Diet for Osteoarthritis: What Foods to Eat and Avoid?

Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis that causes a person to suffer from joint pain, and it is common among older people. We tend to ignore this problem until it becomes a source of intense discomfort and irritation in daily life.

So, how can we make amends in our life to spend a merrier old age?

Besides medication and therapy, following a proper diet for osteoarthritis can help minimise the symptoms and pain. This blog will explain the condition and list of foods to eat and avoid.

Recovering from osteoarthritis is a slow process and therefore requires patience. To prevent osteoarthritis, it is essential to strengthen your bones. To do this, you will need to incorporate healthy foods into your diet.

Therefore, add these foods to your osteoarthritis diet to lead a life free from joint pains.

1. Green Vegetables

Vegetables are rich in protein, vitamins, antioxidants and various other nutrients. Dark leafy greens are rich in Vitamin D and can strengthen your bones, muscles and tissues. Therefore, preventing wear and tear of the cartilage in your joints.

A vegetable diet helps to keep your weight under control. This lets you control obesity, a factor contributing to osteoarthritis.

2. Foods Rich in Vitamin C

Vitamin C produces collagen that helps with bone growth and maintaining healthy joints. This prevents the wearing of joints and cartilage present here.

Therefore, adding foods rich in vitamin C is an essential part of an osteoarthritis diet. Citrus fruits such as orange, lime, red peppers, strawberries, kale and cabbages are abundant with vitamin C.

3. Foods With Omega-3 and Fatty Acid

Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids help your body boost immunity and fight against diseases. In addition, omega-3 also ensures strong bone and muscle growth. Therefore omega-3-rich foods are usually present in the diet of osteoarthritis patients.

Oily fishes are a healthy source of omega-3 fatty acids. Adding one fatty fish per week can help protect your bones from the painful impacts of osteoarthritis. Tuna, sardines, salmons and tilapia are a few examples of omega-3 fishes.

However, if you follow a vegetarian diet, opt for flax seeds oil, chia seeds, walnuts, and seaweeds to add omega-3 to your diet.

4. Olive Oil

Excessive consumption of food with regular oil (with high saturated fat) can lead to obesity. As we know, gaining more weight increases pressure on your joints. This can damage the cartilage between the joints, leading to swelling and inflammation. Over time, it can worsen the effects of osteoarthritis.

In contrast, olive oil contains ibuprofen and oleocanthal to aid you from inflammatory diseases. Olive oil is also a friend to your digestive system.

The best part, olive oil is rich in flavour and lets you prepare your food with significantly less oil. You are safe from heart disease and obesity as your oil intake falls. In addition, nutrients present in olive oil also benefit your body in multiple ways.

5. Dairy Products

As we know, milk is a complete food and, thus, a valuable part of a balanced diet. In addition, calcium and vitamin D content in milk and milk products strengthens your bones.

Adding dairy products to your daily diet lowers osteoarthritis pain and saves you from being its victim. Low-fat dairy products let you get these benefits while controlling weight gain.

To manage obesity, you may opt for low-fat milk in your osteoarthritis diet plan.

6. Dry Fruits and Nuts

Nuts contain the necessary fats your body needs to sustain. Therefore, you must add nuts to your daily diet whether or not you have arthritis.

Dry fruits like almonds, walnut and hazelnut are suitable for patients suffering from cholesterol for their "good fat" constituency. Daily consumption of these nuts and dry fruits does not make you obese. On the contrary, they protect your body from heart diseases. In addition, dry fruits and nuts help build immunity to combat infections and foreign invasion.

You can crunch 2-3 nuts as it is daily or add them to your daily salads or fruit smoothies.

7. Saffron

Saffron, or "Kesar", is a popular spice in any Asian household. It contains crocin which is an anti-inflammatory agent that protects the body against inflammatory disorders and minimises osteoarthritis symptoms.

Saffron is also loaded with antioxidants that help detoxify your body. So a pinch of saffron in your meal will help your body benefit from these medical qualities.

Obesity and weak joints can aggravate the pains of osteoarthritis. Therefore, you will want to opt for an osteoarthritis diet and avoid the following food items:

1. Refined Carbs

White bread, white rice, white flour and pasta contain a high amount of refined carbs. These can quickly increase your blood sugar level and cause inflammation.

Excessive food intake with refined carbs can make you obese, which adds pressure to your joints. As a result, you become more prone to joint pains and osteoarthritis.

You can replace refined carbs with whole-grain oatmeal in your diet. Foods like brown rice and brown bread are healthy options for your osteoarthritis diet plan.

2. Saturated Fats

Red meat, pizza, and burger have saturated fats. They don't readily break down and dissolve in your blood. Instead, saturated fats clog your arteries and make it difficult for your heart to pump blood. This results in several coronary issues like high blood cholesterol and heart attack.

Reducing saturated fats from your diet lowers your chance of inching towards obesity or weak muscles. Therefore, it is a significant step toward an effective osteoarthritis diet.

3. Packed Foods

Packed foods like chips contain trans-fat and preservatives that can trigger inflammation disorders. Quite often, inflammation triggers osteoarthritis.

Excessive consumption of packed foods can increase the chances of obesity, fatty liver and osteoarthritis in the long run. Hence, if you want to keep your knees pain-free till old age, avoid consuming packaged food items.

4. Excess Salts

Foods rich in salt can make you more prone to osteoarthritis. It increases blood pressure and causes irritation in the joints, which can lead to swelling.

Therefore while planning your osteoarthritis diet, ensure low salt content in your foods to impact your bone health.

5. Excessive Caffeine

Consuming coffee in moderate quantities can benefit your body in many ways. However, too much consumption of caffeine can lead to worse consequences.

Caffeine is not just addictive; it can also trigger inflammatory reactions in your body. In addition, frequent coffee intake can increase heart rate, insomnia, anxiety and digestive issues.

It also increases the chances of your bones being more prone to osteoarthritis. Thus, it is essential to control your coffee habits for an effective diet for osteoarthritis.

Given below are certain factors that you need to be mindful of when formulating a diet plan for Osteoarthritis:

• Make Sure It Matches Your Eating Style: Before making a dietary plan, ask yourself whether it requires some special preparation or cooking or whether it matches the way you prefer to eat. Chances of success are more if your diet accommodates your eating style and lifestyle demands.
• Ensure That It Suits Your Finances: The affordability of food items in a diet plan determines if you can easily follow it. Ensure you prepare a dietary plan that is financially sustainable.
• Check if It Is Financially Viable: The easy availability of food items in a dietary plan lays the foundation for its success. If the food items are not easily available, you will not be able to sustain the plan for a long time.
• Look at the Cooking Time: If your diet plan involves recipes, check your timetable to see if you have the time to cook the meals. Otherwise, you will want to have an alternative that you can easily prepare on a busy day.

Listed below are the key points to remember before preparing a diet plan:

• People who suffer from Osteoarthritis can consider swimming as it is a safe exercise. The water supports the body weight and helps in reducing the tension over the joints.
• Maintaining consistency is very important in exercising and dieting.
• If possible, consult specialists who are going to make a customised diet plan for Osteoarthritis and suggest an exercise regime.
• Use a smaller plate to limit your portions.
• An interesting way to make eating vegetables an enjoyable experience is to fill up half your plate with fresh vegetables of different colours. 

Along with a good diet for osteoarthritis, you need to keep your body physically fit. Physical exercises for different joints of your body prevent their deterioration. Yoga also helps ease joint pains and improve the flexibility of your muscles. Take these small steps and implement the above food items in your diet for osteoarthritis to live a joint pain-free life.