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Arthritis And Diet: Arthritis means inflammation of joints, arthritis is an inflammatory condition that can affect joints, may cause muscle pains, may affect internal organs, lungs, heart, nervous system etc. You cannot rely on a promising diet or specific food to miraculously cure arthritis, still, some conditions can be helped by making active changes to your diet. In a conversation with Jagran English, Dr Shahzeene Dhuria, Consultant Rheumatologist, Medanta Lucknow explained how diet helps in managing arthritis and its symptoms. 

Healthy Weight And Arthritis

Having a healthy weight can help the patient cope with arthritis, extra loads of weight can lead to more wear and tear of the joints leading to reduced flexibility and early damage to joints, especially if the affected joints include your hips, knees, feet or spine. It has been observed that there is a connection between overweight patients having an increased risk of developing osteoarthritis.

Healthy Eating And Arthritis

Having a balanced diet in your daily routine, while consuming an adequate fluid intake can also result in high energy levels, it can also help you maintain a healthy body weight and make you feel healthier, which may improve your symptoms.
 
There are a few specific diets which can be followed and will be beneficial:
 
Gouty arthritis: Specifically for patients of gouty arthritis it is recommended to stop animal sources of proteins which include chicken, mutton, seafood, fish etc. Alcohol should also be avoided.

Inflammatory arthritis (Rheumatoid arthritis/Spondyloarthritis): There is a very strong relation observed between Tobacco chewing or Smoking with the onset of arthritis and worsening of joint pains.

Myths: There is no conclusive evidence that the following foods trigger or aggravate the symptoms associated with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions:

  • Foods that are acidic in nature- like lemons oranges and tomatoes
  • ‘Nightshade’ foods – such as tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplants
  • Dairy foods
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Diet For Arthritis (Image Credits: Canva)

The above-mentioned food contains essential nutrients for your body, deficiency of those nutrients can cause health issues.

If any of the food items worsens the symptoms of a particular patient, then that can be avoided.
How to manage your diet when you have arthritis:

  • Eat a well-balanced diet to get all the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients needed.
  • Include a variety of fruits and vegetables, protein foods, dairy, nuts, pulses, cereals and grains, which helps to maintain general good health and a healthy weight.
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Calcium in adequate amounts is essential in your diet to avoid suffering from osteoporosis in your later life.
  • Keep your weight within your target range.
  • Maintain a food diary – if you think a particular food aggravates your condition, it can help to keep a diary of your food intake and symptoms. After a month, you may have some idea about which food could be causing symptoms.

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