Arthritis is painful swelling of your joints, and types of arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and arthritic gout. Your diet may impact your risk for developing arthritis or the severity of your symptoms if you already have it, and bitter melon, or bitter gourd, can be part of a plan for staying healthy. For advice on an appropriate diet, consult a nutritionist.
Risk factors for osteoarthritis include family history and older age, and rheumatoid arthritis is more likely to affect women ages 25 to 55 years old, according to the University of Maryland. Regular exercise, with your doctor's permission, can relieve pain from arthritis. A good diet for arthritis is low in trans fats, red meats and refined grains, and high in fruits and vegetables, such as the pods and leaves of bitter melon, or balsam-pear.
Weight Control
Bitter melon can be part of a low-calorie diet for weight control because a raw pod has 21 calories and a cup of raw tips supplies only 14. The low calorie content of bitter melon can be a benefit because obesity increases the risk of pain from arthritis, according to the MayoClinic.com. Low-calorie foods, such as bitter melon, can help suppress your hunger on a reduced-calorie diet. Dietary fiber is an appetite-suppressing nutrient, and a bitter pod provides 3.5 g, or 14 percent of the daily recommended value.
Anti-Inflammatory
Bitter melon and other vegetables may lower your risk for arthritis because they are anti-inflammatory foods. Acute inflammation is a healthy immune response to injury or infection, but high levels of chronic inflammation in your body can raise your risk for many conditions, including heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes and some types of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Potentially beneficial compounds in bitter melon are antioxidants called lutein and zeaxanthin.
Vitamin C
Each cup of raw bitter melon leaves provides 42 mg vitamin C, or 70 percent of the daily recommended value, and a bitter melon pod has 104 mg, or 173 percent of the daily recommended value. High intakes of vitamin C may lower your risk for developing arthritic gout, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. This vitamin is an antioxidant vitamin, and it may lower your risk for other inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Gout Diet; March 2010
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Vegetables and Vegetable Products
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Osteoarthritis; Steven Ehrlich; December 2009
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Lactobacillus Acidophilus; Steven Ehrlich; December 2009
- MayoClinic.com; Arthritis; January 2011
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