Many claims are made that changes in diet can prevent, improve, or reverse the symptoms of OA. These diets suggest eliminating your consumption of red meats, “acidic” foods (such as tomatoes and peppers), fatty foods (red meat and dairy products), processed sugar, or alcohol.
Proponents of these diets contend that these substances cause “allergies” or other immune reactions, which are manifested as OA. Other diets recommend adding certain foods to treat OA, such as fish oils, green vegetables, seaweed, seeds, and whole grains. These foods are thought to contain micronutrients, antioxidants, and other substances that will prevent the onset of OA. Still other diets promote regular fasting as a way of “cleansing the body” and decreasing the amount of immunological irritants one takes in.
Currently, medical research does not support the concept that modifying your diet or eating larger amounts of certain foods will prevent OA or reverse its effects. Additionally, the regular consumption of “acidic” foods is not associated with an increased risk of OA. While the use of moderate amounts of alcohol and tobacco are not recommended as a general rule, their consumption has not been associated with increased rates of OA.
Despite these facts, diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, and research suggests that some changes in diet may be helpful when you have OA. Specifically, the goals of a healthy diet in individuals with OA should be to treat obesity and osteoporosis.
Diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. The goals of a healthy diet in individuals with osteoarthritis should be to treat obesity and osteoporosis.
Overweight persons might reduce their chances for developing or aggravating their osteoarthritis by losing weight. Obesity increases the risks associated with most types of surgery and makes rehabilitation following orthopedic surgery more difficult. Furthermore, if a person already has osteoarthritis in a weight-bearing joint, having a higher body weight can accelerate the joint damage. Therefore, a diet low in calories can ameliorate at least this risk factor.
The principal mineral in bones is calcium; vitamin D is necessary for the body to absorb and use calcium. People with low calcium and vitamin D intakes can suffer from osteoporosis, which is itself a risk factor for OA. Specialists in the treatment of osteoporosis recommend exercise and adequate calcium intake, as recommended for age and gender, to help maintain bone density. In addition, supplementation with vitamin D can help prevent bone loss. In particular, vitamin D deficiency has been shown to increase a person's risk for OA disease progression. Although supplementation of vitamin D in patients with normal vitamin D levels has not been shown to decrease the rate of OA progression, taking the recommended daily requirement of this vitamin is not associated with adverse events.