One question I am often asked is about management of arthritis with food, and just how much nutrition can play a role in disease management.
I would love to be able to be writing this blog to tell you about some amazing food that science has found that will cure your arthritis... however unfortunately, that is not the case.
Can you manage your arthritis with food though?
Well, to some degree, you can.
Whilst I am in no way suggesting you stop your medication and reach for a green smoothie, research shows that for most types of arthritis, inclusion of anti-inflammatory foods, such as following a plant based diet, with legumes and fish, and limiting intake of refined sugars and unhealthy take aways, along with cutting back on alcohol and sugar sweetened drinks, is most likely to result in better management. Some research indicates vegetarian or vegan diets are useful, but this is not conclusive. Lots of clients report varying changes helping them, such as removing gluten or dairy, though this is anecdotal.
Part of the reason we wrote our book, 'Anti Inflammatory Eating' was to help people with inflammatory conditions manage their symptoms better, through eating well.
How much will the changes you make help manage your symptoms? Well, that depends on you, as an individual, and is a hard one to answer. At present, it is more abut trial and error than anything else.
Understandably, feeling better on a daily basis is a common goal of people who walk through the door at BJC (and certainly a goal of all our practitioners for our clients). Even if arthritic symptoms aren't directly helped through dietary change, eating better is likely to result in better health in general, which usually leads to feeling better in general as well... I often feel that most people don't realise how good they can feel, until they start to feel better.
So can I cure my arthritis with food? In a nut shell, unfortunately, no, you cannot cure your arthritis with food, however, you can likely feel a whole lot better by making great choices with your food.
