Diet for osteoarthritis - what you can and cannot eat

A disease of the musculoskeletal system, such as arthrosis of the joints, causes progressive changes in the cartilage and articular tissues. It is very important for patients with this disease to maintain proper nutrition, since otherwise metabolic processes will be disrupted and the disease will be very difficult to overcome.

A proper diet accelerates tissue healing, stimulates sufficient nutrition of tissues and joints and will serve as excellent prevention, slowing down the development of the disease.

Features of nutrition and lifestyle

Balanced carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and together the minerals, trace elements and vitamins entering the body, try not to overeat, but stick to the average daily amount of food for an adult no more than 2000 calories - all this ensures the ability to keep joints in a strong, working condition .
Osteoarthritis is a common joint disease. It worsens a person's quality of life and leads to disability. However, undesirable consequences can be avoided. After the first suspicious symptoms appear, you should immediately consult a doctor and then follow all the specialist’s recommendations. Additionally, you will need to change your diet and start following a calcium diet for osteoarthritis.

Drug treatment of the spine and joints is necessary, but it is not capable of 100% relief from osteoarthritis. Therapy should be combined with a special diet that alleviates the course of the disease.

Changing your daily diet allows you to accomplish the following tasks:

1. Optimize body weight. If you manage to achieve weight loss, the load on your joints will decrease.
2. Reduce the inflammatory process. Certain nutrients help accomplish this task. They are comparable in effectiveness to the components included in medications.

For example, a diet for arthrosis of the knee joints is aimed at reducing the load on the elements of the musculoskeletal system, and, accordingly, the patient’s body weight. However, you should not exhaust yourself by fasting or severe food restrictions. Such a diet should represent a complete, balanced diet, including a sufficient amount of vitamins, carbons, microelements, fats and proteins. It is important to keep the caloric content low. And with arthrosis of the shoulder joint, the primary rule is to limit the consumption of salt and hot spices as much as possible, and introduce into the diet those foods that contain a large amount of collagen - the building block for the regeneration of joint tissue (for example, fish, seafood, poultry, which has red meat, fresh herbs). In the diet for arthrosis of the hip joint, preference is given to fermented milk products, while whole milk itself is recommended to be removed from the diet; The taboo on fatty meat also applies to the menu for coxarthrosis, with the exception of products such as tongue, heart, kidneys and liver, but in moderation - these offal products will not harm the diseased joint, since they are not high in fat.

With osteoarthritis, no matter what diet you follow, you need to follow certain rules. Firstly, experts advise eating often (up to 5 times a day), but little by little. It will be easier for the body to digest food and absorb nutrients. Secondly, it is advisable to increase physical activity. As practice shows, osteoarthritis occurs more often and has an unfavorable course in obese people. An active lifestyle allows you to lose excess weight.

Diagnostics

If you have problems with your joints, you should seek help from an orthopedist-traumatologist. Its tasks include identifying the symptoms of osteoarthritis, determining the extent of the disease and selecting treatment.

Radiography remains the main way to visualize changes occurring inside the joint. The image allows you to see the size of the joint space, the number and size of osteophytes, and bone deformation. If it is necessary to visualize soft tissues, ultrasound or MRI is performed. According to indications, arthroscopy is performed: a puncture of the joint capsule, followed by the introduction of a miniature camera into the cavity, allowing one to see the joint from the inside. This technique can be supplemented by the administration of drugs.

Laboratory diagnostics are of an auxiliary nature. A general blood test can show an active inflammatory process if arthritis has joined osteoarthritis. If the disease is secondary in nature, tests, examinations and consultations with specialists are prescribed to diagnose the original pathology.

The healthiest food for osteoarthritis

If diagnostics have shown that osteoarthritis is developing, then it is worth including fish in your diet. The most useful are salmon, mackerel, and herring. These types are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which can reduce inflammation, joint swelling and pain. The diet followed for osteoarthritis involves a diet rich in various foods with a jelly consistency. For example, jellied meat is very useful. This food is rich in collagen, a substance that strengthens cartilage tissue.

It is recommended to eat fresh vegetables, fruits and berries every day. They contain antioxidants that protect cells from destruction. In addition, purple and red berries contain anthocyanins. They have an anti-inflammatory effect. Vitamins A and E, found in large quantities in fresh foods, play an important role. These components reduce inflammation in the joints and improve their mobility.

