Foods for Arthritis

Pain-Free Foods
Pain-free foods are foods that will not irritate during times of high stress and during a major health crisis. The following suggestions are based on clinical experience and nutritional knowledge.

Grains: Brown Rice, Millet, Buckwheat, Rice cakes and cereals, Tapioca flour

Fruit: Mangoes come first, especially in chronic inflammatory conditions. Cherries, cranberries, berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, etc.), watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, nectarines, papayas, pears, persimmons, pineapples, plums, pomegranates and prunes.

Some folks have to limit themselves to cooked or dried fruits. You may need to AVOID citrus fruits, apples, bananas, peaches or tomatoes.

Vegetables: Cooked leafy greens are probably going to be the easiest to digest at first. Then orange and yellow vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, chard, collards, cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, peas, snow peas, sugar snap peas, spinach, string beans, summer or winter squash, sweet potatoes and zucchini.

Beans: Split mung dahl, lentils, and refried pinto beans

Beverages: Water, herbal teas, fresh vegetable juices and fruit juices as tolerated. Room temperature or warmer is best for all beverages.

Condiments: turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic (if tolerated), salt in moderation, maple syrup, honey, vanilla extract.

 

The Most Common Problematic Foods
-- especially for people with chronic pain and inflammatory diseases include:

a. all carbonated beverages -- which disrupt stomach acid, thus stopping healthy digestion.

b. nicotine and tobacco smoking -- nicotine is a common irritant to tissues and cigarette smoke inhibits oxygen intake and increases the buildup of two toxic gases, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

c. oily food, fried food and hydrogenated oils, such as margarine. These foods are high in trans-fatty acids which have adverse effects on body metabolism, interfering with cell membrane permeability, promoting nerve degeneration, and depositing a residue that makes the cells, rigid, sticky, and prone to inflammation and infection.

d. meats -- flesh foods also contain high levels of trans-fatty acids, further promoting inflammation and suppressing immune functions.

e. sugars and alcoholic beverages – these are common irritants to soft tissue and can be major challenges to the endocrine and nervous systems.

f. Corn and tomato may also be problematic. It is especially wise to avoid high fructose corn syrup, which is a very common sweetener in beverages and foods.