Diet & Arthritis
A structural, impairing, and chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder, arthritis affects around 1% of the world’s population. It can adversely affect one’s quality of life while also raising the morbidity level and decreasing life expectancy. People usually associate arthritis with aging, but it’s a condition that affects both children and adults all over the world.
Arthritis is a general term that can include over 150 kinds of conditions affecting the muscles, bones and joints, but the two most common types are Rheumatoid arthritis and Osteoarthritis.
For decades now, researchers have been trying to study the association between diet and arthritis. While it is true that a particular diet or ‘miracle food’ cannot prove as a remedy for arthritis, it is still possible to ease certain symptoms if you adjust your diet.
Based on the research done so far on celiac disease, a clear link between arthritis and nutrition has been established. In this autoimmune condition, gluten can set off the immune system, resulting in inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, skin, and joints. Despite this, however, a clearer exploration to link gluten and other kinds of nutrients to other kinds of arthritis like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis has proved to be difficult.
Until conclusive evidence about food triggers is in place, patients should ideally maintain a balanced diet along with a healthy weight.
In fact, the connection between diet and arthritis has a lot to do with weight. For instant, excess weight might render certain effective medicines ineffective, may increase disease functions and retard remission and respite. Thus, attempts should be made to have a healthy diet and reduce some of the excess weight.
Diet Composition
Elimination diets, nutritional fads and miracle foods don’t usually have the intended effect, so make sure you stay away from them. Instead, filling up your plate in a healthy manner is more important by accounting for the following considerations.
Consume variety of foods
• Carry out physical activity and weight management practices
• Include whole grain products in your diet
• Eat colourful vegetables and fruits to increase antioxidants
• Opt for a diet low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol
• Consume Omega 3 fatty acids
• Choose a diet moderate in sugars
• Drink alcoholic beverages in moderation
• Drink plenty of water
Eat “real food”
Real food essentially implies avoiding processed foods that have too many preservatives, extra sugar and saturated fats. Examples of these include pickles, sauces, chutneys, papad, vadi, among others, regularly consumed in Indian households. Having a greater control over your diet can lead to greater advantages for arthritis as well as your overall health.
According to some studies, you can ease some of the arthritis symptoms by maintaining a Mediterranean diet. This includes eating over four portions of vegetables and fruits every day. This can then improve your consumption of antioxidants that can consequently help minimize inflammation.
These antioxidants can help defend your body in a variety of ways such as neutralizing the harmful free radicals. Additionally, research suggests that anthocyanins in cherries and fruits like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries can act against inflammation as well. Similarly, citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits and limes are rich in vitamin C. Consuming sufficient vitamin C can help prevent inflammatory arthritis and maintain the health of your joints. Other studies also state that vitamin K-rich vegetables like broccoli, spinach, lettuce, kale and cabbage can significantly reduce inflammatory attributes in the blood.
Quite simply, the darker or more outstanding the colour of the fruit and vegetable, the more antioxidants it is likely to have.
There are also certain oils rich in monounsaturated fats like olive oil and rapeseed oil. Cooking with more omega-3 polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats can aid the easing up of inflammation and other symptoms.
Some foods that you can consider here are poultry, fish, not too lean red meat, fresh fruits, olive oil, wholegrain cereals, peas, beans, nuts and seeds.
Around three or four ounces of fish twice a week are recommended. Some fish that have Omega 3 polyunsaturated fats are sardines, mackerel, herring, salmon and snapper. These can not only promote your cardiovascular health but can also reduce usual inflammation levels while also easing joint pain and stiffness.
Apart from there, there are several foods in the Mediterranean diet that are rich in fiber, beta carotene, magnesium and omega 3 fats that can considerably reduce inflammation levels.
According to a 2015 study published in Arthritis, patients with osteoarthritis saw a considerable decrease in their pain simply two weeks after they shifted to a plant-based diet. This diet also led to weight loss without any kind of active attempt to count calories or reduce food intake.
Some other foods that can help include nuts and seeds if consumed in daily small quantities.
Nuts are usually brimming with monounsaturated fat contents. While they might also have high levels of fat and calories, research suggests that devouring nuts can lead to weight loss due to the satiety that their protein, fiber and monounsaturated fats can cause. Walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios and almonds are a few examples of such nuts.
Omega 3 fatty acids from plant sources (GLA) like linseed, evening primrose and borage oils have a comparatively smaller impact on reducing inflammation.
Eating beans on a daily basis can help as well since they are a rich source of proteins and have plenty of fiber and phytonutrients that can then reduce CRP, an inflammation attribute found in the blood. Raised CRP levels could point towards an infection or even arthritis. Based on a study that investigated the nutrient content of 10 common bean varieties, there were a bunch of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds found.
Finally, whole grains, commonly found in the diets of Indian households, comprise plenty of fiber that can help regulate your weight and reduce CRP levels in the blood.
Consuming foods with the entire grain kernel, like whole-wheat flour, oatmeal, bulgur, brown rice and quinoa, can help. In some cases, however, you might need to be cautious of which whole grains you consume since contents like gluten can often increase inflammation for people with celiac disease (CD) or lead to sensitivity.
