Is Sugar Bad For Osteoarthritis
Sugar products and carbohydrates rich in sugar, like cookies, processed cakes, and bakery items may change the immune response of your body to osteoarthritis. This reaction may cause inflammation and forces your strained joints to feel weak than before. Especially, white bread, white rice, and other food items made of white flour come with carbohydrates in a relatively high amount. These refined carbohydrate-based products produce glycation types of products, which stimulate inflammation.
Another study has revealed that honey, pure maple syrup, and other natural substitutes may appease the sweet tooth of various osteoarthritis patients without triggering any osteoarthritis symptom. However, added sugars may increase a compound referred to as cytokines to stimulate inflammation.
Hence, you need to read the food labels properly, as you may surprise to know that most of the food items, like candies, cereals, foods, yogurts, and juices contain added sugars. Accordingly, men suffering from osteoarthritis should never consume more than 36 grams of added sugar in one day. In contrast, women should have a maximum of 25 grams in a single day. Simultaneously, you should never rely on artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, as doctors until now do not know their effects on arthritis.
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
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The Scoop On Supplements
Supplements abound when it comes to arthritis. But only glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate have some evidence to support their use. Glucosamine with chondroitin may decrease pain in people with moderate to severe osteoarthritis of the knee.
Note that osteoarthritis is the only type of arthritis that may benefit from these supplements. They do not help people with rheumatoid arthritis.
In general, glucosamine and chondroitin have minimal side effects. Steer clear of glucosamine if you are allergic to shellfish, or consider only glucosamine derived from a vegetable source. Glucosamine may raise blood sugar. Chondroitin can interact with anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs such as warfarin and aspirin that can increase the risk of bleeding.
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Five Reasons Why Sugar Worsens Arthritis
Sugar worsens arthritis symptoms such as pain.
This is due to the increased inflammation caused by sugars and by giving rise to an oxidation-reduction imbalance in the body.
Sugar is also found to increase the weight which is not recommended in arthritis as it can worsen the pain and disease control.
Lastly, sugar also raises cholesterol levels in the body that causes more inflammation and pain.
How Sugar Affects Rheumatoid Arthritis
Its not news that sugary sweet soda is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease, but a 2014 study suggests that it also ups rheumatoid arthritis risk in women. And, if you already have rheumatoid arthritis, sugar isnt so sweet on your joints.
While scientists do not know for sure how sugar harms your joints, they think it could come down to inflammation. That slow-burning fire is how rheumatoid arthritis attacks your joints and brings on the pain, swelling and stiffness you feel. Excess sugars are thought to add more fuel to the flame. And, of course, too much soda can pile on the pounds, which further adds to RA risk.
It gets worse: Sugar also ups your risk of other dangerous diseases that often tag along with RA, such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes. According to some studies, RA sufferers have up to twice the risk of cardiovascular disease and a 50% increased risk of diabetes. So cutting back on sugar is especially smart for people with RA.
The good news is that you dont have to completely neglect your sweet tooth when you cut back on sugar. Try these five alternatives to satisfy your sweet cravings and keep RA inflammation and other diseases at bay.
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Rheumatoid Arthritis And Sugar
When you are diagnosed of rheumatoid arthritis, there are foods that you are supposed to do away with. These foods that increase inflammation should be the last thing you want to include in your rheumatoid arthritis diet. Rheumatoid arthritis and sugar are believed to be two things that should not be mixed and especially the refined sugars. These sugar increase the acidity of the body and hence the joint inflammation. These sugars include the brown sugar, corn syrup and white sugar you can replace them with stevia natural sweeteners, fruit juice, agave nectar and honey. Decreasing the general intake of sugar is also important as it helps you reduce chances of increasing you blood sugar which may increase inflammation.
Fruit juice concentrates is good in sweetening baked foods and more so it add no risk factors to your body. Rice syrup is also good and can be used in your sugar usage to replace refined sugars as it has an excellent taste. Date paste is an excellent sugar alternative it can be used in your baking, pancakes as well as cookies. Using honey is another great alternative for your drinks as well as baking it is healthy and sweet and puts you under no risk factors. Rheumatoid arthritis and sugars will never be a problem if you stick to the natural sugars and do away with refined sugars.
The Link Between Sugar And Osteoarthritis
Sugar has long been considered the bad guy in many health problems, but new research is making a link between sugar consumption and osteoarthritis. Is your sugar habit adding to your arthritis pain?
Twenty-seven million Americans have osteoarthritis, an inflammatory and degenerative condition that affects joints. It’s often caused by wear and tear, aging and injury to affected joints. Osteoarthritis of the knee is among the most common complaints patients bring to their doctors for medical attention. In fact, by age 85, fifty percent of people will have osteoarthritis in their knees. While many people assume arthritis is inevitable, scientists and doctors are interested in learning why many people avoid getting it, what factors contribute to developing it and how people can live well in spite of it. One factor that’s getting new attention is the impact diet has on arthritis symptoms including joint pain and stiffness.
