Following a diet for arthritis and arthrosis is an important part of the treatment process. By adhering to the recommendations for proper nutrition, patients can greatly alleviate the symptoms. The main goal of the diet is to ensure the access of minerals and vitamins to the affected tissues, prevent deterioration of the condition and increase the effectiveness of therapy.
Advantages and disadvantages of the diet
Arthritis and arthrosis are among the most common diseases of the musculoskeletal system. These are pathologies that lead to degenerative changes in bone and cartilage tissue. In advanced cases, the disease affects the surrounding tissues, to a greater extent arthrosis affects the hip and knee joints.
It was previously believed that only people over 45 years of age are susceptible to the disease, but recent statistics show the opposite. Increasingly, among patients suffering from these diseases, there are younger people with overweight, diabetes mellitus orprofessions that involve standing for a long time. Therefore, dieting for arthritis and arthrosis of the joints is recommended as a preventive and therapeutic measure. The benefits of proper nutrition are:
- Foods included in the diet are available to people of any social status.
- The diet is saturated with all the necessary nutrients for the he alth of the patient.
- Normalizes cholesterol levels.
- Stabilizes body weight.
- Eliminates inflammation, prevents the risk of complications.
- Saturates cells and tissues with essential trace elements.
- Improves metabolic processes.
However, it is worth noting some of the disadvantages of the diet for arthritis of the fingers or joints:
- With a long-term diet, it is quite difficult to spend fasting days.
- It is not easy to make a menu, taking into account the necessary daily norm of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in such a way that the calorie content is within the normal range.
Eating Rules
In order for the diet to give positive results, it is very important to adhere to the rules of nutrition, to follow the individually developed recommendations of the attending physician. The basic rules of any diet when following a diet for arthritis and arthrosis of the joints include:
- Foods eaten must be natural and fresh.
- Strictly limit the consumption of fried foods. Mostly dishesshould be steamed, stewed, oven baked or grilled without oil.
- Meals should be frequent, but in small portions. Here it is recommended to use the optical trick - put food in a small dish.
- While eating, chew food slowly and thoroughly. Thus, it is better absorbed, and therefore, the feeling of fullness comes faster.
- It is advisable to follow a diet, eat at the same time, at regular hourly intervals.
- If the feeling of satiety has come, it is better to leave a portion half-eaten.
- Rinse your mouth with water after eating.
- Don't go to bed after eating, take a little walk outside.
- The last meal should not be later than seven o'clock in the evening.
- It is necessary to watch the stool and prevent constipation.
- It is important to maintain the water balance in the body and try to eat as little s alt as possible.
- Alcohol, carbonated and synthetic drinks should be excluded from the diet, replaced with fruit drinks, compotes, green tea and natural juices.
The daily diet for arthritis and arthrosis should be balanced, enriched with B and D vitamins, Omega-3, trace elements and fiber. Food should be freshly prepared from natural plant foods, not processed foods.
Vitamins and minerals
Affected bone and cartilage tissue, as well as joints should be provided with vitamins and mineralsfor normal operation.
Diet for arthritis of the fingers and other joints in the first place should include:
- vitamin C, abundant in citrus fruits;
- B vitamins found in animal products, grains and legumes;
- vitamin D;
- Omega-3 fatty acids found in red and marine fish;
- potassium, which is available in dried fruits;
- calcium, which requires daily consumption of dairy products;
- sulfur, which provides elasticity to cartilage and retains moisture in the body;
- selenium;
- iron, to saturate cells with oxygen.
Required Products
Like any other diet, he althy eating for arthritis and arthrosis encourages the use of some foods and severely restricts others. However, there is a list of mandatory ingredients that must be introduced into the diet for diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
You should always have these foods in your arthritis or arthrosis diet:
- First of all, you need to drink as much liquid as possible: water, fruit drink, fruit and vegetable juices.
- There are foods high in iron. It is found in abundance in green apples, beef liver, walnuts, seaweed, buckwheat.
- Vegetable proteins. These are beans, sea fish, hazelnuts, red caviar.
- Jellied fish or meat with gelatin.
- Seafood, fish oil, andocean and sea fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout, tuna.
Featured Products
To restore and maintain cartilage tissue, it is necessary to ensure the supply of building material, which is protein. It is found in some plant and animal products. Complex carbohydrates help maintain an active lifestyle, stock up on strength and energy. Moreover, they tend to break down slowly and are not deposited as glycogen. Microelements, minerals and vitamins play a huge role in metabolism. They stimulate metabolic reactions at the cellular level. Therefore, all these nutrients for the body should be equally present in the human diet.