It is important to obtain more reliable and long-term results to see how effective the Mediterranean diet can be in terms of easing symptoms and preventing osteoarthritis.
Malnutrition and Arthritis
Patients with arthritis might face nutritional challenges due to numerous causes.
Firstly, the consequences of the weight loss and cachexia linked to cytokine production can lead to poor nutrition. Patients who have chronic inflammation can experience an increase in the resting metabolic rate and protein breakdown due to the production of cytokines such as interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor.
Secondly, arthritis medications that usually last for long terms may also compound these nutritional problems. For instance, patients receiving methotrexate (anti-cancer drug now commonly used for arthritis) are often seen as having a folic acid deficiency. Other medications can also lead to conditions such as gastritis or peptic ulcer, often leading to a reduced desire to eat.
Common deficiencies in patients with arthritis, are folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, zinc and selenium. While you should prioritize obtaining these nutrients through food, sometimes you might need to take supplements to compensate for these deficiencies and improve nutritional levels.
Supplementation of calcium and vitamin D can also help reduce the chances of osteoporosis that usually results due to a deficiency of these supplements, from menopause and from concurrent steroid therapy.
Food Intolerance and Arthritis
Some patients might experience an increase in the symptoms of their arthritis due to certain foods, although research has not yet been able to establish this correlation.
One way of figuring out such food hypersensitivities is through diet elimination therapy. This method involves avoiding certain foods for a certain time period like milk, meat or processed
foods that usually tend to cause allergies. Later, these foods are then gradually reintroduced in the diet to figure out which of them is causing the problem.
Improvement to a certain extent comes about through this method, according to studies. Fasting can also help reduce the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, although the chances of relapse are high with the reintroduction of different foods, once again resulting in pain and discomfort.
Such research is quite limited, so it is essential to exercise caution while trying to apply them to one’s lifestyle.
Fasting is usually an extreme and temporary way of controlling pain and inflammation in arthritis and is not recommended.
Gut Bacteria and Arthritis
It is clear that the gut microbiome has a part to play in immune regulation.
A study, published in the journal The Genome Medicine, found that predicting a patient's future rheumatoid arthritis prognosis could be possible by focusing bacteria, viruses and fungi present in their gastrointestinal tract. These are known as the gut microbiome. According to these findings, gut microbes and the occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis are interlinked. Newly developing data further suggests that changes to the gut bacteria can increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis as well as the extent of it. People with rheumatoid arthritis generally tend to have irregular gut bacteria, although treatment options through probiotics have not yet been established.
Iron-Rich Foods and Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis can commonly cause fatigue which can only increase due to anaemia. Anaemia can be caused due to poor iron absorption during a ‘flare-up’.
Iron rich foods are extremely important for regular consumption and can include lean red meat, eggs, green leafy vegetables, peas, beans and lentils, and fortified breakfast cereals. Further, if you consume iron simultaneously with vitamin C, its absorption process can become simpler and more effective.
Calcium-Rich Foods and Arthritis
Sufficient calcium is necessary to maintain the strength and health of your bones. This is even more important when it comes to arthritis and are using glucocorticoids in your treatment since this can increase the risk of developing osteoporosis. Some essential sources of calcium are low fat milk, yoghurt and cheese, green leafy vegetables, soya drinks with added calcium, almonds and fish where you eat the bones, such as sardines and pilchards.
Spices and Arthritis
Spices are known to have a great impact when it comes to their anti-inflammatory functions.
Since arthritis can lead to inflammation, many spices can help inhibit certain inflammatory pathways in the body. Even if a pinch of spices might not seem like much, they can actually have several positive impacts due to their frequent, diverse and regular consumption.
Garlic
Garlic contains diallyl disulfide, an anti-inflammatory compound that inhibits the impacts of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Thus, garlic can help prevent or reduce inflammation and may even help prevent cartilage damage.
Turmeric
Curcumin is an active chemical found in turmeric; it can obstruct inflammatory cytokines and enzymes in two inflammatory pathways. Several human studies have pointed to an anti-inflammatory benefit, resulting in reduced joint pain and swelling. Turmeric is quite common in curries and other Indian dishes.
Ginger
Chemicals in ginger include gingerol and shogaol that help obstruct inflammation pathways in the body. Additionally, some studies have shown that ginger can also ease the symptoms of osteoarthritis, although this effect is not supported by several other studies.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon contains cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic acid that have antioxidant properties which can help curb cell damage usually caused by free radicals. However, further research is necessary to establish this as a prescribed method.
Cayenne
Chili peppers contain natural compounds called capsaicinoids, which have anti-inflammatory properties. Cayenne is usually added to sauces, marinades and rubs.
Since spices are dehydrated substances, the antioxidants are usually concentrated in a small but strong amount. When it comes to Indian diets, there are various foods that you can enhance with spices, such as curries, sauces, dals, steamed or roasted vegetables or even pasta, potatoes, rice, soups and stews.
Final Remarks
In essence, your diet can have an impact on both worsening and easing the symptoms of certain arthritic conditions, making it essential to check that the foods you consume are in the form of a balanced diet with a good focus on the nutrients mentioned above and keeping in check your weight.