Health & Nutrition: How to deal with aching joints through what you eat

Regardless of your age, you know you can’t turn back the clock to reverse the damage to the cartilage and bone. However, there are a number of simple remedies that may help. 

Pain and inflammation occur when pro-inflammatory hormones are produced at the site of the “damage”. The job of these hormones is to attract the attention of specific immune cells, which trigger heat and swelling to immobilise the area (this explains the stiffness). This process also generates quite a lot of toxic chemicals (called free radicals) which damages the joint cells and cartilage further and makes the inflammation even worse. Eating foods high in saturated fat simply exacerbates this pro-inflammatory cycle.

What you eat

The first place to start is at the dinner table: creating a meal that will help to neutralise all those free radicals, and that means rich in antioxidants.  Antioxidants not only help to mop up free radicals, but they help to produce anti-inflammatory hormones too (they actively suppresses more inflammation from taking place). This is why colourful, antioxidant-rich fruit and vegetables are so important. The deeper the colour, the better it is for you (it’s the reason foods like sukuma, pumpkin and watermelon are considered “super” foods). Fruit like pineapple and mango can make for a great snack.

And all the while, you’re avoiding foods rich in saturated fat: cheese, red meat, fried food, ice-cream, cream and butter. 

What to avoid

However, there are some colourful vegetables that you may want to avoid: the nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines). In some people with joint pain, these vegetables can trigger flare-ups and so are best avoided. As my patients have reported, cooked tomatoes actually fare the worst.

Another way to boost your level of anti-inflammatory hormones is to up your intake of the raw material needed to make them: the omega-3 fats. These can be found in oily, coldwater fish (mackerel, herring, salmon, tuna, trout, sardines and anchovies) and flax/linseed and pumpkin seeds. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s not easy to get your intake from diet alone, so a daily supplement would be wise for sufferers. 

Supplements

Another useful supplement one containing glucosamine and chrondroitin – glucosamine helps to build cartilage which basically acts as a shock absorber on your joints, while chrondroitin helps to lubricate the joint by drawing fluid to the area.  

* Joint pain may affect those younger still. Juvenile onset arthritis can affect children between six months and 16 years of age. Sensitivity to particular foods may also be an issue. 
 
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