Food Ingredients That Can Cause Inflammation
Avoid these 8 food ingredients that may trigger more inflammation in your body.
1. 8 Food Ingredients That Can Cause Inflammation
2. Sugar
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
3. Saturated Fats
4. Trans Fats
5. Omega 6 Fatty Acids
6. Refined Carbohydrates
Scientific American
7. MSG
8. Gluten and Casein
9. Aspartame
10. Alcohol
11. Beating Inflammation
Get Expert Advice
Causes And Symptoms Of Arthritis Flares
If you have arthritis, you will likely have experienced a flare-up of symptoms at one time or another, often with no apparent cause. Depending on the type of arthritis you have, it may be related to a specific trigger or the ongoing progression of your disease. It is often hard to tell.
Tips To Help Manage Both Conditions
Having RA doesnt automatically mean youll develop insulin resistance or diabetes. But your risk is increased, so making healthy choices is crucial. Start with these steps, which are good for both your joint health and your blood sugar:
-
Keep moving. Ask your doctor for advice on exercising safely and successfully with RA. Staying active helps maintain your strength and flexibility, and it also helps manage your pain and control your weight. Plus, regular exercise reduces your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If you already have , an active lifestyle helps keep your blood sugar under better control.
-
Lose weight. Drop those extra pounds to take pressure off your hips and knees, which may ease your RA symptoms. Losing weight can also reduce the amount of inflammatory chemicals in your body that are made by fat. If youre at high risk of getting type 2 diabetes, you can lower your risk by losing weight. And if you already have diabetes, you may find that you need a lower dose of diabetes medicine when you exercise consistently.
Recommended Reading: Can Stevia Raise Blood Sugar
Vegetable Oils And Dressings
You might think that oil from corn, sunflowers, and peanuts would be healthy. But these oils are high in Omega 6 fatty acids. While your body needs some Omega 6, too much leads to inflammation. Avoid most mayonnaise and bottled salad dressings, as well as vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, soy, and grape seed.
Best Diet For Gout: What To Eat What To Avoid
We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Heres our process.
Gout is a type of arthritis, an inflammatory condition of the joints. It affects an estimated 8.3 million people in the US alone (
Fortunately, gout can be controlled with medications, a gout-friendly diet and lifestyle changes.
This article reviews the best diet for gout and what foods to avoid, backed by research.
Recommended Reading: Does Wine Lower Blood Sugar
When To See A Doctor About A Flare
If you’re experiencing joint pain that flares up from time to time, Dr. Alam recommends being evaluated.
“For many people, arthritis starts as a flare-up, and it’s important to seek a diagnosis. Remember, you need to know the specific type of arthritis you’re suffering from to be able to prevent or alleviate future flare-ups,” says Dr. Alam.
For instance, you won’t know whether to use ice or heat to relieve your joint pain unless you know if it’s rheumatoid arthritis or gout as opposed to osteoarthritis.
“In addition, and particularly for rheumatoid arthritis, seeking a diagnosis early on gives you a better chance of avoiding the permanent joint damage this condition can cause,” explains Dr. Alam.
And even if you’ve been diagnosed, there are still times you may need to see your doctor about a flare-up.
“It’s very important to call your doctor if you’re experiencing pain in a new joint or if your flare-up is severe, since this could be a sign of arthritic infection,” warns Dr. Alam.
If you’re experiencing a mild flare-up in a joint you’re used to experiencing pain, your doctor may be able to help you manage that pain by prescribing medications over the phone but only if he or she is already familiar with you and your condition.
Lastly, Dr. Alam recommends approaching supplements with skepticism.
Foods High In Purines
For people who have gout, a doctor may advise a low purine diet combined with the medication.
Purines are substances in foods that the body converts to uric acid. Uric acid can build up in the bloodstream, causing a gout attack. According to the , the following foods are high in purines:
- red meat
What a person eats can help:
Usually, inflammation protects the body from harm by helping defend against bacteria and aiding wound healing. However, when inflammation persists for an extended period, chronic symptoms can develop.
What a person eats has an impact on inflammation levels. Some foods are inflammatory, and others are anti-inflammatory.
According to the Arthritis Foundation, numerous studies show that anti-inflammatory foods can reduce arthritis pain and progression.
A persons body weight also influences inflammation levels. Fat cells produce cytokines, which are immune cells that increase inflammation.A person can use diet to maintain a moderate weight, which may help with inflammation and also reduce pressure on the joints.
Finally, some types of arthritis have specific trigger foods. For example, foods that are high in purines
Consuming the following foods may benefit people with arthritis.
Recommended Reading: Will Eliminating Sugar Help Lose Weight
What Exactly Is Arthritis
Arthritis, or joint inflammation, describes swelling and tenderness of one or more of the joints. Its main symptoms include joint pain, swelling and stiffness. Arthritis is a general term for a group of over 100 diseases causing inflammation and swelling in and around the joints.
Joint inflammation is a natural response of the body to a disease or injury, but becomes arthritis when the inflammation persists in the absence of joint injury or infection. Arthritis usually worsens with age and may even lead to a loss of joint movement.
