Health And Fitness News 

Diet And Exercise Tips For Arthritis

Conventional medical science, quite frankly, offers little in the way of long-term serious help for the arthritis sufferer.  This is ironic since there are so many people in the United States alone who are subjected to its aches and pains in some way.

Many of these people are looking towards other, more natural means to alleviate the symptoms and stop the cycle of pain.  There are two options – available to everyone – that should be at the top of your list:  diet and exercise.

Exercise.  While it sounds like the last thing someone with painful knees or other joints really wants to do, it's one of the best things you can do for your body.  Regular exercise is absolutely necessary for keeping healthy joints healthy, relieving stiffness reducing the pain and fatigue associated with arthritis, and improving both your muscle and your bone strength.  It's also an essential tool in weight control.  Being overweight, statistics say, makes you more vulnerable to developing arthritis.

Your personal health care practitioner should encourage you to exercise.  She or a physical therapist can also help you tailor a program that is suited to your individual needs.  Included in these activities should be exercises that can provide greater range of motion for more flexible joints, strength training for muscle tone and low-impact aerobic activity.

The best exercises if you have severe arthritis are water-based activities:  swimming and water aerobics.  The buoyancy of the water puts less of a strain on your joints. These are an excellent methods, additionally, to help build your strength, ease stiff joints and relax your sore muscles.

Other good low-impact activities for those who suffer with joint problems include bicycling – both outdoor biking and using a stationary bike.  You might also want to investigate yoga.  It's slow, gentle movements will, not only help you extend your range of motion, but it'll also help relieve those sore joints.  All without the pounding of running or aerobic exercises.

They say we are what we eat.  Your diet is, without a doubt, the most effective tool you have in constructing a healthy, active lifestyle.  It's only been within the last 25 or so years, that the mainstream medical establishment began noticing this. 

If you plan to lessen your arthritic symptoms by changing your dietary habits, start with water.  Drink more of it.  Drink at least six to eight glasses daily.  This, many health care practitioners agree, flushes toxins from your body.

At the same time, you'll want to carefully switch your diet from processed and packaged foods which are all too prevalent today to a more basic menu.  Increase your intake of green vegetables.  Eat more green, leafy vegetables as well as celery, kale and okra.  Ensure that you eat a wide-range of veggies and other foods, from carrots to avocados, to seaweed and spirulina.  Especially beneficial to the arthritic patient are barley and wheat grass products.  Both of these have anti-inflammatory and detoxifying effects on the body.

And don't forget to include cold-water fish in your new line of menus, too.  Cold-water fish are especially great for those with arthritis, because they possess plenty of Omega-3 fatty acids. 

Just as there are foods that help alleviate your arthritic condition, there are certain foods that are best left uneaten.  These only make the aches and pains of your arthritis worse.  Many of these are from the nightshade family of foods, including tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes and peppers. 

Another plant of the nightshade family is tobacco.  If you smoke and have arthritis, try to find a good smoking cessation program and kick the habit.  If you don't smoke, don't even think about starting.

Another category of food that only worsens your pain is called calcium inhibitors.  They include red meat, dairy, eggs and chicken.  But there are other food and drink in this category as well, including alcohol, coffee, refined sugar – and anything made with it – as well as salt.  If it's impossible to totally give up these foods, then at least try to cut back on them as much as possible.  You'll discover that the pain is far less severe when you do.

For more on joint pain during exercise, click here.