It is advisable to include a maximum of dairy products (with the exception of whole milk) in your diet for osteoarthritis. They contain protein, which is easily absorbed by the body, and calcium, which is necessary to strengthen bone tissue. People on a diet for osteoarthritis of the hands, upper and lower extremities should season their dishes with olive oil. It contains heart-healthy fats and oleocanthal. This substance has some properties of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. When it enters the human body, oleocanthal inhibits enzymes that affect pain sensitivity and the development of inflammatory processes.

The diet for osteoarthritis of the ankle and other joints should include whole grains daily. They are rich in fiber. Its benefits include maintaining normal weight and reducing levels of GRB, a marker of inflammation. The healthiest whole grain foods are whole-wheat baked goods, brown rice, and oatmeal.

During the diet, patients with osteoarthritis are recommended to consume beans. Beans are very useful. It is rich in proteins that muscles need. It also contains fiber and phytonutrients. The latter help reduce the level of a special protein in the blood that provokes inflammatory processes in the body.

Symptoms

The main signs of osteoarthritis develop gradually, intensifying as the disease progresses. Most patients note:

• pain: associated with friction of the articular surfaces of bones from each other, intensity and duration depend on the stage;
• crunching when moving: is one of the first signs of the disease, as it progresses it is accompanied by pain;
• stiffness: as the cartilage is destroyed and osteophytes appear, the range of motion of the joint is reduced until complete blocking (ankylosis);
• joint deformation due to bone growths;
• changes in surrounding tissues: especially noticeable when affecting the limbs and fingers, which appear noticeably curved.

Damage to large joints significantly changes a person’s lifestyle, as he loses the ability to move independently and take care of himself.

Herbal ingredients with medicinal properties

Treatment of osteoarthritis with diet may additionally involve the use of herbal medicine. One of the useful plants is ginger. It can reduce inflammation and pain. Ginger can be added to various foods - for example, baked goods, canned food, sauces. It is most convenient to consume the plant with drinks - tea, coffee, kvass, etc.

Herbalists also advise paying attention to the following herbal components:

• Juniper cones. They are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. In order for berries to have a positive effect on the body, they must be regularly added to various food products - sauces, broths, potatoes, sauerkraut, meat dishes, marinades, etc.
• Black currant leaves. They have anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. As a rule, a decoction of this plant material is included in the diet for osteoarthritis of the knee and other joints.

During the period of using phytotherapeutic agents, it is worth monitoring your condition. An allergic reaction may occur in the form of joint swelling and increased pain. If these symptoms appear, you should discontinue the product for a month. After this period, you can try the product again. If it causes swelling and pain again, you will have to abandon it completely.

Degrees

Orthopedists distinguish 4 degrees of the disease:

• Grade 1: there are no symptoms, but with exertion a person may notice slight pain or discomfort; all cartilage damage occurs at the microscopic level;
• 2nd degree: pain occurs not only during exercise, but also at rest; x-rays reveal a narrowing of the joint space and isolated bone growths;
• 3rd degree: destruction reaches its peak, surrounding tissues are involved in the pathological process; the pain becomes constant, and the pictures clearly show deformation, narrowing of the joint space and numerous osteophytes; Often at this stage, dislocations and subluxations of the joint occur due to weakening of the ligaments;
• 4th degree: bone growths completely block the joint, movement is impossible.

Foods that are undesirable when you are sick

When following a diet for osteoarthritis of the hip joint and other elements of the musculoskeletal system, it is recommended to avoid certain foods. Only with proper nutrition will the body’s recovery be as effective as possible. Patients should exclude from their menu:

• Fried food. Typically, such food is prepared using fat. It promotes weight gain and ultimately worsens the symptoms of the disease.
• Offal. They contain harmful preservatives, flavor enhancers and dyes.
• Sweet food. Eating foods containing sugar too often disrupts collagen synthesis in the human body. This has a negative impact on the joints.
• Strong tea and coffee. Scientists believe that enzymes and tannins contained in such drinks have a negative effect on joints.
• Whole milk products. They contain arachidonic acid. It stimulates the production of substances that provoke inflammatory processes and destroy tissue.
• Alcoholic drinks. Alcohol, affecting the body, provokes an exacerbation of the disease. In addition, alcohol can interact with the medications you take and reduce their effectiveness.