There are different types of arthritis such as:
- Warm skin over the joints
- Redness of the skin over the joints
- Reduced range of movement.
Sugars Impact On Arthritis
Arthritis is another condition that can be worsened by frequent sugar consumption. If youre looking to manage your current arthritis or trying to prevent its development down the road, choosing other alternatives to sugar in your diet can be a beneficial step in the right direction.
Also Check: What Controls Sugar In The Body
How To Treat Arthritis Flare
The best treatment for arthritis flare-ups is good prevention so that they do not occur at all. However, when they do happen, here are some tips on how to manage flare-ups to get yourself moving freely again.
Rest in Moderation
Obviously, rest is an important part of treating an arthritis flare-up because too much activity can cause or worsen a flare-up. However, it is also not a good idea to stop moving entirely, because this can make joints stiff, making the flare-up even worse. Motion is lotion for many chronic pain conditions, so make sure to attempt some sort of movement. Even something as simple as raising your legs in your chair can help.
Heat and Cold Therapy
Heat can help soothe muscle pain by relaxing the area and improving blood flow. Cold can reduce inflammation and numb the nerves in that area. Both of these therapies can be used , depending on your specific flare-up and how you are feeling.
Get Good Sleep and Listen to Your Doctor
It can be hard to sleep with an arthritis flare-up but practicing good sleep hygiene is a great way to help your body heal. Also, continue to follow through on prescribed treatments from your doctor. This is especially true if your flare-up is caused by a lapsed course of treatment.
Inflammatory Foods For Rheumatoid Arthritis
In addition to medication treatment plans that include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs , limiting or eliminating altogether certain foods from your diet can help you to feel better as well.
Inflammatory foods are foods that can produce or trigger inflammatory symptoms in joints and in the digestive system. These are foods that are generally processed, cooked at high temperatures, or contain lots of chemical preservatives and unnatural ingredients. Be sure to check all foods labels carefully for any of the below ingredients.
Read Also: Will Coffee Affect Blood Sugar
Added Sugar Can Increase Oxidative Stress In The Body
Sugar consumption is known to lead to a variety of diseases that are caused by affecting the normal oxidation-reduction balance in the body.
The derailment of this balance creates oxidative stress within the body. Antioxidants are substances that are essential to maintaining the redox balance.
In similar manner arthritis is also one such condition the redox balance is important and arthritis patients are known to have a lesser level of antioxidants.
Sugar is nothing but glucose, which when metabolized generates reactive oxygen species .
Sugar metabolism in the body created AGEs which bring about the oxidative stress in the body.
Scientific data proves that sugar meals increase the antioxidant requirement in the body, failing which oxidative stress is inevitable.
What does this mean?Arthritis patients are already a victim of higher oxidative stress within the body. The consumption of added sugar can further worsen this stress leading to cellular damage.
Overdoing It On Added Sugar Can Contribute To Inflammation Heres How To Eat Less Sugar Without Quitting Cold Turkey
Heres the thing: Sugar itself isnt inherently bad. It gives you energy and occurs naturally in many healthy foods, like fruits, veggies, and dairy, says Jen Bruning, MS, RD, registered dietitian nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics.
The problem is when you overdo it on *added* sugar the kind found in processed foods and drinks. Consistently consuming too much can contribute to obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes mess with your mood and even give you more wrinkles. Plus, eating too much added sugar may exacerbate inflammation which is particularly important when you have rheumatoid arthritis or other forms of inflammatory arthritis.
Also Check: How To Reset Blood Sugar
Or Scan The Ingredients List
Ingredients in a given food are listed by weight if theres sugar in the top three, says Dubost, you know the product contains a lot. There are at least 61 different names for sugar listed on food labels. Some common ones include sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup, as well as cane sugar, dextrose, invert sugar, maltose, and rice syrup, among others. Honey and molasses may be more natural, but they still count as added sugar, says Dubost.
Sugar Intake Promotes Weight Gain And Obesity Which Can Worsen Arthritis
Obesity is common among arthritis sufferers and forms a risk factor for the development of arthritis.
Losing weight is one of the therapy goals in arthritis. Added sugar intake is very well associated with obesity and weight gain.
Added sugar makes you crave for food that is deficient in nutrients and high in carbs making your body nutritionally deficit and gain more weight.
According to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, added sugars in beverages are the most highly consumed, which is responsible for obesity and weight gain.
Research states that the added sugar can make you obese by increase body fat, muscle fat and liver fat. Therefore, sugar intake can be harmful in arthritis patients by increasing pain and inflammation in the body.
What does this mean?Obesity is a risk factor and reason for worsening arthritis symptoms. Added sugar is prominent in increasing weight and obesity which can lead to more damage to your body and complicate arthritis management.
You May Like: What Is The Ideal Blood Sugar Number
Added Sugar Increases Inflammation In Arthritis
Added sugar is found to play a major role in increasing inflammation in the body. It is evidenced by research that sugar has a major role to play in developing rheumatoid arthritis.
Added sugar increases the C-reactive protein and cytokines in the body, which are chemicals that are responsible for inflammation.
