What Does Inflammation Have to Do With Arthritis?

If you suffer from arthritis, there are things you can do to eliminate the inflammation, and help make your life more enjoyable and pain free.

The first thing should be to follow an anti inflammatory diet. This means stay away from vegetable oils and margarine. I don’t care what the ads, and even the doctors say. Margarine is not good for you. It is an artificial substance, and I hesitate to even call it food. It is highly inflammatory to your body.

You should be using olive oil, pure coconut oil, or butter for cooking and eating. These will help keep inflammation under control.

You want to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. But avoid starchy vegetables such as corn, potatoes, and peas. These will quickly turn to sugar in your body, and will be a cause of inflammation. Avoid sugar, if you need a sweetner, honey is a good choice. Don’t eat anything white. To avoid inflammation you should be eating brown rice and pastas, and use unbleached whole wheat flour.

You should be eating salmon, walnuts, flax seeds, or flax seed meal, and taking a good omega 3 fish oil supplement. Don’t take the cheapest omega 3 you can find. This won’t do you any good, and it could very well harm you because it might be contaminated.

You really have to invest in a pharmaceutical grade supplement with high amounts of EPA and DHA for the greatest benefit. Your arthritis will let you know when you found the right one because you should get relief from the pain.

You should also look for a source of grass fed beef. It is available at local health food stores, and I recently found it in the supermarket near home. You might even find a farmer that raises it for sale. Grass fed beef has a high amount of omega 3s which you need, and it is also free of hormones and antibiotics unlike the corn fed beef you get in the supermarket.

If you have arthritis, exercise will help lessen the pain, and will simply make you feel better. You will sleep better, and it will help not only your arthritis, but your heart as well.

Exercise will reduce inflammation all over your body.

If you can, just start with a short walk and increase the time as you are able to. This will also help keep your weight normal, prevent extra wear on your joints as well as reduce inflammation.

Just do whatever exercise you can on a regular basis. Around here–Minnesota, it’s not easy to get out in the wintertime, but go to a mall, or just walk around the house if nothing else. You might be able to get some stretching and strength training exercises from your doctor that you can do at home. Or if you are a senior, many towns have community centers where seniors can go to exercise and swim as a group.

Another good activity is dancing. This has the benefit of exercise, and also contact with friends.

It’s also important to laugh as often as possible. Laughter reduces tension, not only mentally, but it actually relaxes muscles and this will help to relieve your arthritis pain.