Arthritis is a condition characterized by pain, swelling, and stiffness of the joints. It has the reputation as a disorder of the elderly, but in fact can affect people of any age. If you have arthritis, you understand how painful it can be. Some days you’ll have stiffness and aches, but flare-ups may be so agonizing that you can barely get out of bed.
There are many different types of arthritis, but two are quite a bit more common than the others. Osteoarthritis develops in joints that are overused. Repetitive stress from certain careers or sports can play a part.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system goes rogue and attacks your joints. (Seriously, what did you ever do to justify such mutiny?) Other less common forms of arthritis include gout, fibromyalgia, and psoriatic arthritis.
If you have arthritis, regardless of type, we bet you’d do just about anything to avoid triggering an attack. Thankfully, many foods can reduce arthritis-related inflammation and relieve some of that grinding, radiating, off-the-charts pain. Following are 8 great choices.
8. Fatty Fish
Omega-3 fatty acids are known to have strong anti-inflammatory effects, and that’s what you want when arthritis is dominating the picture.
Certain fish like sardines, mackerel, salmon, and trout are especially high in omega-3 and adding them to your diet is a smart move. Fish in general is also high in vitamin D, and some studies have concluded that rheumatoid arthritis is associated with low levels of D.
It doesn’t take much – just two servings per week are enough to reap the anti-inflammatory properties, but you don’t have to stop there if you enjoy fish.
If you’re someone who thinks it looks and tastes gross, a fish oil supplement is a good alternative. You could be rewarded with less morning stiffness, a decrease in pain intensity, and a reduced need for pain medication.
7. Garlic
We’ve double-teamed these two seasonings because it’s not like you can just snack on either. They are, however, extremely versatile ingredients for lots of different meals.
They even go nicely together. Garlic has a strong anti-inflammatory effect to go along with its strong flavor. It may even enhance the ability of certain immune cells to bolster the immune system and decrease some inflammatory markers of arthritis.