Know about arthritis and how to prevent it?
Many Indians are amazingly naive and unaware
about arthritis, which is currently affecting about more than10 Crore of populations.
The main reason about the public unawareness is - you don’t hear people getting
killed by arthritis like a heart attack or a cancer. In addition, people in
India usually continue with disease, most of them due to lack of funds – they
don’t want their children to burden with healthcare cost or ignorance. Earlier
the cases of arthritis used to surface for the age group of 65+, but since 2010,
more and more cases of people suffering from arthritis in the age group of 50+
are coming to attention. Arthritis is a silent killer like diabetes; it can severely
affect the quality of life by causing pain and other problems. Arthritis is frequently
viewed as an unavoidable part of old age. However it is not, your joints can be
maintained healthy through a lot of small things.
The calendar month of May is celebrated
as month for National Arthritis
Awareness. It is celebrated
to make people who are at risk of getting arthritis due to their occupational
risks and lifestyle. The purpose is also educating people who are living with
such persons who have arthritis. Those who have arthritis know what it is and
already are suffering from it.
The role of Diet in Improving Arthritis Symptoms
Throughout the centuries, dietary
modification and food supplements have been termed as alternative approach to
slow the progress of arthritis. Some claims are backed by clinical proof and
some are logical theories.
Yet without any proof, there are a lot
of healthy ideas you can think for controlling the arthritis and its pain.
This theory has lots of common sense behind
it. As your weight increases, your joints are even more stressed and subjected
to more and more wear. This poses a major risk for osteoarthritis. Loosing few
kg may ease some of discomfort and stress on the joints. It is learned from a
particular study that loss of just one kg of weight decreases the load on knees
by 4 times.
Maintaining your desirable weight has
other advantages too. It minimizes the changes of ever developing other diseases.
Your most excellent opportunity to reach your desirable weight is to burn
calories you are hiding under your belly and reduce calorie intake without
compromising nutritional status.
Omega 3 Fats
Omega 3 fatty acid has anti
inflammatory characteristics, which is a critical factor in rheumatoid
arthritis. In rheumatoid arthritis our immune system wrongly attacks on the tissues
of joints considering them as an invader. High dosage Omega 3 which is
generally found in fish, have anti inflammatory response. Many clinical
researches have shown the benefits of omega 3 fats on patients with RA.
In India, fish rich in omega 3 fats is
rare. Many of us have to depend on supplementation. Synthetic omega 3 may cause
some side effects, and are also high in calories. Moreover, the preservatives
in it may cause inflammation. Selecting safe omega 3 supplement is a difficult
task. Nutrilite Salmon Omega 3 offers a better alternative. In fact any
supplement that does not have any artificial colour, flavor or preservative,
like Nutrilite Salmon Omega 3, is safe to take within limits.
Foods that is rich in omega 3 fats is
helpful in many ways including a better skin, and eyes. Regular consumption of
omega 3 fats from diet or as food supplement is important for your future
health. The fish sources includes salmon mackerel, sardines, and tuna. Other
omega 3 sources comprise flaxseed, walnuts and some green
leafy vegetables.
Saturated and Trans Fats
Preliminary studies hint that oxidation
of saturated fats gives rise to chronic inflammation. Similar proposal have
been made for trans fat which is found in hydrogenated oils (fully hydrogenated
and partially hydrogenated oils) and their fried products such as chips, fries
and other fried foods.
Vitamin D
Researchers have linked low vitamin D
levels in blood to increased risk of arthritis (osteoarthritis as well as rheumatoid
arthritis). The risk of osteoarthritis is
three times increased in the people who have inadequate level of vitamin D from
their diets as compared to those who take sufficient vitamin D. Currently, recommended
daily allowance for vitamin D is around 200 International Units (IU) per day. Many experts recommend 1,000 IU per day. The upper safe tolerable
limit of vitamin D is 4,000 IU per day.
There are few foods such as fish and
milk that are vitamin D rich. For most of us we have rely on 10 minutes of
morning sunlight for our body to generate vitamin D within. However, the urban
population is highly deficient in vitamin D.
Hence, we need food supplement to justify our nutritional needs.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables such as pomegranates, bell peppers, oranges,
pumpkins, papayas and other colours of fruits contains carotenoids which are
potent anti oxidants. These carotenoids help in battling with inflammation. A
small study on rheumatoid arthritis found that patients who ate 8 to 10
servings of fruits and vegetables a day for 3 months had observed reduced
inflammation of joints and enhanced mobility.
Food Supplements
There are many food supplements
recommended for arthritis. But only glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate
have some data to supporting their use. Glucosamine sulfate has shown to decrease
pain in people with moderate to severe osteoarthritis of the knee. Glucosamine
and chondroitin have very little known side effects and can be taken for longer
period of time.
Prolonged use of calcium, magnesium and
vitamin D supplement helps improve blood calcium and vitamin D. Antioxidants
such as green tea and vitamin E have shown to have anti inflammatory
properties.
Payback Beyond Arthritis
Nutritional food recommended above
promote overall well being and decrease your risk of other diseases such as heart
attack, cancer and stroke, even if they does not seem to make any difference
with your arthritis,. Those who follow these suggestions have least probability
to develop certain chronic illness. Our nutritionists in Mumbai help you
evaluate your nutritional status and design a diet char to suit your health
needs. Contact Diet Kundali for more details.
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