Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Osteoarthritis Diet

Osteoarthritis Diet

Osteoarthritis Diet

If you are one of those who suffer from osteoarthritis, it is important to find a good osteoarthritis diet to help alleviate symptoms. Although some doctors will subscribe opiates for pain, opiates aren’t enough later on in life when the pain gets worse. A good diet is a good alternative to drugs and can help relieve most if not all of the symptoms caused by osteoarthritis. Opiates can also cause constipation down the road, so there needs to be more to your prognosis than pain relievers. For one thing, your diet has a lot to do with the amount of pain you feel. If your body isn’t getting the correct amount of nutrients, it won’t work correctly. It’s very important that you pay attention to an diet. By doing this, you will be giving your body the energy it needs to make it balanced and keep it running smoothly.

First of all, when you are on the diet you need to make sure you have plenty of fiber in your diet. Fiber comes from foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables. This will keep you from having constipation problems and keep your body running smoothly and basically feel right. Once you have enough fiber in your diet, your body feels balanced and doesn’t feel all stuffed up. You will feel so much better when you keep enough fiber in your diet.

Second of all, you need to add the right nutrients in your diet, such as foods that contain vitamin D. You can also take vitamin D supplements, just like you can take fiber supplements, but eating the foods that contain vitamin D helps your body better than supplements. You can’t beat mother nature when it comes to the nutrients that food gives us. Some breakfast cereals are high in vitamin D, as well as legumes and shell fish. Soy milk is also high in vitamin D.

Other nutrients that are needed to help you with your osteoarthritis diet is vitamins C, E and don’t forget Copper, Zinc and also Selenium. These are antioxidants and they help give your body cytokines, which helps the blood, and keeps the pains down to a mild roar by keeping inflammation down. The three antioxidants that give the body the most protection are actually vitamin C, E and beta carotene. You’ll find them in colorful fruits and vegetables, such as the purple ones, blue, red, orange and yellow hues.

The next nutrient you need for your diet is Omega 3′s or fish oils. They have been shown to cut down on inflammation. Increasing your diet with oily fish, such as sardines, salmon and mackerel, will help your body cut down on pain.

And don’t forget to drink lots of water. Drinking at least 8 glasses a day will help your body get rid of toxins and also keep you from being constipated. You will notice the difference once you start drinking more water. You’ll feel better and you’ll have more energy. After all, the body is 90% water, so why wouldn’t water be the body’s best friend?

Following these dietary suggestions should help your body fight off the pain of osteoarthritis. Medication can help, but it can only do so much. Your body needs help to fight off all of the toxic effects it goes through. By giving your body a fighting chance by arming it with the best foods and supplements is your way of giving your body the support it needs. Follow the above osteoarthritis diet and see if it helps your symptoms caused by your arthritis. Start taking control today.

How Osteoarthritis and Diet Work Together

People who get older and find that their bodies hurt when they first get up in the morning and find that they can’t climb stairs like they used to without pain in the knees, sometimes find that they have osteoarthritis. These are symptoms of it, and when you have pain the first thing that is on your mind is, “Make the pain go away.” So you go to your doctor, tell him your symptoms, and he tells you that you need to take some pain relievers. But the pain relievers only do so much good, and it’s up to you to keep the pain from getting worse. How do you do this?

First of all you must go on an osteoarthritis diet. Now don’t groan; it doesn’t mean you have to count every calorie you put into your mouth, and it doesn’t mean you have to go on a low-calorie diet. It just means you need to be mindful of putting the right kinds of nutrients into your body. Eat healthy, high fiber foods, such as whole grain breads, vegetables and fruits. Eat foods that have antioxidants in them, such as colorful fruits and vegetables. It means you need to eat fish oil, or foods that have a high fatty acid in them, such as sardines, salmon and mackerel. It also means you need to drink lots of water so that your body can get rid of toxins that try to build up inside you. Give your body the right kind of nutrients and your body will be able to function with less pain.

Also, when you are on the osteoarthritis diet, you need to exercise. If you don’t make your body move once in awhile, your body will forget how. You need to walk around, ride a bicycle, lift weights, swim if you have the chance to. If your joints and muscles don’t get the proper amount of exercise, you’ll end up with more inflammation and therefore more pain. Don’t let this disease take over your body and ruin your golden years by giving you nothing but pain. Fight back by eating right and exercising on a regular basis. This way you will enjoy the years that you have worked hard to get to.

Osteoarthritis Exercises for Those Suffering from Arthritis

People who suffer from osteoarthritis and go on an osteoarthritis diet need to do more than just eat right. In order to calm down the pain and stiffness that comes with the disease, you need to go on an osteoarthritis exercise routine. By doing so, your body feels less pain and has less inflammation. You need to exercise to get the joints moving, so they are lubricated and can keep from stiffening up.
Osteoarthritis makes the cartilage in the joints become destroyed and therefore start hurting every time you try to climb up or come down a stairs. You’ll notice it right away when you take the stairs. You feel like you won’t be able to take the stairs without slowing down and holding onto the banister. But there is a way to strengthen the joints of your knees, and that is to do exercise. Walking is an easy way of exercising and it actually does help the joints. Swimming is of course a good way to exercise without hurting anything in the process.

When you exercise, you also help the muscles get stronger. You have muscles around your joints and these muscles actually protect your joints. As you exercise, your muscles get stronger and then they protect your body better. This is a good way to combine your osteoarthritis diet with exercise to make a big difference in your pain relief.

Getting involved in strength training is a good way of not only strengthening your muscles, but also it helps the tendons that support your joints. Just lifting 10 pounds with each muscle exercise can help. Lift it for a total of 8 times for the first round. Then lift it 10 times for the second round. Then lift it 15 times for the last round. This is a good start to getting your strength training started. After you’ve done the 10 pounders, you can go to 15 pounders, and work your way up gradually.

For some women, it may be that a 3 pounder is a better way to start, especially when it comes to the upper body exercises. Then graduate to the 5 pounder and then the 8 pounder. As you increase your weights, your muscles will get stronger. Just do it gradual. Strength training is not only good for your joints and tendons and muscles, but it is also good for your heart. It helps you lose excess fat in your body, especially when you combine strength training with an aerobic exercise, such as swimming, brisk walking, bicycling and anything else that gets your heart moving.

Give your body the chance to move. This is what our bodies were meant to do. When we don’t move around, that’s when we end up having more pain from osteoarthritis. So move that body, and fight those pains. While you’re on your osteoarthritis diet, the osteoarthritis exercises will work as a team with your food intake.