Let's begin with foods that you should avoid. Most people experience more pain when they take foods such as



1. All dairy products

2. Nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes, white potatoes, peppers (includes bell peppers, cayenne, chili, paprika, pimiento), tobacco, belladonna, and eggplant.

3. Red Meats

4. Corns, wheat, oats, rye, and barley.

5. Eggs

6. Citrus fruits

7. Coffee

8. Foods that are rich in oxalic acid or oxalates such as star fruit (carambola), black pepper, parsley, poppy seed, rhubarb stalks, amaranth, spinach, chard, beets, cocoa, chocolate, most nuts, most berries, and beans.

9. Alcohol

10. Carbonated drinks.

11. Foods that easily get mold which can cause allergy such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, nuts, berries, cantaloupe and honeydew melon

The list above may increase arthritic symptoms. Not everyone react the same to the food groups above. You need to monitor the type of foods that can aggravate the pain.

In the recent years, scientists have identified foods that are friendly to your arthritic conditions.

1. Increase the intake of green, yellow, and orange vegetables such as artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, chard, collards, lettuce, spinach, string beans, summer or winter squash, sweet potatoes, tapioca, and taro . They contains high amount of antioxidants, Vitamins C and E. They help to neutralize free radicals which attack the joints.

2. Eat brown rice instead of corns, wheat, oats, rye, and barley

3. Choose cooked or dried fruits such as cherries, cranberries, pears, prunes. These do not include arthritis trigger fruits such as citrus fruits, bananas, peaches or tomatoes.

4. Drink plenty of plain water.

Include arthritis friendly foods in your diet for four weeks. You should not have any of the trigger foods at all. After four weeks, when the symptoms go away, you can easily identify foods that causes flare-ups by bringing back the food which you eliminate previously into your diet one at a time. Observe if the pain bursts out. If there is any flare-ups, remove the food from your diet. Let the joints heal before you introduce another food. Wait for two weeks before bringing the problematic food into your routine the second time. Don't reintroduce major triggers such as meats, dairy products, or eggs into your diet. They can also cause hormone imbalances that may lead to joint pain.

The foods as listed above are not extensive. You need to determine which foods are friendly and hostile to arthritis by using the above method.

Arthritis foods can help to reduce and manage pain. Elimination of animal protein, nightshade family, and dairy products have helped some people with arthritis. You need to be aware that the results are not the same for everyone. If you follow a healthy diet, you can deal with arthritic pain more effectively.