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Improve Arthritis Symptoms With Your Diet
No one diet can make your arthritis go away, but paying attention to your diet and making slight changes can help ease your symptoms, explains Dr. Suk.
Cutting back on the foods that promote inflammation in the body , including more fresh fruits and vegetables and more foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids can really go a long way in reducing your arthritis pain.
Geisinger Health Plan may refer collectively to Geisinger Health Plan, Geisinger Quality Options Inc., and Geisinger Indemnity Insurance Company, unless otherwise noted. Geisinger Gold Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and HMO D-SNP plans are offered by Geisinger Health Plan/Geisinger Indemnity Insurance Company, health plans with a Medicare contract. Continued enrollment in Geisinger Gold depends on annual contract renewal. Geisinger Health Plan Kids and Geisinger Health Plan Family are offered by Geisinger Health Plan in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services . Geisinger Health Plan is part of Geisinger, an integrated health care delivery and coverage organization.
Clinical Contributors To This Story
Halyna Kuzyshyn, M.D. contributes to topics such as Arthritis, Men’s Health, Women’s Health.
Roughly 54 million adults have been doctor-diagnosed with arthritis and according to the Arthritis Foundation, the number of people battling this disease by 2040 is projected to soar to over 78 million.
Arthritis is a general term that encompasses conditions of joint pain and functional limitations. Symptoms of joint swelling, pain, stiffness, and a decreased range of motion mark the illness.
There are many different types of arthritis, divided into two main categories: inflammatory and non-inflammatory. The most common form of non-inflammatory arthritis is osteoarthritis, while the most common inflammatory arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune inflammatory illness that occurs when joints and other tissues are mistakenly attacked by the immune system. Halyna Kuzyshyn, M.D., board certified in rheumatology and internal medicine, explains that if the tissue remains inflamed it can lead to the loosening of tendons and ligaments while also destructing joints with cartilage damage, bone erosion, and loss of function.
While there is no concrete research on diets that can treat rheumatoid arthritis, researchers have identified certain pro-inflammatory foods. Dr. Kuzyshyn advises that the following six foods should be avoided or at least limited to help reduce inflammation and joint pain:
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Foods That May Worsen Ra Symptoms
“There’s no proven diet that will do anywhere near as well as the current drug therapy,” says Vinicius Domingues, MD, a rheumatologist based in Daytona Beach, Florida, and a medical adviser to CreakyJoints. “There’s no diet that’s going to put your arthritis in remission.
But what you eat or don’t eat can make a difference. Here are some foods to think twice about, because they contribute extra calories and provoke inflammation that worsens your RA symptoms.
How Sugar Interacts With Rheumatoid Arthritis
People with RA have been found to have proteins in their body called anti-citrullinated protein antibodies . These proteins can cause the inflammation that triggers RA, and experts believe that sugar can tell the body to make ACPA, which will make symptoms worse.
Sugar has also been found to affect the gut microbiome, which is the balance of good and bad bacteria in the digestive tract. People with RA have been found to have gut microbiomes that are out of balance, and sugar can encourage the growth of bad bacteria that can alter the gut. The result of off-kilter gut bacteria is inflammation, which can lead to RA symptoms.
Multiple studies have found that by simply removing sugar from a diet, patients have lost weight and found a reduction in RA symptoms. Avram Goldberg, MD, suggests, If you do find that sugary foods seem to make your RA symptoms worse, then you should keep them to an absolute minimum.
One of the easiest ways to cut out a large portion of sugar from a diet is to avoid sugary drinks. Many people dont realize how much sugar is hiding in a simple beverage, but they are the biggest contributors of sugar in the American Diet. One study found that women who consumed one sugar-sweetened soda a day were about 60% more likely to get RA than women who drank less than one a month.
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How To Satisfy Your Sugar Cravings
If you have RA, you donât have to skip the sweet stuff entirely. âAll the studies show an association between sugar in your diet and RA. We canât definitively say the two are connected,â Goldberg says. âBut if you do find that sugary foods seem to make your RA symptoms worse, then you should keep them to an absolute minimum.â
Here are some ways to do it:
Skip the sugary drinks. Theyâre already the biggest contributors of sugar in the American diet, Prest says. Women who drank at least one sugar-sweetened soda a day were about 60% more likely to get RA than women who drank less than one a month, according to a 2014 study in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Read food labels carefully. Seemingly non-sugary foods like cereals, yogurts, frozen meals, and even condiments like ketchup may have a lot more added sugar than you may realize. If you have RA, itâs a good idea to keep your added sugar intake to less than 5% of your total daily calories, Prest says. Check the nutrition label, which is now required to list added sugars in grams and as a percent of Daily Value.
