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The anti-inflammatory diet

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This painful condition is characterised by the destruction of the cartilage in the joints of the knees, hips, ankles, hands, neck, spine and other articulated weight-bearing points in the body due to over-use.

Heavier people tend to exert greater stress on these joints. If you bear in mind that a large portion of American adults are currently classified as overweight or obese, with numbers still growing, we can expect an upsurge in joint disease, too.

Osteoarthritis symptoms include mild to severe pain and swelling in the affected joints, and stiffness (particularly after periods of inactivity such as sleeping or travelling).

Treatment typically involves anti-inflammatory and analgesic medications, weight loss for patients who are obese or overweight, surgery in severe cases, gentle, supervised exercise (all high-impact exercises should be avoided) and an anti-inflammatory diet.

The anti-inflammatory diet
In contrast to people with rheumatoid arthritis or gout, those with osteoarthritis were, until relatively recently, not actively treated with a specific anti-arthritis diet.

Weight-loss diets to alleviate stress on affected joints have always been part of anti-arthritis treatment, but the use of the so-called "anti-inflammatory diet" is a more recent development.

Experts now suggest the following dietary changes as part of this diet:

1. Follow a varied diet that consists mainly of fresh, unprocessed foods. Fast foods should be avoided and replaced with fresh fruits and vegetables.

2. All fresh fruits and vegetables (except onions and potatoes which contain an alkaloid called "solanine") should be eaten abundantly to boost your intake of phytonutrients.

Go for:

• Berries (strawberries, gooseberries, blueberries and raspberries).
• Dark-orange and dark-green fruits and vegetables that are rich sources of beta-carotene, such as apricots, pawpaw, melon, carrots, pumpkin, butternut, spinach, dark-green lettuce leaves and broccoli.
• The cabbage family, or cruciferous vegetables, which include cabbage of all types, broccoli and Brussels sprouts.
• Soy foods such as soy beans and tofu.
• Tea, including green and black tea.
• Dark, plain chocolate in moderation so as not to increase your energy intake excessively.

3. Avoid foods that are high in saturated and trans fats (all commercially produced cakes, pies, pastries, confectionery, take-away meals, and foods fried in pre-used oil).

4. Decrease your intake of foods rich in the omega-6 fatty acids, for example vegetable oils like sunflower oil, animal fats and all foods made with these fats. Keep in mind that evening primrose oil supplements are rich in omega-6.

5. Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids by using olive, grapeseed, flax and canola oils, walnuts and walnut oil, pumpkin seeds and fatty cold-water fish such as salmon, blue-eye trevalla or canned sardines. Salmon oil and krill oil capsules are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

6. Avoid highly refined carbohydrates (sugars and starches) such as table sugar, fructose, pasta, white bread and white rice. Rather use unrefined or unsifted grains and flours like unsifted maize meal, brown rice and Bulgar wheat.

7. Protein foods such as low-fat or fat-free milk, cottage cheese and yoghurt, lean chicken and fish are preferred to eggs, red meat, butter and full-fat dairy products and cheeses.

8. Use spices, including ginger, curry, turmeric and rosemary, which are believed to produce an anti-inflammatory effect.

This diet should be combined with moderate, supervised exercise. If you need to lose weight, consult a dietician for an individually tailored slimming diet.

Weight loss not only reduces the stress on damaged joints and disintegrating cartilage, but also has an anti-inflammatory effect. It's been found that, when we reduce the quantity of fat in the body, the number of so-called "inflammatory mediators" in the fatty tissue is also reduced.

Deficiencies and supplement use
Consulting a dietician for an anti-inflammatory and/or slimming diet may also help you to avoid deficiencies linked to osteoarthritis. Common nutritional deficiencies that have been linked to this condition include:

Calcium and vitamin D. Calcium supplements are best taken in conjunction with vitamin K, which helps the body to deposit the calcium in the bones, and not in the arteries (where it may cause damage). Vitamin D is a hormone-like nutrient that we produce if we expose the skin to sunlight for periods of about 10 minutes a day. People who spend most of their time indoors or who wear clothing that prevents the skin from being exposed to sunlight, or those who live in cooler, cloudy climates, may develop a vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin K. This nutrient is found in all green, leafy vegetables like spinach, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage and lettuce (especially the dark-green leaves).

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). This is found in lean meat, whole-grains, vegetables and nuts.

Magnesium. Good sources are unrefined, minimally processed cereals and grains, tofu and legumes such as dry beans, peas, lentils and soy, lean meat, low-fat milk and green vegetables.

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