Osteoarthritis is a painful condition that’s accompanied by inflammation and cartilage breakdown in joints. It can affect your joints in the knees, hips, hands, toes, and even spine. If you’re wondering how to deal with osteoarthritis, diet can serve as a useful way to manage it along with the medicines that your doctor prescribes for you. And while there may not be any wonder foods to cure the problem, there are ways to keep it in check by avoiding certain foods. Here’s a look at the top foods to avoid on an osteoarthritis diet.
Fatty Foods Containing Saturated Fat
Foods rich in saturated fats can elevate your cholesterol levels. There is some research to indicate that keeping your cholesterol levels in check may also help with osteoarthritis symptoms. That means you should skip red meats like mutton and opt for seafood or chicken. Cut down the use of butter, cheese, and margarine as well as palm oil and coconut oil as these are also rich in saturated fats. Puffs, croissants, and cakes are also rich in saturated fats and must be avoided.
Processed Food & Fast Food
Processed foods and fast food/junk food tend to be rich in trans-fats. Trans fats are known to trigger inflammation which aggravates osteoarthritis. Watch out for processed snacks like packaged biscuits, namkeen/mixture, as well as frozen ready-to-eat foods like frozen pizza, and packaged cakes.
Refined Carbohydrates
Refined carbohydrates like white flour-based bread and cake, white rice, pasta, and packaged cereals are not as nutrient-rich as unrefined carbohydrates. For those with osteoarthritis, they present an additional problem. Consuming them causes your blood sugar to spike; they are high-glycemic foods that increase the production of AGE (advanced glycation end) products which increase inflammation and may worsen your symptoms.
Sugar and Sugary Foods
If you want to keep your osteoarthritis in control, skip sweets and sugary foods. In addition to avoiding sugar in your tea and coffee, avoid sugary drinks like packaged fruit juice, colas, sweetened beverages, and of course chocolate and sugary desserts. Sugar is a known culprit when it comes to inflammation and could heighten your osteoarthritis related issues.
Alcohol
Drinking alcohol heavily can also be a problem if you have osteoarthritis. Research has found that chronic alcohol intake is linked to decreased bone formation rate, higher risk of fractures, and low bone mass. This can make osteoarthritis even worse. It is best to avoid alcohol or limit alcohol intake.
Pain Relief Remedy for Osteoarthritis
While you may have learnt the types of foods to avoid with arthritis in knees and other joints and begun consuming healthy food for bone pain, you may still require a good pain remedy to ease symptoms when they crop up. Using a pain relief gel or pain relief spray can make a huge difference. Omnigel is a Diclofenac gel that provides quick relief from pain in the joints and eases inflammation and swelling linked to osteoarthritis. This topical pain relief remedy is easily available nationwide and is simple to use – just apply to the affected area and allow it to do its job.
Omnigel can help ease your osteoarthritis symptoms quickly and effectively. Find out more!
