With a direct connection between the foods that we eat and the severity of symptoms experienced by arthritis sufferers proven beyond a doubt, it mean you really should be paying a lot of attention to your rheumatoid arthritis diet.
You may be on 'orthodox' prescription drug to alleviate and manage your condition but there is still so much more that you can do to help your body.
What Triggers Your Arthritis Pain
The first thing you really should do is keep a log of foods that appear to trigger your symptoms. These culprit foods will change from person to person, which is why a log or diary is useful to track down the ones that do it for you. Once you have your list, you can then cut these foods out of your diet, avoiding needless arthritis pain.
Next up: some foods that should be part of a rheumatoid arthritis diet.
Food That Are Good
As with any diet, the 'take in plenty of fluid' rule applies. Don't forget to keep your liquid levels up, like water (best), soups, unsweetened juices and herbal or green teas. You may be dehydrated and not know it, except that you feel tired. Here's a tip; if you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated. Get into the habit of drinking whether or not you're thirsty.
Most fruit and vegetables are packed with healthy anti oxidants which have a great healing effect, but there are a few to watch out for. Just avoid the ones recognized to worsen arthritic symptoms, and focus on the good food items like apples and avocados. Don't peel your apples as the skin contains 5 times the anti oxidants than the rest of the apple. And finally, dark green leafy vegetables are better than paler vegetables.
What is in Your Cabinet?
You need to add to your rheumatoid arthritis diet foods that have an anti-inflammatory outcome. This will reduce inflammation in your joints and decrease pain. Two of the most powerful anti-inflammatory foods are in all probability already in your kitchen cabinet. These two are:
Garlic: Eat more of this pungent bulb, as it's full of anti-inflammatories. Eat it raw if you can, as cooking destroys some of the anti-oxidants. If you really have an aversion to the taste, take garlic supplements.
Ginger: Add ginger to your food items or infuse it in hot water to make a fragrant tea. It's a little on the peppery side, and adds a warming effect to foods.
Foods to Avoid
Some of the foods that are most commonly linked with agitating rheumatoid arthritis are things like:
Fruit and Vegetables: You may want to keep away from citrus (lemons, oranges, grapefruits), and also tomatoes. These foods are very acidic, which appears to cause more frequent flare-ups.
Meat: The meats to steer clear of are beef, pork, bacon and lamb. Essentially, stay away from meats containing saturated fats. If you cannot do without the rare steak or chop, be sure to cut away any visible fat before consuming.
But remember that various people will have various responses to many types of foods. This is why your list of foods to do away with from your rheumatoid arthritis diet will be helpful.
FREE Information on How to Reduce Arthritis Pan Naturally
Prescription drugs are an option, but here's more FREE arthritis information and how you can feel better naturally.
categories: arthritis diet,rheumatoid arthritis,arthritis foods,arthritis symptoms,arthritis
Posted under arthritis
This post was written by David Nettles on January 3, 2010
