8 Foods To Avoid If You Have Joint Pain

Joint pain can be the result of injury, arthritis, or overuse joints. It is the kind of pain that can make your life a hell as movement is key to your everyday tasks, from walking and running to driving among others. If you are looking for treatment methods that do not rely on swallowing all types of pills and prescribed drugs everyday, then this post is for you.

There are certain foods known to cause inflammation in the body that you should avoid. This will relieve you a great deal, and you will be able to spend quality times with loved ones by forgetting your joint pain. If you are actually following physical therapy and medications, do keep up with those, but you should also regulate your food for best results. That would mean, of course, sacrificing on some tasty treats. But in the end, you will find that it is really worth the try.

1. Added Sugars
Your body craves sugar because it is an important component of our diets. Sugar is derived in 6 categories:

Fructose from fruits and honey.
Galactose from milk and dairy products.
Glucose from honey, fruits, and vegetables.
Lactose from milk.
Maltose from barley.
Sucrose found in plants.

When taken in moderation, it is fine. But, in this modern era of processed convenience foods, we are eating way too much sugar. Too much sugar causes inflammation as it interacts with protein and fat and produces advanced glycation end products (AGEs).

AGEs are not only painful inflammation, but also accelerate the aging process.

If you stick to fruit for your daily sugar intake, you’ll also get antioxidants that counteract the inflammation. Another option is honey, but avoid high fructose corn syrup or refined white sugar that you get from candy and soda. One potential alternative is stevia, a plant-based sweetener.

2. Aspartame & artificial sweeteners
Switching from sugar to artificial sweeteners is just another wrongdoing. Stay away from every artificial food because your body may not even recognize them as food. That causes painful inflammation as a natural defense mechanism. Aspartame may even trigger arthritis in people who didn’t have it before.

3. Alcohol
One or two drinks every once in a while may not bother you, but regular intake of alcohol can significantly raise your risk of developing gout. Gout is when hard crystals form in the joints, and it is really painful!

Alcohol causes dehydration which will further cause inflammation. Be cautious when you are recovering from an injury or having an arthritis flare-up, even a few drinks may worsen joint pain.

4. Dairy Products
The proteins contained in dairy products are known to irritate the tissue around joints in some people.
Some other alternatives for proteins that are not inflammatory include quinoa, spinach, tofu, beans, and lentils.

Try to stop all dairy products in your diet for some time, and see what your joint pain becomes!

5. Salt/MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate)
Too much salt/MSG can be the cause of water retention which will eventually result in the inflammation or swelling of the joints. You need to maintain the appropriate fluid balance in your body because it is crucial to lubricating and cushioning joints.

Try to avoid junk foods and processed meals and you will be happy.

6. Saturated Fats
Too much-saturated fats will damage your joints. Reducing your intake will calm the body’s inflammatory response. You get saturated fats from full-fat dairy, fried food, red meat, and commercially baked delicacies.

7. White flour
Refined white flour is derived after the healthy whole grain is stripped of every bit of its nutritional value. Unfortunately, white flour is everywhere, from your bread, pasta, pizza among others. When you eat white flour, it increases harmful cytokines in your bloodstream; cytokines consequently spark inflammation.

Alternatively, you may choose whole grain bread and flour.

8. Too much Corn oil/omega-6
Omega 6 is healthy in moderation but is known to be inflammatory. What happens is that processed foods contain too much of it, so your proportion of omega 6s to omega 3s is skewed. Omega 3 fatty acids have a compensating anti-inflammatory effect. You get them from cod-liver oil, fatty fishes like salmon and tuna.

To protect your joints, avoid corn, peanut, soy, and other vegetable oils. You should rather be using virgin olive oil or avocado oil to cook at home or put in your salad dressings.

Food cravings can be hard to resist, but the beneficial effect of staying away from them is worth it. Remember, after weeks, your cravings will be gone, and you will be a happier person with less inflammation and joint pain.

You are what you eat. Stay healthy!

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