Is Your Diet Causing You Pain?

It seems most people today, especially seniors have some form of Arthritis.

Arthritis is a SYMPTOM not a DISEASE. It simply means “inflammation of the joints”.

This can happen for many reasons but typically it is triggered by food. Yes, you read that correctly, your diet may be causing your Arthritis symptoms! Imagine the look on your Doctors face when you tell him/her that?!

The common offenders are the “nightshade” family of foods such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, paprika, eggplant, cayenne, chili, and tobacco.

Other items such as milk products, sugar, caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate, cola drinks), wheat, citrus, corn, soy and food additives are also common triggers!

Nightshade foods have a compound called Solanine that is the plants natural defence system against insects. For many people this creates a sensitivity in the body that triggers joint inflammation. One way to determine if this is the cause of your pain is to do a 2 week elimination diet of the nightshade foods, gradually eliminating one item at a time. If you see an improvement you might be among those who are sensitive to Solanine. If you don’t notice a difference then continue to enjoy those nutritious foods but then try eliminating the rest of the items mentioned with the top ones being dairy, sugar, wheat and citrus as they are the most common allergenic foods next to the nightshades!

There are several forms of Arthritis – Rheumatoid which is a deeply entrenched form of Arthritis. It is essentially an autoimmune disorder which attacks the cartilage and connective tissue. According to Dr. David Rowland, a well known Nutritional expert, people with Rheumatoid Arthritis also typically have weak digestion and low thyroid.

Osteoarthritis is another form of Arthritis which is a progressive deterioration of the cartilage in the synovial joints and vertebrae. Hidden allergies and weak digestion are also a factor but lack of weight bearing exercises over the years contributes to this degeneration as well as low levels of Vitamin D. If you have Osteoarthritis Vitamin D helps to slow down the progression but does not prevent it from happening.

Here are some tips to help prevent Arthritis from happening:

• Maintain proper weight – being overweight puts extra pressure on your joints
• Exercise regularly – especially weight bearing exercises like walking, lifting weights, tai chi, yoga, golf, and hiking.
• Avoid Injury to the joints as much as possible, and wear shoes with proper support.
• Maintain a healthy diet – be sure to add Omega 3 foods to your diet such as fish, avocados, nuts, flax, olive oil, reduce trans fats and refined (processed) foods and sugars as this contributes to joint pain.

Arthritis symptoms can be managed by:

• Changing your diet and eliminating the foods mentioned above.
• Drink a minimum of 2 litres of water daily – this helps to keep joints hydrated.
• Enlist the aid of natural anti-inflammatories such as Turmeric (use the spice in your food), Devils Claw or Glucosamine.
• See a holistic practitioner such as an Acupuncturist or Osteopath.

While there are several over the counter pain relieving medicines, know that they do not cure the problem, they only mask the symptoms. While natural remedies take longer to take effect the long term affects are worth it.

Yours in good health…..