Pharmacist explains best diet to reduce arthritis and joint pain

05 March 2024 , 17:07

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A woman has pain in her palm because of a pinched nerve in her hand [file image] (Image: Getty Images)

Arthritis is a painful condition that affects millions of people in the UK. While there's no cure, there are ways to ease the pain.

One way is to follow an anti-inflammatory diet, such as the Mediterranean diet. This diet is rich in healthy fats, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds. It helps to reduce inflammation in the body, which can lead to less pain. Pharmacist Mark Burdon from Deep Relief, a company that specialises in topical joint and muscle pain relief, said: "Diet has an impact on arthritic pain through an effect on inflammation.

"An anti-inflammatory diet reduces inflammatory markers in the blood and can reduce pain. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet has been shown to be linked with reduced inflammation through the same mechanism." He added: "A healthy anti-inflammatory diet also contributes to the ability to maintain a healthy weight."

"Too much fatty tissue especially around the stomach releases inflammatory mediators causing inflammation so it's important to maintain weight in the healthy range." Eating the right foods can help with sore joints and arthritis, health experts say. They tell us that eating lots of colourful veggies and fruits, yoghurt, beans, fish, and olive oil is good for you, reports the Express.

Mark said: "Anti-inflammatory foods for arthritic and joint pain include colourful vegetable and fruits, live yoghurt and other fermented foods, beans, pulses, oily fish, extra virgin olive oil with moderate amounts of high protein foods such as poultry, cheese, eggs, nuts and seeds and small amounts of lean red meat with sweet foods eaten only occasionally."

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A study in a big science magazine in 2020 said that following a Mediterranean diet can make knee pain less likely to get worse. Another study showed that this kind of diet helps people with rheumatoid arthritis feel better. It shared: "The results indicate that patients with rheumatoid arthritis, by adjusting to a Mediterranean diet, did obtain a reduction in inflammatory activity, an increase in physical function, and improved vitality."

But Mark also told us to stay away from processed food that's full of fat and sugar because it can make inflammation and arthritis pain worse. He warned: "Highly processed food high in saturated fat and sugar, increases inflammation and may increase the risk of arthritic pain." If you are suffering from joint pain and are concerned you could have arthritis you should speak to your GP.

Rom Preston-Ellis