You should also do a quick scan of the ingredient list for common names for sugar, such as sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, barley malt, dextrose, maltose, and rice syrup, Hsiao says. If one of those is among the first three ingredients, chances are, itâs a high-sugar product.
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Dietary choices are always important to overall health, but if you have arthritis, the foods you choose can have a surprising impact on your joint health. You may find some arthritis trigger foods cause pain, stiffness, and swelling, while others actually alleviate your symptoms.
There are several common trigger foods to avoid if you have arthritis. For happier, healthier joints, try these simple food swaps.
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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.
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.
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Foods Arthritis Sufferers Should Avoid
Arthritis stems from the degeneration and overuse of joints. It mostly affects the knees, fingers, and hips. Individuals with this condition experience joint pain and stiffness that often gets progressively worse, especially as they age. There are many types of arthritis out there, though the two most common forms are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Although arthritis is not a pleasant condition, however, there is arthritis treatment out there. Many patients take anti-inflammatory medication to achieve arthritis relief. There are also topical ointments for arthritis out there. Some individuals even engage in pickleball for arthritis, along with other forms of physical activity. Of course, it is vital to note that individuals with arthritis must pay attention to their diet. Certain foods can have a significant and negative effect on their symptoms.
Ra Medicines That Affect Blood Sugar
Talk with your doctor about how your RA medication may be affecting your blood sugar. Corticosteroidssuch as , prednisolone and methylprednisolone can cause increased blood sugar levels as a side effect. To minimize side effects, corticosteroids are usually prescribed for the shortest possible time at the lowest effective dose.
In contrast, certain other RA drugs may actually reduce the risk of developing insulin resistance or diabetes. They include:
- Hydroxychloroquine , which modifies the course of RA
- TNF inhibitorssuch as adalimumab , certolizumab , etanercept , golimumab and infliximab which block the inflammatory protein TNF
- Tocilizumab , which blocks the inflammatory protein IL-6
-
Abatacept is an elective T-cell costimulation blocker
Working with your doctor to take care of your RA can really pay offyou could be helping your blood sugar stay in check, as well.
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Artificial Sweeteners And Arthritis
Because a diet rich in sugar can aggravate arthritis, experts often advise people who have this condition to reduce their sugar intake. This may lead you to consume foods with artificial sweeteners used as sugar substitutes. If you’re sensitive to these substances, your immune system may react, triggering an inflammatory response, according to the Arthritis Foundation. The resulting inflammatory response may aggravate arthritis symptoms like joint pain and swelling.
- Because a diet rich in sugar can aggravate arthritis, experts often advise people who have this condition to reduce their sugar intake.
- If you’re sensitive to these substances, your immune system may react, triggering an inflammatory response, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
How Common Is Arthritis
Arthritis is common, with an estimated 10 million people living with the condition in the UK alone. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting around 8 million in the UK.
Whilst arthritis is most commonly associated with the elderly , a number of forms or arthritis can affect people of any age, including children.
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What Are Added Sugars Anyway
Naturally occurring sugars are found in most fruits, whereas added sugars are additives found in a wide range of processed foods and beverages to enhance the flavor. Added sugars come in many different forms including corn syrup, brown sugar, honey, raw sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fructose, and glucose, to name a few.
Next Steps & Resources:
- Meet our clinical contributor: Halyna Kuzyshyn, M.D.,
- To make an appointment with Dr. Kuzyshyn or a doctor near you, call or visit our website.
References:
- J Nutr. 2014 Jul 144:1037-42. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.189480. Epub 2014 Apr 17. Dietary intake of advanced glycation end products did not affect endothelial function and inflammation in healthy adults in a randomized controlled trial. Semba RD1, Gebauer SK2, Baer DJ2, Sun K3, Turner R3, Silber HA3, Talegawkar S4, Ferrucci L5, Novotny JA2.
- Autoimmun Rev. 2018 Sep 10. pii: S1568-997230210-6. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2018.05.009. Are we really what we eat? Nutrition and its role in the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. Philippou E1, Nikiphorou E2.
- Adv Nutr. 2017 Jan 17 8:54-62. doi: 10.3945/an.116.013912. Print 2017 Jan. Formation of Fructose-Mediated Advanced Glycation End Products and Their Roles in Metabolic and Inflammatory Diseases. Gugliucci A1.
- Neonatal monosodium glutamate treatment causes obesity, diabetes, and macrovesicular steatohepatitis with liver nodules in DIAR mice. Tsuneyama K1, Nishida T, Baba H, Taira S, Fujimoto M, Nomoto K, Hayashi S, Miwa S, Nakajima T, Sutoh M, Oda E, Hokao R, Imura J.
- Rheumatology . 2013 May 52:856-67. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kes376. Epub 2013 Jan 3. The protective effect of alcohol on developing rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Scott IC1, Tan R, Stahl D, Steer S, Lewis CM, Cope AP.
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