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Diet and Arthritis.
Last updated Thursday, July 06, 2006
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About diet and arthritisSeven guidelines for a healthy diet A good diet is important for everyone, but it is especially helpful
for people with arthritis. Experts in diet recommend seven basic
guidelines for a balanced, healthy diet.
- Eat a variety of foods
- Maintain ideal weight
- Avoid too much fat and cholesterol
- Avoid too much sugar
- Eat foods with enough starch and fiber
- Avoid too much sodium
- Drink alcohol in moderation
You can use these guidelines in planning meals every day. A doctor,
nutritionist, or other health care professional can help you tailor
these guidelines for yourself, for instance, by determining your ideal
weight, or teaching you how you can eat more fiber.
Variety
A good diet includes some choices from each of five different groups of foods:
- Breads and cereals
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Poultry, fish, lean meats, or dried beans
- Low-fat milk, cheese, yogurt
Eating a variety of foods gives you the nutrients your body needs.
Nutrients are substances in food that help the body grow and function.
Arthritis can make it harder to get variety in your diet. Fatigue and pain
can lower your appetite. Swollen joints and loss of movement may lead
you to avoid foods, such as vegetables, that need more time or effort
to prepare and cook. Certain kinds of arthritis and some medications can also affect how well your body uses what you eat.
Preparing food
There are many ways to make preparing foods and cooking easier.
Rest while you are preparing meals by planning breaks in between
preparations of different foods. On days that are especially painful,
use convenience foods to reduce the strain of cooking meals. Some
chores, such as peeling or dicing vegetables, are hard on joints that
are painful and have lost some movement. Many new appliances help do
the work for you and protect your joints.
There are health professionals in your community who can help
you learn easier cooking methods. Your doctor can refer you to an
occupational therapist for advice on making cooking easier. Some local
chapters of the Arthritis Foundation also sponsor cooking classes or demonstrations with helpful hints.
Nutrients and medications Some medications for arthritis can affect the amount of certain nutrients in your diet. For example, corticosteroids
cause your body to lose potassium and retain sodium. Antacids,
sometimes taken to reduce stomach irritation, also contain high levels
of sodium as well as magnesium. It is important to know this if you
have kidney problems. Colchicine used for gout can affect how well
vitamin B-12 is absorbed. Penicillamine used for rheumatoid arthritis
lowers levels of copper. For most people, eating a variety of foods
will help keep up the levels of these nutrients.Can food aggravate arthritis? No foods have been definitively shown to cause or exacerbate arthritis
in most individuals. A variety of diets and "hand-me-down" information
exists about certain foods and arthritis, in particular the night shade
plants, but none of it has been proven.
However, there is a rare form of arthritis caused by allergies
to wheat products called "Sprue." Avoiding wheat products will
eliminate the arthritis. Associated features include weight loss,
diarrhea, and osteoporosis. Consult your health care provider if this is a concern.
In addition, gout
can be affected by diet or by excessive amounts of alcohol. In
particular, foods such as brains, kidney, broths, gravies, sardines,
anchovies, liver, and sweetbreads may raise uric levels, which may
aggravate gout. Read our Gout article for more information on diet and gout.
In general, if a person feels strongly that certain foods make them
feel worse, it is not unreasonable to avoid them. For those who want an
in-depth review of this topic, an article by Dr. Henderson and Dr.
Panush in the Rheumatic Clinics of North America in 1999, volume 25, number 4, pages 937-968 can provide information.
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