If you are eating to promote joint health, try some strawberries. Strawberries contain a key nutrient that's essential for your joints: vitamin C. In fact, strawberries have even higher vitamin C content than citrus fruits. Just 1 cup of sliced strawberries gives you about 94 mg of this vitamin, which exceeds the recommended daily amount for vitamin C.
Collagen
You need vitamin C-rich foods for collagen synthesis. Collagen is important for healthy joints. This tough protein makes up the connective tissues in your joints. If you don't have enough vitamin C, your ability to produce collagen and keep pace with the constant loss of connective joint tissue is hampered, raising the risk of painful wear and tear.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
If you have rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, vitamin C-rich foods like strawberries may help you decrease joint pain thanks to its antioxidant action. Vitamin C increases superoxide dismutase activity, an important factor in protecting against oxidative stress and reducing joint inflammation and pain. Vitamin C also provides anti-inflammatory action and decreases histamine levels. Histamine is associated with inflammation. Vitamin C also may reduce your risk for developing RA. Strawberries provide a small amount of another antioxidant, vitamin A.
Polyarthritis
Eating fruits rich in antioxidants such as strawberries may reduce your risk for developing inflammatory polyarthritis, notes a 2004 study published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. Polyarthritis is a condition in which you suffer from inflammation and pain in more than four joints.
Osteoarthritis
A diet high in vitamin C may not be the answer for reducing joint pain associated with every form of arthritis. If you suffer from osteoarthritis, excess vitamin C may trigger a protein that causes bone spurs, which can worsen joint pain and damage. Your best bet if you have osteoarthritis is sticking to the RDA for vitamin C, notes the Arthritis Foundation magazine Arthritis Today. The recommended daily amount of vitamin C is 90 mg daily if you are a man, and 75 mg daily if you are a woman. If you are a smoker, you need 125 mg daily if you are male, and 110 mg daily if you are female.
References
- University of Illinois: Strawberries & More Nutrition
- Oregon State University Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin C
- "Arthritis"; Michael T. Murray; 1994
- Arthritis Today: The Right Amount of Vitamin C
- "User's Guide to Vitamin C"; Hyla Cass and Jim English; 2002
- "Annals of Rheumatic Diseases"; Vitamin C and the Risk of Developing Inflammatory Polyarthritis: Prospective Nested Case-Control Study; D.J. Pattison; 2004
