Weight Loss Diet for Arthritis sufferers

Are you one of the millions of individuals who wake up each day with stiff joints that radiate pain? Is the pain of arthritis stopping you from doing the things you want to do? Does picking up your kids or grandkids cause excruciating pain?

If your answer to any of the above questions was yes, read on to learn how weight loss diets for arthritis sufferers can benefit you and help relieve your pain.

Please note that this post is not intended to take the place of professional medical advice. It is for educational purposes only. Please consult your doctor for help with any physical illness that may impact your weight loss.

Weight loss diets for arthritis sufferers are designed to assist your body to manage this degenerative and ultimately, incapacitating disease. When you are first diagnosed with arthritis, your physician will be able to advise you which foods should be consumed and which should be avoided to help lessen the impact of the condition.

As an arthritis sufferer, it is important for you to plan your meals carefully. However, you should allow some flexibility when dining out. Remember that it is okay to take shortcuts on your diet as long as it doesn’t become habitual. It’s one thing to shortcut once a month, another to shortcut two or three times per week. Allowing yourself this flexibility will allow you to enjoy a fairly normal life without too many restrictions on what you can eat.

There are several foods proven to reduce arthritis symptoms including:

• Fruit & vegetables – Recommended because they assist by providing healthy energy, weight loss and strong bones and muscles.
• Dairy foods – The calcium in dairy foods is proven to effective in helping combat arthritis. This includes yogurt, cheese and milk but not ice cream. Yogurt is also excellent for general digestive health.
• Starchy foods – Although further scientific studies are required, some evidence indicates that starchy foods like potatoes may assist with arthritis symptoms

One food that should be avoided as it is reputed to exacerbate arthritis symptoms is tomatoes. Once again, this is not scientifically proven and further studies are required to determine how much effect tomato has on arthritis, if any.

It’s probably also a good time to mention glucosamine here. As the name suggests, glucosamine is a combination of glucose and amino acid. It’s role in joint health is to encourage healthy cartilage and to lubricate your joints. Modern day diets are lacking in natural sources of glucosamine. However, there are several natural sources of glucosamine available. Glucosamine comes primarily from the connective tissues in animal organisms and also bone marrow. So make sure you suck out that marrow when you have a bone. Another natural source of glucosamine is the exoskeleton (shell) of shellfish… this is the primary source used for glucosamine supplements. It is possible to eat prawn shells, just dry fry them with soy sauce until they are crunchy. They’re actually quite yummy. Yet another natural source of glucosamine is the cell walls of funghi such as mushrooms so if you want to increase your glucosamine intake then eat extra mushrooms. Another good way to consume marrow is to make soup from marrow bones and to drink the broth.

It is also important for you to make other modifications to your lifestyle to help combat the symptoms of arthritis. This includes things like losing weight. If you are overweight you are placing unnecessary stress on your joints (in particular your spine, hips, knees and ankles). Losing weight will relieve this pressure on your bones and joints and quite often will ‘cure’ the symptoms… although the cause is still there, the reduction in weight reduces the level of pain experienced when moving that joint.

At the same time of life that arthritis becomes a problem, osteoperosis can also become an issue. Since calcium is important to both of these conditions it is wise to consult your physician about the possibility of taking a calcium supplement such as Caltrate. The obvious benefits of this is stronger bones and joints. The off side of the reduction in pain is that it allows you to become more active which again helps with the condition.

If you are an overweight arthritis sufferer you can also gain relief and lose weight by receiving light resistance weight training. Tests prove that resistance weight training is good for the overall health. Nor does it have to be expensive or difficult. Simply purchase a small set of dumbells (2-4 lb) and carry it with you while walking. It will increase your calorie consumption as well as building muscle.

You need to understand your body as an arthritis sufferer. You know what you are capable of and what you are not capable of. Therefore, you’re the only one who can make the lifestyle decisions, like weight loss and a healthy diet that are necessary to combat your arthritis.

I sincerely hope that this article has taught you some principles that will help make your life less painful. As you can see, weight loss diets for arthritis sufferers need not be restrictive. They are designed to assist with a disease that can become incapacitating.

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