Sugar intake increases the insulin secretion in the body, a higher amount of insulin in the body also gives rise to inflammation.
End products derived from the added sugars in the body are found to possess damaging properties. These products tend to accumulate as one gets older and adds on to the bodys inflammation.
Research on animals has shed light on the chemical process that added sugars undergo. These studies reveal that added sugars activate the pro-inflammatory chemicals that initiate inflammation in the body.
What does this mean?Added sugars are responsible for increasing inflammation in the body through various biochemical processes which worsens arthritis in patients.
Added Sugars Worsen Joint Pain In Arthritis
Pain in joints is a classic symptom in arthritis patients. It can limit them from doing normal day-to-day work causing distress.
Added sugars are connected to pain in the joints. It is one of the items that should be restricted in your arthritis recovery diet.
Research states that increased sugar levels in the body can increase joint pain in arthritis patients. This effect is the result of the increased inflammation and oxidative stress caused by sugar intake.
This effect is well studied and proven through animal studies. However, more studies on arthritis patients are yet to be carried out to prove it and establish the mechanism.
What does this mean?Added sugar increase the joint pain in arthritis patients by promoting inflammation and increasing the oxidative stress in the body.
Also Check: What Foods To Avoid If You Have High Blood Sugar
Common Medications To Treat Arthritis Flares
OA patients might just need some OTC pain-relieving medication such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naproxen. Dr. Bose also recommends topical gels and lotions like diclofenac gel or 2 Old Goats. If that doesnt work, Dr. Ashany says joint injections of steroids may be given. RA flares are more complicated. In inflammatory arthritis, steroids are often used to try to quickly bring a flare under control, Dr. Ashany says. If only one joint is involved a steroid can be given by injection, but otherwise it can be taken orally .
In inflammatory arthritis, if flares continue to occur, this indicates that the patients regimen of maintenance medication is not adequate, Dr. Ashany says. This may lead to addition of a medication, switching one drug for another or increasing the dose of medication that the patient is currently taking.
How Added Sugar May Worsen Arthritis Symptoms
Consuming too much processed sugar causes the body to release pro-inflammatory proteins called cytokines, says Bruning. Cytokine levels are already high when you have inflammatory arthritis that chronic inflammation is what causes pain, swelling, and stiffness in your joints.
Overindulging in high-sugar foods also stokes your appetite and can cause weight gain. Added sugar contributes calories with no nutritional value, explains Joy Dubost PhD, RDN, registered dietitian nutritionist and food scientist in the New York City area. When youre overweight or obese, that fatty tissue produces hormones that can put you into more of an inflammatory state.
In fact, a review of research found obesity can lead to more active and severe rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis. Extra weight also puts more pressure and stress on the joints, which can worsen the pain and stiffness associated with inflammatory arthritis, say experts.
Another effect of too much sugar in your diet: too many harmful compounds called AGEs form in the blood, which also contribute to chronic inflammation.
Read Also: Does Ibuprofen Raise Your Blood Sugar
Advanced Glycation End Products
AGEs are inflammatory compounds that can accumulate in tissues, particularly as someone ages. An article in Patient Education explains that people with diseases such as diabetes and RA often have increased AGE levels. So, reducing AGE levels may help reduce inflammation.
Fat and sugar both increase AGE levels in the body. Some food processing methods and high temperature cooking also increase the AGE levels in food.
Foods You Should Avoid When Suffering From Osteoarthritis
Here is the list of foods you should avoid if youre suffering from osteoarthritis:
#1 Wheat products
Wheat products stimulate the inflammatory response of your body. Eating a lot of pasta and grain products may make your arthritis pain wore. Try to eat whole grain products. Avoid yeast additives and whole grains containing gluten.
#2 Fried food
Eating food high in saturated fats such as donuts and French fries can increase inflammation in the body and worsen your arthritis pain. The oils you use to cook food can raise your levels of cholesterol. Thus, when cooking, try to use avocado or olive oil.
#3 Omega-6 fatty acids
Foods containing omega-6 fatty acids like red meat and egg yolks should also be avoided as saturated fats can increase inflammation in the body, making the arthritis pain worse. Instead, choose the foods rich in omega-3s.
#4 Salt
Salty food causes your cells to keep water, which means that they swell up. Eating too much sodium can lead to inflammation. Instead of salt try to use such spices as garlic pepper, flavored peppers, or lemon zest.
#5 Sugar
According to some studies, eating processed cakes, cookies, and other bakery products may change the immune-response of your body to disease. Eating sugar-rich carbohydrates can result in worse inflammation. Try to use natural substitutes such as honey and maple syrup.
You May Like: Why Does My Blood Sugar Go Up Overnight
Associations Between Subject Characteristics And Reporting That Foods Affect Ra
Subjects who reported that foods affect RA were younger than those who did not . Sex, BMI, smoking status, seropositivity, duration of RA, and use of corticosteroids, nbDMARDs, and bDMARDs did not differ between those who reported that foods affect RA, and those who did not. Clinician-reported disease activity scores, patient-reported disease activity scores, and self-reported flares also did not differ between groups, nor did self-reported medical conditions that might affect diet .