Millions of Britons are currently living with arthritis and other joint problems.
Depending on the type of arthritis it can cause issues such as pain, inflammation, joint stiffness and even difficulty moving.
There is no cure for arthritis, however, there are ways to both reduce your risk of the condition and ease symptoms.
With this in mind one expert spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk about how to use diet to ease arthritis symptoms.
Pharmacist Mark Burdon from topical joint and muscle pain specialists Deep Relief, said: “Diet has an impact on arthritic pain through an effect on inflammation.”
According to Mark, the best diet you can stick to to prevent inflammation is the Mediterranean diet.
He said: “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.”
The Mediterranean diet is rich in healthy fats, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds.
It is consistently cited by health bodies as the best diet for a range of conditions such as heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Mark explained: “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.”
His advice was backed by a medical study, published in Clinical Nutrition journal in 2020.
The research analysed the impact of sticking to a Mediterranean diet for four years on more than 4,000 participants.
It concluded: “Higher adherence to Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk of pain worsening and symptomatic forms of knee osteoarthritis.”
And another, published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, found that eating a Mediterranean diet could ease symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
It said: “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.”
Mark also warned against eating certain foods if you have or are at risk for arthritis.
He added: “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.
