Injury is an obvious cause for joint pain. However, a less obvious cause for joint pain is inflammation. Millions of Americans suffer from joint pain caused by inflammation and this isn’t triggered by overuse or abuse. The pain is real and yet there is no evidence of a break or damage to a joint such as a hip, elbow, wrist, knee, etc. The culprit may be inflammation brought on by diet. Your diet can be causing your joint pain. We are all vulnerable to inflammation which can become chronic unless we understand what causes inflammation and we make choices every day to keep our bodies in balance.
What is inflammation and how can we control inflammation in our bodies?
Inflammation is the body’s immune response to an allergen in diet. It is a biological response to try to remove it and heal- specifically with acute inflammation. Through trial and error, you can find what foods trigger your pain and inflammation markers. While there is no definitive diet for arthritis and joint point sufferers since triggers are unique to an individual, there are inflammatory foods that should be avoided or at least limited for a trial and error diet plan.
Inflammatory Trigger Foods
Fried Foods
Processed Foods
Sugar
Refined Carbohydrates
Dairy Products
Alcohol
Tobacco
Salt
Preservatives
Corn Oil
What can we do to counter inflammation?
Adding more vegetables and fruits is usually a good diet for most individuals. Keeping your diet as pure and unprocessed as possible will help avoid various health concerns. There are foods with anti-inflammatory content that can be added to diet to see improvement in general health.
Anti-Inflammatory Foods
Omega-3 fatty acid fish such as salmon, mackeral, tuna & sardines
Dark leafy greens
Colorful vegetables such as peppers
Nuts, particularly almonds
Soy
Tomatoes
Ginger and turmeric
Garlic and onions
Olive Oil
Berries
Tart cherries – In a 2012 presentation, Oregon Health & Science University researchers suggested that tart cherries have the “highest anti-inflammatory content of any food.
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