Seven guidelines for a healthy diet

A good diet is important for everyone, but it is especially helpful for people with arthritis. Experts in diet recommend seven basic guidelines for a balanced, healthy diet.

Eat a variety of foods

Maintain ideal weight

Avoid too much fat and cholesterol

Avoid too much sugar

Eat foods with enough starch and fiber

Avoid too much sodium

Drink alcohol in moderation

You can use these guidelines in planning meals every day. A doctor, nutritionist, or other health care professional can help you tailor these guidelines for yourself, for instance, by determining your ideal weight, or teaching you how you can eat more fiber.

Variety

A good diet includes some choices from each of five different groups of foods:

Breads and cereals

Fruits

Vegetables

Poultry, fish, lean meats, or dried beans

Low-fat milk, cheese, yogurt

Eating a variety of foods gives you the nutrients your body needs. Nutrients are substances in food that help the body grow and function.

Arthritis can make it harder to get variety in your diet. Fatigue and pain can lower your appetite. Swollen joints and loss of movement may lead you to avoid foods, such as vegetables, that need more time or effort to prepare and cook. Certain kinds of arthritis and some medications can also affect how well your body uses what you eat.

Preparing food

There are many ways to make preparing foods and cooking easier. Rest while you are preparing meals by planning breaks in between preparations of different foods. On days that are especially painful, use convenience foods to reduce the strain of cooking meals. Some chores, such as peeling or dicing vegetables, are hard on joints that are painful and have lost some movement. Many new appliances help do the work for you and protect your joints.

There are health professionals in your community who can help you learn easier cooking methods. Your doctor can refer you to an occupational therapist for advice on making cooking easier.

Nutrients and medications

Some medications for arthritis can affect the amount of certain nutrients in your diet. For example, corticosteroids cause your body to lose potassium and retain sodium. Antacids, sometimes taken to reduce stomach irritation, also contain high levels of sodium as well as magnesium. It is important to know this if you have kidney problems. Colchicine used for gout can affect how well vitamin B-12 is absorbed. Penicillamine used for rheumatoid arthritis lowers levels of copper. For most people, eating a variety of foods will help keep up the levels of these nutrients.

Can food aggravate arthritis?

No foods have been definitively shown to cause or exacerbate arthritis in most individuals. A variety of diets and "hand-me-down" information exists about certain foods and arthritis, in particular the night shade plants, but none of it has been proven.

However, there is a rare form of arthritis caused by allergies to wheat products called "Sprue." Avoiding wheat products will eliminate the arthritis. Associated features include weight loss, diarrhea, and osteoporosis. Consult your health care provider if this is a concern.

In addition, gout can be affected by diet or by excessive amounts of alcohol. In particular, foods such as brains, kidney, broths, gravies, sardines, anchovies, liver, and sweetbreads may raise uric levels, which may aggravate gout.

Body weight and arthritis

Keeping body weight down helps with arthritis in the knees or hips since these joints bear the weight of the body.

Being overweights puts stress on joints. Many older adults with arthritis also have high blood pressure or heart disease. It is important for both diseases to keep trim by reducing fats, cholesterol and sugar in your diet.

Ask your doctor to check your weight against recommended weights for people your sex, height and age.

Tips for weight control

To lose weight, eat less and exercise more. A good way to eat fewer calories is to cut down on foods high in fats, cholesterol and sugar. A daily walk or swim may help without placing too much stress on joints. If you are overweight, work with a nutritionist and your doctor to find a lifelong weight control plan that is right for you. A nutritionist is a health professional trained to help you plan changes in your diet.

Starch, fiber, sodium, and alcohol

Starch and fiber

Foods high in starch and fiber help give you energy and keep your bowels regular. Most of these foods are also low in fat. They help keep your weight down while giving you the vitamins and minerals your body needs. And they taste good, so they can tempt your appetite. They also are helpful if you are having problems with diarrhea or constipation. Some drugs for arthritis can cause these problems.

Starchy foods are high in carbohydrates, which help supply your body's energy needs. If you cut down on fats and sugars in your diet, you need to increase the amount of starchy foods you eat to give your body another source of fuel for energy. Starchy foods can also supply bulk, which can help if you sometimes have diarrhea. You may have some diarrhea when you first start taking some arthritis drugs, such as oral gold or some nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. If diarrhea continues while you are on a drug, it is important to tell your doctor. You may be able to switch to another medication.

Fiber helps avoid constipation and keeps you regular. It comes from the parts of plants which your body cannot digest. Some types of fiber result in softer stools and more rapid elimination of waste. These foods can help you avoid constipation. Fruits and vegetables are foods high in fiber.

Sodium

Many older adults with arthritis also have to watch how much sodium (salt) they eat because they have high blood pressure. While some frozen and fast foods are convenient, they may also be high in sodium. Some arthritis drugs, such as corticosteroids, also may cause the body to keep too much sodium. Sodium causes your body to retain water, which can affect your blood pressure. Your doctor may recommend a low sodium diet to help with this problem. Some foods now come with low or no salt choices.

Alcohol

Alcohol can affect how well arthritis drugs work. It can weaken your bones. And it also adds pounds, since alcohol puts extra sugar in your diet.

Drinking alcohol does not mix with certain drugs for arthritis. Stomach problems are more likely if you drink alcohol and take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or aspirin. Large amounts of alcohol combined with acetaminophen can damage the liver. Drinking too much alcohol with anti-gout medications may make stomach problems more likely. It may also increase uric acid in the blood, thus lessening the effects of the medication. If you are taking any medications for arthritis, check with your doctor about using alcohol.