BONE & JOINT DISORDERS (ARTHRITIS)
NUTRITIONAL MANAGEMENT
Although a proper diet will not cure arthritis, but it will certainly make you feel better. A healthy diet provides nourishment to strengthen the muscles supporting the joints and also helps to maintain an ideal body weight to reduce joint stress.
Some tips for a healthy diet are:
- Take a diet with plenty of vegetables, grain products and fruits.
- Take food rich in proteins to help you maintain your muscle strength.
- Take a diet low in fat and moderate in sugar.
- Take food rich in GLA (gamma linoleic acid) found in nuts, fish, primrose oil. GLA is a fatty acid that helps to fight the swelling and slow the overactive immune response that triggers certain forms of arthritis.
- Eat food rich in omega 3 fatty acids like nuts and fishes like salmon, mackerel, herring. Omega 3 fatty acids helps in reducing inflammation.
- Limit your salt intake. Too much salt can cause retention of fluid causing swelling.
- Avoid alcohol.
Some important dietary guidelines for Gout include :
- Avoid eating food rich in purine (as high purine will result in increased uric acid production) like liver, kidney herring, meat extracts, mussels, yeast, dried nuts, cauliflower, spinach.
- Avoid fasting as it can raise uric acid level
- Avoid rich, heavy meals with high fat and protein content
- Alcohol should be avoided as it interferes with the excretion of uric acid.