Eat Your Way to Less Arthritis

Every day, you make choices about what to put into your body. However, you may not think much about how different foods affect your health and well-being. Have you considered that mindful eating might help reduce arthritis symptoms like joint pain and stiffness? 

Medical director and pain management expert Haddis T. Hagos, MD, urges you to include healthy foods in your daily eating plan alongside clinical treatment for arthritis. At Pain Management Associates LLC in Greenbelt, Maryland, he treats arthritis with nonsurgical options like physical therapy, activity modification, and joint injections. 

Are you looking to make arthritis-friendly changes to your diet? Here’s how you can eat your way to less arthritis:

Make fruits and veggies the focus of your meals

Starting out with a simple suggestion, you should eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible. Fruits and veggies are packed with vitamins and minerals that your body requires to heal and function well. 

Eating more brightly-colored produce helps to reduce inflammation throughout your body, which may improve joint function and ease arthritis symptoms. These include:

• Oranges
• Bell peppers
• Watermelon
• Carrots
• Spinach
• Apricots
• Mangoes
• Tomatoes
• Squash

Brightly-colored fruits and vegetables like these contain carotenoids, which give them their pigment. Carotenoids are antioxidants that can help reduce oxidative stress, a type of cell damage at the root of many illnesses.  

Include omega-3 fatty acids 

You can get omega-3 fatty acids from fish, fish oil supplements, or other sources like flaxseed. Omega-3 fatty acids have many purported health benefits, and some experts believe they can help lower inflammation associated with arthritis. 

The American Heart Association recommends aiming for 3-4 ounces of fish twice weekly (if you eat fish), and arthritis experts believe more is better. 

Minimize saturated and trans fats

Foods full of saturated and trans fats might worsen chronic inflammation and feed into arthritis symptoms like joint pain and stiffness. To potentially improve arthritis symptoms, keep the following foods to a minimum in your diet: 

• Red meat (e.g., beef and pork)
• Chicken skin
• Full-fat dairy (e.g., butter, ice cream, cheese, and whole milk)
• Pastries
• Fats that are solid at room temperature (e.g., coconut oil and palm oil)
• Deep-fried foods

It can be challenging to eliminate these foods from your diet entirely, so treat yourself to them occasionally, and limit your portion sizes when you do include them. 

Consider the Mediterranean diet

Do you want a more structured eating plan for reducing arthritis symptoms? Consider following the Mediterranean diet. This dietary framework can help lower inflammation in your joints and reduce pressure on your joints by helping you lose weight. 

When following the Mediterranean diet, you can eat foods from these groups:

• Fish
• Nuts 
• Seeds
• Fruits 
• Vegetables
• Olive oil
• Beans
• Whole grains

The Mediterranean diet promotes balanced eating and offers health benefits beyond joint health, including improved heart health. 

Get in touch

Are you interested in managing your arthritis with nonsurgical care? Call Pain Management Associates LLC or request an appointment online today.