Your diet may make your arthritis or other joint pain worse. Aging, injury, heredity and other factors contribute to the development of arthritis and other associated conditions, but dietary factors play a critical role in whether your immune system favors inflammatory or anti-inflammatory reactions. Foods that are quickly metabolized, foods with a particular type of fatty acid and foods with the compound solanine trigger inflammatory responses and heighten your joint pain.
Inflammation
Inflammation occurs when your body's immune system detects tissue damage or invasion by some foreign compound or substance. Your immune system sends fluid, white blood cells and other chemicals such as cytokines and arachidonic acid-derived eicosanoids to the afflicted area. The purpose of this response is to protect and heal tissues, but inflammatory responses tend to be excessive, contributing to a broad range of acute and chronic diseases, including arthritis, according to the June 2006 "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." Excessive inflammation occurs, in large part, because Western diets tend to be rich in foods that promote inflammatory reactions.
Omega-6 Fatty Acid Foods
Americans tend to eat 14 to 25 times more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Both types of fatty acids compete for the same receptor sites. When one type of fatty acid predominates in your diet, it predominates in your bloodstream and at receptor sites as well. This imbalance in omega fatty acids promotes inflammatory reactions from the immune system. You can increase your consumptions of omega-3 fatty acids, such as found in fish oil and flaxseed oil, but given how ubiquitous omega-6 fatty acids are in the American diet, you might need to reduce your intake of omega-6 fatty acids. Though not all omega-6 fatty acids increase inflammation, foods that contain or were prepared with most vegetables oils are high in inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. Minimize your consumption of fried foods to help restore fatty acid balance in your diet.
High-Glycemic Foods
High-glycemic foods are quickly digested, absorbed through the intestinal lining and released into the bloodstream as blood glucose. Foods such as sugar and simple carbohydrates flood your bloodstream with glucose, which triggers inflammatory processes, reports Leo Galland, M.D., in the December 2010 "Nutrition in Clinical Practice." On the other hand, high fiber foods slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream and are associated with lower plasma levels of various indicators of inflammation, according to the October 2008 edition of "Nutrition." Foods such as white bread, pastries, candy, baked goods and sweetened beverages spike your blood glucose and over the course of time heighten your inflammatory reactions.
Solanine Foods
Foods high in the compound solanine might contribute to inflammatory responses in some people, according to FitnessMagazine.com. Solanine is a glycoalkaloid toxin produced by plants in the nightshade family of vegetables. The toxin protects the plants from bacteria, insects and other potential invaders, but it can contribute to inflammatory reactions when consumed by humans. Plants that contain solanine include tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and eggplant. Clinical nutritionist Carol Helerstein says that some people are more sensitive to solanine than others.
References
- Cleveland Clinic: Inflammation: What You Need To Know
- FitnessMagazine.com: When Good Foods Are Bad for You
- "Nutrition"; Association Between Dietary Fiber and Markers of Systemic Inflammatin in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study; Yunsheng Ma, et al.; October, 2008
- "Nutrition in Clinical Practice"; Diet and Inflammation; Leo Galland; December 2010
- "The American Journal of Nutrition"; n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Inflammation, and Inflammatory Diseases; Philip Calder; June 2006
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Omega-6 Fatty Acids
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