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Why is weight control
important for people with arthritis?
Weight
control is particularly important for people with
arthritis, especially osteoarthritis - a link
has been found between obesity and the progression
of osteoarthritis. Being overweight increases
the stress joints like the knees and hips. If
these joints already have osteoarthritis, increased
weight can make them more painful.
On the other hand,
losing weight can reduce the strain on these joints
which in turn can reduce pain. In one U.S. study
in 1992, researchers showed that overweight women,
middle-aged or older, with osteoarthritis in the
knee could substantially reduce their risk for
developing symptomatic osteoarthritis by losing
weight. By losing approximately 11 pounds (5 Kilograms)
over a 10-year period, the study showed that an
overweight woman could reduce her risk of developing
symptoms of knee osteoarthritis by 50%.
Are you in control
of Your Osteoarthritis?
How can eating
a healthy, balanced diet help arthritis?
Eating a balanced
diet will help in controlling your weight and
maintaining a good overall standard of health.
Eating a balanced, varied diet will help ensure
that your joints (especially the knee) can benefit
from all the vitamins and minerals that are needed
to keep them healthy, and may help to slow down
the underlying disease processes in arthritis.
In knee osteoarthritis,
for example, diets rich in vitamin C and vitamin
D may be helpful in slowing down the progression
of the disease, and reducing the amount of join
pain, particularly in the knee.
People with gout
need to pay particular attention to their weight,
and are encouraged to restrict the amount of alcohol
they drink. Food substances called purines may
increase the amount of uric acid in the body,
and by doing so, may trigger the pain and inflammation
of an affected joint. Cutting down on shellfish,
internal meats, yeast, herrings and bacon, all
of which are high in purines, is recommended.
If you suffer from gout, you should drink plenty
of low-calorie, non-alcoholic fluids (between
2 to 3 liters per day) to keep you kidneys healthy
and reduce the concentrations of uric acid in
your blood.
Finally, some
studies have shown that fish oils contain a substance
(called a fatty acid) that may be beneficial in
rheumatoid arthritis. The use of a fish oil dietary
supplement may be suggested by some medical teams.
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