Arthritis, often mistakenly thought of as joint pain or rheumatism, is actually a condition that is not precisely understood. Arthritis is a general term for a group of inflammatory diseases that affect the joints. It is characterized by inflammatory signs in the joints, such as redness, swelling, heat, pain, and dysfunction, or pathological changes in the tissues that constitute the joint, such as degeneration, exudation, and hyperplasia, which are necessary to be classified as arthritis.
As autumn arrives, the weather gradually cools down, and during this season, the number of arthritis patients tends to increase. Most of these cases are triggered by factors such as dampness and cold, strain, or injury. Therefore, preventing arthritis in the fall is essential. In addition to keeping warm and maintaining good health, attention to diet is also necessary for better prevention and treatment of arthritis.
6 Foods That May Worsen Arthritis Symptoms:
1. Overly acidic and salty foods: Consuming too many acidic foods like peanuts, white liquor, white sugar, as well as chicken, duck, fish, meat, and eggs can cause a temporary increase in the body's acid-base balance, leading to increased lactic acid secretion and the consumption of certain calcium and magnesium ions, thereby aggravating symptoms. Similarly, eating salty foods like pickles, salted eggs, and salted fish can increase sodium ions in the body, worsening the patient's symptoms.
2. High-fat foods: During the oxidation process in the body, fat produces ketones. Excessive ketones have a strong irritant effect on the joints. Therefore, patients should not eat too many high-fat foods such as milk and fatty meat. It is also advisable to use less oil when cooking and making soups.
3. Seafood: Patients should avoid eating scaleless fish and seafood, such as catfish, loach, eel, kelp, sea cucumber, sea fish, and sea shrimp, as they contain uric acid. After being absorbed by the body, it can form urate crystals in the joints, worsening joint symptoms.
4. Reduce the intake of sugars and fats, avoid fried foods, and use less oil when cooking. Choose low-fat or skim milk. Try to eat less ice cream.
5. Tea, coffee, citrus fruits, and dairy products may also worsen symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
6. For patients with symptoms of damp-heat, alcohol consumption is not advisable because alcohol heat injures the liver and alcohol dampness injures the spleen. If combined with hot-natured herbs like Aconite, Cinnamon Bark, or Asarum, it can worsen internal heat, swelling, and pain. Long-term use of painkillers, which irritate the gastrointestinal tract, can be further exacerbated by alcohol, intensifying the side effects of the medication.
6 Foods That Can Relieve Arthritis Symptoms:
1. Foods that promote blood circulation, unblock collaterals, and dispel wind to relieve pain, such as snake and insect dishes, can be cooked or soaked in wine for consumption. They can alleviate local redness, swelling, heat, and pain, and also prevent the condition from spreading to other joints.
2. A variety of vegetables and fruits can meet the body's needs for vitamins, trace elements, and fiber. They also improve metabolism and have the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and alleviating pain, thereby relieving local redness, swelling, heat, and pain.
3. Foods like mushrooms and black fungus can boost the human immune system and help alleviate local redness, swelling, heat, and pain.
4. Foods like bitter melon, bitter herbs, purslane, and loofah have the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, which can help relieve local fever and pain.
5. Eating iron-rich foods, such as animal liver and bone broth; green leafy vegetables like spinach, tomatoes, Malan head, shepherd's purse, rapeseed, and amaranth; and fruits like red dates, peaches, plums, apricots, and oranges can help prevent anemia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
6. Consuming pork, beef, mutton, and bone broth can help dispel cold and dampness. Foods and medicinal herbs like snake meat, dog meat, eel, Millettia root, Aconite, Cinnamon Twig, Asarum, Astragalus root, Red Sage root, Solomon's seal rhizome, and Ligusticum wallichii can nourish qi and blood, benefit the liver and kidneys, and dispel wind and dampness.