Arthritis Diets

Everyone, young and old, can benefit from developing an arthritis diet.  Ideally this is a healthy, well-balanced diet that helps ward off or minimize the symptoms of arthritis.  So here’s what changing to an arthritis diet involves.

A healthy arthritis diet is not strict nor is it limited in choice. Food choices can be directly linked to some forms of arthritis and because of this link, a common hypothesis is that it is also negative in the other forms of arthritis.   Therefore, the arthritis diet is simply a list of examples of foods to avoid and foods to add.

Foods to Avoid
These foods include fast food, carbonated drinks, and foods high in starch such as potatoes.  Red meat should not be avoided, but portions should be limited to slightly larger than a deck of cards.  Most of the foods listed above aggravate arthritis symptoms and cause formation of harmful molecules.  A healthy arthritis diet avoids regular consumption of these to give the body a chance to deal with inflammation related to arthritis.

Arthritis Diets

Foods to Include
As much as foods have been implicated in causing arthritis, the arthritis diet maximizes foods that can help prevent or moderate arthritis and arthritis symptoms.  A well balanced diet with plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grain products is a good start.  Including portions of fish instead of red meat minimize the production of uric acid crystals that cause gout arthritis.  Moderate use of sugar and salt can pump up the taste of this arthritis diet though they are less healthy in large quantities.

A good arthritis diet promotes overall health and helps control weight that is important in osteoarthritis.  Many scientists think that the western diet that is high in fat contributes to the prevalence of arthritis.  An arthritis diet attempts to avoid the negative aspects of the western diet.