Doctors give advice on diet for arthritis and arthrosis of the joints. The list of products that a person should include in the diet contains the following positions:
- Dairy products: hard cheeses, cottage cheese, sour cream, fermented baked milk, kefir, milk porridge.
- Foods high in potassium: dried apricots, nuts, prunes, bananas.
- Citrus.
- Cereals and bran. Porridges and muesli with cereals and bran contribute to the restoration of bone tissue.
- Jellies and jelly made with fructose and gelatin.
- Vegetables, especially: broccoli, onions, zucchini, garlic, potatoes.
- Fruits: apples, pineapples, pomegranate, apricot, pomelo, oranges.
- Herbs: celery, spinach, green onions.
- Berries:currant, gooseberry, sea buckthorn.
- Fresh juices. Carrot and beet juice effectively remove toxins and toxins, prevent the deposition of s alts in the joints.
Forbidden foods to restrict
To improve well-being and avoid possible complications of the disease, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of some foods to a minimum, while others are completely excluded from the diet for arthritis and arthrosis of the joints.
Doctors include the following items on the list of prohibited foods:
- spicy, s alty, fried, smoked, canned food;
- sweet and yeasty pastries;
- black tea, coffee and cocoa;
- confectionery;
- purchased sauces;
- artificial fats, additives, colors and flavors;
- convenience and instant food;
- meat and fish products prepared under industrial conditions;
- alcohol and synthetic drinks;
- whole milk;
- snacks (crackers, chips, popcorn, seeds).
We looked at what foods should not be present in the diet for the treatment of arthritis. Foods to be restricted include:
- fatty meats;
- pork;
- marinades;
- spices;
- table s alt (it is recommended to replace with lemon juice or sea s alt);
- sugar, honey.
Menu for the week
It should be clarified that the presented diet menu for arthritis and arthrosisis approximate. Some dishes can be removed and replaced with others according to personal taste preferences. In this case, the ingredients must be selected from the list of required and recommended products.
The weekly diet menu for arthritis and arthrosis is presented below.
Monday:
- Buckwheat porridge with water or milk.
- Fruit jelly.
- Low-fat chicken soup with vegetables.
- Kefir or other fermented milk product.
- Baked fish with herbs.
Tuesday:
- Omelette with mushrooms.
- Slice of whole grain bread with cheese.
- Rabbit soup and fresh vegetable salad.
- Green apple.
- Steamed rice and seafood salad.
Wednesday:
- Curd casserole.
- Banana.
- Vegetable soup and boiled chicken.
- Drinkable low fat yogurt.
- Buckwheat porridge with baked vegetables.
Thursday:
- Milk rice porridge.
- Oatmeal cookies.
- Beetroot.
- Ryazhenka or kefir.
- Chicken or fish cakes with steamed vegetables.
Friday:
- Carrot casserole.
- Dried fruits.
- Poultry or rabbit broth.
- Cottage cheese
- Fish baked with vegetables.
Saturday:
- Oatmeal in milk with dried fruits.
- Apple.
- Shi.
- Kefir.
- Boiled chicken with jacket potatoes.
Sunday:
- Barley porridge.
- Boiled egg.
- Chicken broth and baked or fresh vegetable salad.
- Fruits.
- Steamed meatballs and buckwheat porridge.
After dinner, snacks should be abandoned, it is allowed to drink a glass of low-fat yogurt or kefir, or eat one apple or orange. From drinks you can drink water, green tea with lemon, fruit or berry fruit drinks, kissels, compotes.
Dong diet and rice diet
As part of the complex treatment of the musculoskeletal system, the Donga diet, or, as I often call it, Table No. 10, has proven itself well. Its principle is based on the rejection of red meat. The Dong diet improves patients' overall well-being and promotes weight loss.
This nutritional principle is designed for a 10-week period. In addition to meat, the diet for arthritis and arthrosis should be excluded from the diet:
- chocolate in any product;
- dairy products;
- any spices and preservatives;
- egg yolk;
- vinegar;
- alcohol products;
- tomatoes, eggplants and potatoes, because they contain solanine, which causes an exacerbation of rheumatoid arthritis.
Poultry meat is allowed, but in a minimal amount.
