Joint health

So, when we are looking at the dietary guidelines for arthritis we have to look at a balanced meal to provide all the nutrients required to keep our bones healthy.

Last week, we learnt that leaky gut leads to autoimmune conditions, and Rheumatoid Arthritis (or RA) is one of them, where the inflammation starts after the immune system starts attacking healthy cells in the body. Gut issues that lead to malnutrition as well as stress are some of the major causes of arthritis.

So, when we are looking at the dietary guidelines for arthritis we have to look at a balanced meal to provide all the nutrients required to keep our bones healthy. When we look at healing, it’s not just about the addition of nutrients but it’s also about restricting or avoiding certain food options that might trigger pain in the body; like proinflammatory foods that generally are high on sugar, saturated fats and transfatty acids.

Some guidelines to remedy aches:

• Incorporate foods which are high in antioxidants as well as alkaline in nature, which let the body balance its own pH level and keep one’s pain levels in check.
• Try to add colourful veggies like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, asparagus, lettuce, spinach, carrot, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and so on. Opt for fruits such as cherries, cranberries, varied berries, plums, oranges, grapes, pomegranate and pears.
• Omega 3 fats from flaxseeds, walnuts, flax oil, fatty fish, etc work on controlling the inflammation in the body which helps in controlling pain.
• Minerals copper and magnesium are really important for our body to improve bone health, strengthening your muscles, cartilage and tendons around your joints.
• Check with your healthcare professional in case you need supplementation for Vitamin D and calcium.
• Movement is important to keep the blood circulation going.
• Focus on getting quality sleep.