Ask a Dietician

Nutrition for Osteoarthritis:

WHAT IS THE BEST MEAL PLAN FOR REDUCING OSTEOARTHRITIS SYMPTOMS?

First, let’s define osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. It occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones wears down over time.

It can damage any joint but most commonly affects joints in your hands, knees, hips, and spine. Symptoms develop slowly and worsen over time. Symptoms of osteoarthritis include pain, stiffness, loss of flexibility, swelling, bone spurs, tenderness, grating sensation.

Unfortunately for those who suffer from osteoarthritis, no diet can “cure” osteoarthritis. However, what you eat can have a positive or negative impact on arthritis symptoms. You can choose to focus your meal planning around plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. When choosing fats, select the “good” unsaturated fats found in olive oil, canola oil, salmon, herring, sardines, and tuna. Snack on small portions of nuts like almonds, cashews, or walnuts. This type of meal plan or diet is commonly known as the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet focuses on adding more anti-inflammatory foods into daily meal planning and limiting pro-inflammatory foods.

Anti-inflammatory foods included in this food lifestyle include Fruits (strawberries, blueberries, cherries, oranges, tomatoes, and oranges), green leafy vegetables: spinach, kale, and collards, fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines), olive oil, nuts (almonds and walnuts), whole grains.

Here are some pro-inflammatory foods to limit: refined carbohydrates (white bread and pastries), French Fries and other fried foods, soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages, red meat and processed meat (steaks, burgers, hot dogs, bologna, sausage), Margarine, shortening, and lard, full-fat dairy.

Making these food changes assists the body in regulating inflammation. A 2015 study published in arthritis reported that patients with osteoarthritis had a significant reduction in pain. Also, a happy coincidence of choosing a Mediterranean meal plan is a weight reduction. Weight loss is another contributing factor to osteoarthritis. Each pound of lost weight relieves four pounds of pressure on overburdened joints. Another study of 2,100 patients in the Osteoarthritis Initiative over four years found that patients consuming the most saturated fat (animal fat) had a 60% greater risk for Osteoarthritis progression when compared with those eating the lowest amount. In contrast to the effects of saturated fat (animal fat), higher intakes of mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids (plant-based fats) are associated with a reduced loss of joint pain. This means plant-based fats decrease the progression of osteoarthritis, while animal-based fats increase the progression of osteoarthritis.

In conclusion, while there is not a nutrition-based cure for osteoarthritis, there is a nutrition lifestyle that can effectively reduce symptoms of osteoarthritis and reduce the progression of osteoarthritis. It is a diet that emphasizes plant-based fats, with the addition of fatty fish. It is widely known for the region surrounding Greece and southern Italy. If you are seeking some relief from osteoarthritis, the Mediterranean diet is worth checking out.

REFERENCES

https://nutritionguide.pcrm.org/nutritionguide/view/Nutrition_Guide_ for_Clinicians/1342023/all/Osteoarthritis

https://www.nutritioncaremanual.org/client_ed.cfm?ncm_client_ed_ id=60

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation

https://www.arthritis.org