Rice diet is primarily recommended for patients whose disease is provoked by overweight. It effectively and in the shortest possible time helps to get rid of extra pounds.
For starters, you can try to arrange for yourselffasting day, eat rice three times a day in small portions: in the morning at 9 o'clock, lunch at 2 and dinner at 6 pm. According to research, this is the time when the stomach works most actively. After 9 pm it is forbidden to drink even water, at this time the gastrointestinal tract is cleared.
If the patient experiences an unbearable feeling of hunger, in addition to rice, the menu can include steamed fish or chicken, fresh vegetables and fruits.
In order not to harm the body, before using the rice diet for arthritis and arthrosis of the knee joint or other joints of the human skeleton, you should consult a nutritionist or your doctor. During a meal, each piece must be chewed thoroughly, and 20 minutes after eating, do a little exercise. The last meal should be no later than two hours before going to bed.
Diet for exacerbations and remissions
With exacerbations of rheumatoid arthritis of the joints, the diet is strictly observed. This is necessary to avoid serious complications. At such a time, s alty, fatty foods, and dairy products are completely excluded from the menu. Only when the condition improves, it is gradually allowed to introduce fermented milk products, fish and steamed meat into the diet. During this period, it is especially important to follow the recommendations of the doctor, to rest more.
In a state of remission, it is allowed to introduce into the diet for arthritis and arthrosis products completely excluded during the period of exacerbation, but only in limited quantities:
- Veal, rabbit meat,poultry meat.
- Cheese, milk porridges and soups.
- Oatmeal and buckwheat.
- Rye bread no more than one piece.
- Fresh and cooked vegetables.
- Fruits and berries.
- Weak coffee and tea with milk without sugar.
- Kissel, compote.
Depending on the patient's well-being, the following dishes can be prepared:
- Borscht with fresh or sauerkraut.
- Liver, kidney and other organ meats.
- Semolina or rice porridge.
- Fish caviar.
- Condensed milk.
- Milk pudding.
This is not to say that there is a specially designed strict diet for arthritis of the hands or other joints for patients. There are a number of recommendations on the selection of products, the use of which has a beneficial effect on the patient's condition, strengthens bone and cartilage tissue, which is especially important during an exacerbation of the pathology.
Some recommendations of specialists to follow during the period of exacerbation and remission:
- Diet food allows you to lose weight, respectively, relieve the load on the legs and joints.
- Include foods high in phosphorus and calcium in your diet.
- Keep a balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
- There is jelly, it contains chondroprotectors that help restore cartilage tissue.
- Eat a handful of nuts daily.
- Completely give up fatty foods with the exception of fatty fish.
- Eat enough vitamins, in the off-season it canbe vitamin-mineral complexes.
- It is better to refuse spices and seasonings, the use of ginger and turmeric, which have anti-inflammatory effects, is allowed.
- It is recommended to arrange fasting days, drink more water and eat small portions five to seven times a day.
Some recipes
Many times stereotypes have been destroyed that any diet for gouty arthritis and other types of pathology implies tasteless and insipid dishes. Eating right and balanced can be not only he althy, but also very tasty.
Fresh fruit and vegetable salad:
- 1 carrot;
- half an apple;
- 3-4 pcs dried prunes;
- a little sour cream for dressing.
Grate the peeled carrots, cut the apple into strips. Pour boiling water over the prunes, wait for the water to cool, drain, remove the pits and cut into pieces. Mix everything and season with sour cream.
Pink salmon:
- 200g pink salmon;
- bulb;
- carrot;
- sweet pepper;
- celery stalk.
Pump salmon, carrots and celery are steamed. Finely chopped onion and pepper are fried in olive oil in a frying pan, grated boiled carrots are added, then the fish is laid out, stewed for 5 minutes over low heat. Before serving, the dish is sprinkled with fresh herbs.
Stuffed zrazy:
- 100g lean minced meat;
- egg;
- a slice of bread;
- bulb;
- some milk.
The onion is grated and mixed with minced meat. Bread is soaked in milk, squeezed and added to minced meat. The egg is beaten with milk, the omelet is fried. Zrazy is molded from minced meat and stuffed with an omelet. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes
Proper nutrition improves the general well-being of the patient, strengthens the immune system, saturates the body with nutrients, restores damaged tissues, and serves as a preventive measure for the development of numerous diseases. Compliance with a diet for arthritis and arthrosis, along with drug treatment, allows you to achieve impressive results, gain motor activity, and eliminate pain.
