Foods that fight arthritis pain
Millions might reduce joint pain by adding
ITHRjTIS IS THE umbrclla word
- .or rheumatoid anhritis, osteo.
llanhnds anci orhcr oippling concii-
tionr thal plape 37 millionAmericans"
Pain is thc main symptom, alongwith
swollen, stiff and sometimes disfig-
urcd joinrs. Common medical rreat.
ments arc drugs and joinr rcplacc-
ments. But what you eat also can
make a big difference.
nhrffioid arthritis
In this autoimmunc diseasc, the body
attacks itself, inflaming joints. It
slrikcs more women than mcn.
r Rsll ott nEJEE lt's kcy to knov that
rcme fats promote inflammation
and others cool it down. The best
anti-inflamrnatory fat is fish oil, also
knowrr as omcga-3 fat. lt dccidcdly
dcprerscs thc production of a highly
inflammatory agent, rcsearch shows.
Morcover, l0 well-conduaed studies
find that consuming fish oil helps
relicve rheumatoid arthritis, s:ys
Joel Kremer. head of rheumanlogr
at Albany Mcdical College in New
York. In a rcccnt Bclgian rtudy,
about half of a group of rhcumatoid
anhrids paticnts,ta&ing fish oil wcrc
ablc to cut thcir doscs of paintillcrs.
t eating fish also can stillc
ir,. -.nmation. Swiss invcstigators
measured cellular changcs and con-
cluded that four to sh meals of fish
each wcck equalcd thc bcnefits of
thcrapcutic dors of fish oil.
A daily dose of 3,$0-5,000 milli-
grams of omega-3's (about 10.17
capsules) is generally cffective, pro-
ducing noticeablc bcncfits in thrcc
months, Kremcr finds. Studies also
show you'rc not as apr to devclop thc
condition if you car a lot of tish.
Spccific vcgetablc oils (black cur-
rant, cvcning primrose. flaxseed,
boragc sccd) counter inflammation,
but thcy arc less porent than fish oil.
r olls n AU0l0, Eating good fat is not
enough; it's impcrativc also to cut
down on "bad'fat that incites the
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- Villains that trigger inflammation
r 0O E,g hrt to s& lbl meaBa reelq
elpedally s6lmon, saniln€s, mad@r01.
albscol€ n na aod h€ttln8. Eat hG ot
I'cggtablg ard spicsssdl as gnget
Cclcrf gced eacs Sout a fo.m of
arfidtF. accqdlnSto one 6QcrL
r 000ttnl oliv! and catda olb"
Suppleortfit diet ui$ flshd capsllhs.
I llldD com oil, regulat safioyet and
$otlourt oil; ayokl matgadnes. salad
drelsln83 and matonnaisca msdo lllh
thGa oib. D|DP orsemtelY t€stld meat
Ayoit tricat, cottt and dalty poducts if
too slsg€cl dl€, aggraate pur anfuits.
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or eliminating
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$pphmfiAtc u$d h 0u btst soll€r
Iheffiut$ &rc. Rcs.ldt $m ttsY
3ewtctlMt of cadlagr,ere
may
odpatilldtt3"
symfrbrft 1.8!n
I fllslluU06 'UwGc
(lomab6, eegrlsot
bdl pcfpt'$silt! Potlto.d atl
blamsd by to$p tor calrslntatfi.t'tis
fia'?ups.lhttds no Gs.atdl to
spportllre ldca, buttierel no ham ln
aoidlngbo lbo4 itlou itd it holglt L
Ja nCupahanthr o/StoP
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tlv May 9I I k tc 4 USAWEEKEND.
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specific foods.
oroduction and accumulation of
inflammatory chcmicals in joints.
esPeciallY corn
arc omcgaf fats
-
oil, rcgular sa{Ildtrcr aod sunflowcr
oil, ptus producls oade with those
oils and saturaicd animal fat in
-
dairy products and mcal'
r viagrrrul mE u]tll- Norwegian
rescarch found that witching to n vcg'
eurian diet (also cxcluding milk and
cggs) lcsscncd anhritis Pain and
oifr'ci symptoms in fl) pcrccnt of sub'
iccts. IGsiarchen credit eliminating
mcat fat, brrt also suspecl fruits and
vccetables havc undefined benefits
r ircesEcnEts' Ukewise, spiccs such
as turmerig cloves and ginger have
oroven anti-infl ammatory activily
banish research founcl that dailY
cooking,with frcsh ginger root (about
I teaspoon choPPed) or ealing Pow'
dcred gingcr (lcss than I teaspoon rt
day) helps relieve symproms in some
aoolc. Bc cautious if you arc on antt'
baiutanu: Gingcr thins the blood'
r A nlu ilnU 0rl0 olltitl. Eating
rhc wrong fmds ovcr time could tri{'
r
gcr dclaYed and chronrc allergtc
rcaaion, Prwoking arthritis sYmP-
toms, Somc saY the chances arc no
morc than 5 perccnt. But a l99l Brit'
bh sludy found sPecific foods Pro-
vokcd inhritic iYmPtoms in morc
than half of a group of patients. lr{osl
oornon arlprits: dairy Productt' com
and whcat. Rcscarchers have induced
signs of inllammation by simply feed'
ini padcnrs srilh and some Patients
hsvi contro[ed anhritis by avoiding
&irv fmds. ln r 1985 lsrlrli strrdv'
womcn who gavc uP milk had :r i(l
ncrccnt rcducrion in sYmPtoms'
i wrrnl E xo. This antioxidant is ;r
strong anti-in{lammatory, says Maha'
dcv MurthY, Ph.D.' of thc Nutraceu-
rical Ncnrork of Canada- Also. whcn
you consume lots of fish or fish oil'
Atist vou nced exra vitamin E for propcr
irrun. functioning saY Tufts Uni-
vcrsity rcscarchcrs' The daily dos-
agel 4fi) lU vitamin E.
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