Do not get carried away with egg yolks and red meat. These products, like whole milk, contain arachidonic acid, which has a negative effect on joints. In a diet for osteoarthritis, limit salt intake. This ingredient causes water retention in the body. This causes swelling and inflammation. However, salt cannot be completely excluded from the diet.

It is not advisable to set a diet for yourself, because without special knowledge it is impossible to make your diet as safe and balanced as possible. It is recommended to contact specialists. The doctors of our clinic seek an individual approach to each patient. They develop diets for deforming osteoarthritis, taking into account the health status of a particular patient, the characteristics of his existing diseases and the presence of an allergic reaction.

Kinds

Most often, the disease is classified depending on the location of the pathological process. Osteoarthritis can be unilateral or bilateral and deform almost any joint:

• knee;
• hip;
• ankle;
• brachial;
• temporomandibular;
• elbow;
• small joints of the foot and hand;
• intervertebral joints.

Depending on the cause, osteoarthritis can be primary (occurs on its own) or secondary (develops against the background of another pathology or injury).

What does a diet look like for arthrosis of the knee joints?

Below is a sample menu for 7 days by item:

1. Monday. For breakfast, you can eat 150 g of cottage cheese casserole with jam, washed down with fruit tea. Snack – dried fruits with nuts, 100 g. Lunch – soup boiled in water with vegetables. Rice with chicken and salad. Afternoon snack – fruit jelly with cookies. Dinner – buckwheat porridge with lean fish.
2. Tuesday. Breakfast - oatmeal with honey. Drink: weak black tea. Snack – natural low-fat yogurt. Lunch – vegetable plate and bulgur with baked salmon. Afternoon snack – dried fruit compote and orange. Dinner – stewed rabbit in sour cream, cucumber salad.
3. Wednesday. Breakfast – egg omelet with toast. Snack – milk jelly with tangerine. Ginger tea. Lunch – fish soup with vegetable broth. Durum wheat pasta and grated Parmesan cheese. Afternoon snack – cookies with a glass of milk. Dinner – fish with vinaigrette. Morse.
4. Thursday. Breakfast - 2 soft-boiled eggs with toast. Snack – sandwiches with butter and cheese. Compote. Lunch – low-fat borscht with chicken. Meatballs with rice. Afternoon snack – fruit jelly and mint tea. Dinner – chicken soufflé, zrazy. Juice.
5. Friday. Breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese and sour cream. Ginger tea. Snack – eggs with toast. Lunch – soup with pasta, meat zrazy and sliced ​​vegetables. Compote. Snack – cookies with jelly. Dinner – buckwheat porridge with chicken. Mint tea.
6. Saturday. Breakfast – cottage cheese casserole with bread. Green tea. Snack – baked apples with honey. Kissel. Lunch – chicken soup with vegetables. Rice porridge with lean beef and vegetables. Dried fruits compote. Afternoon snack – fruit salad and mint tea. Dinner – kefir with cookies.
7. Sunday. Breakfast - pasta made from durum wheat, cooked in milk. Toast with cheese and cocoa. Snack – egg omelette and ginger tea. Lunch – fish soup with croutons. Baked boiled pork with rice. Vegetables. Afternoon snack – apple jelly. Dinner – vegetable zrazy with kefir.

The weekly menu is easy to prepare. You can take the finished portions with you to work. For this, it is recommended to use reusable containers. When eating small meals, it is important to drink plenty of fluids between meals. Water effectively flushes toxins from the body, bones and joints.

Treatment at the Energy of Health clinic

If you begin to notice a suspicious crunch in your joints, you should not quickly search the Internet for how to treat osteoarthritis with folk remedies. It is better to seek help from professionals from the Energy of Health clinic. We use modern means of cartilage tissue restoration and offer each patient:

• individual selection of a drug regimen;
• constant monitoring and control of treatment effectiveness;
• various physiotherapeutic procedures;
• massage and physical therapy;
• puncture of the joints followed by the administration of painkillers or artificial synovial fluid;
• drug blockades for quick and effective pain relief.