fat and processed red meat : Saturated fat, which is abundantly present in processed meat, is a significant cause of inflammation.
- Butter, whole milk and cheese: These food items contain lots of saturated fats resulting in inflammation. It is best to switch to low-fat dairy products.
- French fries, fried chicken and other fried foods: Deep fried foods can lead to an imbalance between omega-6s and omega-3s resulting in inflammation.
- Coffee creamers, margarine and anything else with trans fats: Trans fats can increase the amount of undesired cholesterol leading to inflammation.
- Wheat, rye and barley: These contain gluten, which may cause an autoimmune inflammatory reaction in some people .
The Garlic Cure For Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease characterized by being an autoimmune, chronic inflammatory condition with symmetrical involvement of multiple joints. However, you can treat this disease with a natural remedy widely used, known as the garlic cure.
Before we begin discussing the natural remedy to treat it, we must mention that rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that seriously affects the joints, which swell, causing a lot of pain and stiffness. If one part of the body, such as one knee, has this condition, the other knee will also be greatly affected.
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It Protects From Side Effects Of Anti
Methoxtrexate is a drug commonly prescribed for the treatment of arthritis.
However, its use is limited as it is known to cause nephrotoxicity.
A study conducted by Ahmed et al. in 2015 determined the effect of garlic extracts in treating methoxtrexate induced nephrotoxicity on an animal model.
It was found that garlic improved renal function and increased renal anti-oxidant enzyme activities.
Thus garlic treatment had a reversible effect upon the nephrotoxicity caused by the anti-arthritis drug.
Non-steroidal drugs used for the treatment of arthritis have shown signs of gastric damage. An animal study conducted by Choi et al. in 2014 on rats showed the protective effects of garlic against such anti-arthritic drugs.
The results strongly suggested that a sulphur containing compound present in garlic exerted gastroprotective activity against acute gastric mucosal damage caused by the anti-arthritis drug.
It suppressed the proinflammatory cytokines and increased production of mucous.
What does this mean? Anti-athritis drugs have shown adverse side effects like nephrotoxicity and gastric mucosal damage. Garlic can be used as an alternative to these drugs as it is a natural product or it can be used in combination with these drugs to suppress their side effects.
How Should They Be Included In The Diet
Well, there is no doubt that onions can be used in every form in the food.
Over the ages, we have been consuming onions either raw or as a boiled vegetable.
However, in order to have the greatest health benefits in case of arthritis, few pointers must be considered.
As stated earlier, the use of red and yellow varieties of onions is more beneficial in case of arthritis as they possess the maximum amounts of flavonoids and antioxidants.
Also, it is important not to peel off a number of outer layers of onion while using them.
It is found that the outer layers of onion contain maximum amounts of bioflavonoids.
Thus removing of the outer layers might lead to loss of up to 20% of much-needed antioxidants and flavonoid molecules .
Again, when using boiled onions, it is important to utilize the boiled water as well. it is because of boiling results in the release of all the important compounds into the boiled water.
Hence in order to avail the health benefits that water needs to be consumed. One must not keep onions sliced or cut in the refrigerator.
Cutting and refrigeration leads to loss of flavour and useful chemicals from the vegetable thus reducing its health benefits.
Apart from this raw supplements of quercetin, the chief bioflavonoid responsible for the positive effects of onion, are available in the market.
However not much health benefits have been noted from these supplements. Thus they are not that widely advised to be used by patients with arthritis.
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Fact: Eat Fish To Curb Inflammation
You cant go wrong with salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines. Theyre loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which are superstars in the fight against tender joints and stiffness. They may even let you cut back on medication with your doctors OK, of course. To get the most benefits, try to eat at least a 3- to 6-ounce serving of fish a couple of times a week.
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How Can I Pickle Garlic
One unique feature of pickled garlic is that it is mellow and has a softer and sweeter flavor. They may not be as strong and effective as pure garlic, but they are quite useful when they used in snacks. When it comes to pickling anything, you need to ask yourself if you want to do it the easy or hard way. The hard way involves canning the pickled garlic. It isnt that difficult, but it usually requires close attention to details. Pickling involves bathing a food item inside brine and allowing it to cure before you eat it. Brine is a combination of vinegar and salt. You may add pepper, sugar, and herbs.
To pickle garlic, you need a clean jar and garlic washed in warm water. It doesnt matter if you washed them the last time you kept them, ensure you wash them again. The next step involves peeling out the garlic cloves and put them into the jar. Then flavor the garlic by adding hot chili pepper or black peppercorns.
You may also use things such as dill, rosemary and bay leaves. You will then have to use the brine after which you add some salt and sugar. Using vinegar will give you different types of flavor. The next thing would be to add some salt and sugar in the sugar. Cover it and refrigerate it for some weeks so that it can cure before it is used.
Does Paleo Help With Arthritis
Judging by all of the responses, it definitely seems like eating paleo could help My favourite comment sums it up nicely: Get your mum on board. Tell her to give it a try for a couple of months just to see. Shell be amazed
Id love to continue the discussion do you have arthritis? Has changing your diet had an impact? Please share your comments below!
Perhaps you avoid nightshades yourself, or have noticed a lot of people do? Is there any reason for avoiding them?
Nightshades are in the Solanaceae family, which comprises 2,800 types of plant. The common nightshades include potatoes , tomatoes, all types of peppers/ capsicum, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, paprika and cayenne. Sweet potatoes are related, but belong to the Convolvulaceae family, so arent classed as a nightshade. Similarly black pepper is not classed as a nightshade as it belongs to the Piperaceae family.
Nightshades contain alkaloids, which the plant produces as a defence mechanism. Some alkaloids have been shown to interact with nerve activity and inflammation, which may impact conditions such as arthritis and gout, as well as gut irritation. Many people have no sensitivities to Nightshades, but those that do may find avoidance very beneficial. Cooking decreases the alkaloid content by up to 50%, so for those with border line sensitivity, this can be a good option.
Do you eat Nightshades? Do you have a sensitivity to them?
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Are Mushrooms Good For Arthritis
Mushrooms are good for arthritis patients as they are rich in nutrients and they retard inflammation. They are the richest vegetarian source of vitamin D, which is important in maintaining healthy bones, muscles, and immunity. Other foods which are good for arthritis are:
- Fatty fish like sardines, salmon, and fresh tuna
- Unsweetened cocoa
- Cherries
Herbs And Spices For Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptom Relief
Herbs and spices can be used as natural remedies to reduce the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis. Find out about dietary options that may help.
Its no secret that rheumatoid arthritis involves inflammation, so adding anti-inflammatory herbs and spices to your diet is a good idea. Admittedly, on their own, these food ingredients arent likely to have a significant impact on easing symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. But as part of an anti-inflammatory diet, consuming certain herbs and spices throughout the day could have an additive effect in reducing inflammation and other symptoms, according to the Arthritis Foundation. And, at the very least, adding them to your recipes will liven up your meals.
In addition, some medicinal herbs can help you manage or even minimize uncomfortable symptoms. What follows are 13 herbs and spices worth considering if you have rheumatoid arthritis.
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