6 Foods That Relieve Arthritis Pain

1. Pomegranate Juice
Knees ache? What about your hands or hips? Try some of this sour Persian fruit, which has
both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant powers. It could actually protect your cartilage.
When researchers at ase Western !eser"e #ni"ersity in le"eland put a pomegranate
extract on tissue samples of cartilage damaged by osteoarthritis, something good happened$
The %uice lowered le"els of an inflammatory chemical lin&ed with o"erproduction of a certain
en'yme. In normal amounts, this en'yme is essential for cartilage replacement, but when too
much is produced ( as in osteoarthritis ( cartilage wears away.
2. Foods High in Omega-3 Fatty Acids
)or years, researchers ha"e noticed that people with arthritis who eat plenty of oily fish seem
to ha"e less inflammation and pain than those who don*t eat as much fish. +ow they ha"e an
explanation$ It seems that li&e aspirin, the omega-, fatty acids in fatty fish boost production
of a recently disco"ered class of anti-inflammatory fats called resol"ins.
In one study, both omega-,s and aspirin boosted the production of resol"ins, which in turn
inhibit the acti"ity of inflammatory cells. This is good news for people with osteoarthritis and
particularly for those with !-, which can inflame organs as well as %oints.
3. Foods Rich in Antioxidants
!esearchers ha"e suspected for some time that free radicals, those unstable molecules that
attac& healthy cells, play a role in causing arthritis. +ow it*s becoming clear how they wrea&
their ha"oc on %oints. -ccording to a recent .apanese study, free radicals sabotage cartilage*s
ability to maintain and repair itself.
People with arthritis tend to ha"e more than their fair share of free radicals and therefore
should ma&e an extra effort to get more antioxidants, especially "itamin and beta-carotene,
from foods.
Vitamin C in citrus fruits li&e oranges and &iwifruit, and 'eaxanthin, an antioxidant found in
green leafy "egetables, lowered the ris&, too. Those leafy greens /li&e spinach and turnip
greens0 also pac& a fair amount of "itamin 1, and some studies ha"e shown that large doses
of this "itamin from supplements may also relie"e osteoarthritis pain, especially in
combination with "itamin /234 to 344 milligrams a day0.
4. Pineappe
5romelain, a protein-digesting en'yme in this tropical fruit, is surprisingly good at bringing
down inflammation. It may be as effecti"e for reducing osteoarthritis pain as some anti-
inflammatory medications li&e ibuprofen, at least when it*s ta&en in supplement form. 6ome
studies of bromelain supplements suggest it may help reduce the pain of !- as well.
1at your pineapple between meals, not with them, or the en'ymes will be used up digesting
your food, and choose fresh or fro'en pineapple, not canned pineapple or pineapple %uice.
!. Anti-"n#ammatory $pices
!esearchers ha"e disco"ered that many spices fight inflammation. 7inger and turmeric ( a
yellow spice that lends its color and taste to curries ( contain a powerful compound called
curcumin, which inhibits en'ymes and proteins that promote inflammation. 6e"eral studies
ha"e found that ginger and turmeric specifically reduce pain and swelling in people with
arthritis.
lo"es contain an anti-inflammatory chemical called eugenol. In recent animal studies,
eugenol inhibited 89-2, a protein that spurs inflammation ( the same protein that 89-2
inhibitor drugs li&e celecoxib /elebrex0 :uash. lo"es, turmeric, and ginger also contain
antioxidants, important in slowing the cartilage and bone damage caused by arthritis.
%. &reen 'ea and (itrus Fruits
This motley crew is drawn together by one thing$ :uercetin. ;aboratory and animal studies
indicate that this chemical compound acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.
1arly studies in animals suggest green tea may help pre"ent or ease symptoms of !-. -nd
according to the Iowa Women*s <ealth 6tudy, women who dran& more than three cups of tea
a day were =4 percent less li&ely to de"elop !- than women who didn*t drin& any.