What are your thoughts on diet and OA? Do you find eating (or not eating) certain foods helps with the pain and/or stiffness?
Never in my life have I had to watch what I eat but since I can't exercise the way I used to with a bad foot, I need to watch my diet now!! I'd like to eat foods that are healthy but maybe there are things out there that will also give me some relief. Here is a very good article related to diet and arthritis. I've actually followed this pretty close for about a year now and it does seem to help. I also take Joint Advance supplement and it definately helps. I hope everyone finds this helpful....
Tommy
Hey, if standing on your head and rubbing your stomach three times works, go for it.
However, I've done a lot of research and I have found absolutely no valid evidence to support a link between diet and inflammatory arthritic conditions.
Hi Popoki,
For me, it seems like the foods that help most are lots of veggies at least a couple times a day (usually lunch and dinner), with broccoli somewhere in the mix 3 or 4 times a week. For snacks, I've gone completely to fruits like apples and grapes, and nuts. Things that are high in antioxidants. I've done away with pretty much all processed foods. Other than tea, I don't do caffiene at all anymore (lots of water). Also, I'm not a big drinker, but I do enjoy a glass of red wine 3 or 4 times a week.
Much like you, I can't do all the excercise that I use to be able to do, but I have found that the more I can exercise the better my pain is. I've switched from running to lower impact cardio like the eliptical machines, and I do more weights to build strength in my legs and lower back. That seems to help with my hip pain the most.
Tommy
Hi Popoki,
An anti-inflammatory diet has been amazing at reducing my arthritic pain, the results from being disciplined and changing my diet have been worth it. I also take SierraSil, it is patented as a nutritional supplement for OA.
http://www.sierrasil.com Exercise helps also, yoga and walking are a part of my daily routine.
Sam1234, you have done your research. Have you given diet and exercise an honest go?
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02012/anti-inflammatory-diet
RosaleeY2010-01-06 14:54:12I'd hate to feel the kind of pain I'd be in if I didn't eat a pretty good diet and take my supplements. I still drink coffee, but only one cup per day. I'm going to try putting a green tea bag in my water bottle while I work to see if that does anything. I usually drink just water, but maybe a smidge of caffeine and antioxidants will help me cope with standing better.
The anti-inflammation diet is the same diet our Dr. recommended to lower my DH's cholesterol. Except that I'm a little concerned about eating too much soy since it's linked to estrogen production and my family has a long history of breast cancer, so I don't eat much soy; maybe a few times a month.
Check out the inflammatory ratings of foods and spices on nutritiondata.self.com.
I try to eat whatever's hugely anti-inflammatory (mackerel, avocado, onion, sweet potato)
and take ginger, tumeric, and garlic capsules. It seems to help immensely.
I'm diabetic so my diet is pretty restricted. And yes, exercise helps.
However, if you think about it, if all that was needed to alleviate the pain of OA was to modify the diet, this would be the first treament any doctor would prescribe. And it's not.
Sorry, but I think the diet is wishful thinking. But like I said, if standing on your head makes you feel better, then you should do it.
Having spent more than a few hours reviewing the scientific literature on OA and diet, here are some thoughts.
Medical science doesn't really understand OA yet. Doctors lack a solid model of the disease, and existing therapies are rather limited.
Epidemiological studies and limited intervention studies have pointed to the following as possibly being protective of OA (this is a very partial list):
Vitamin K (leafy green vegetables)
Vitamin D (sunshine, fatty fish, liver)
Omega-3 fats (ocean fish, flax, etc)
Avocado
Calorie restriction / weight loss
Exercise
For most people, these will not be be miracle cures (but at this point, nothing else seems to work all that well either). If dietary changes make modest changes to OA while also improving the diet with respect to other disease risk factors, that seems to be a good approach, IMO.
It is interesting to note that calorie restriction and weight loss is often beneficial even before much weight is lost - suggesting that a diet-induced
metabolic changes may be important even before weight loss leads to reduced impact on weight bearing joints. This is consistent with what we know about the inflammatory nature of OA and the effects of caloric excess.
OA involves systemic and local inflammation, cartilage synthesis and degradation, bone breakdown and reformation. The idea that diet may affect these is logical, although very few controlled trials have been done yet. It's not that there is abundant evidence that diet cannot improve OA - the absence of evidence is not the same thing as evidence of absence.
[QUOTE=Sam1234]
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com