Joint pain can be discomfort, pain or inflammation arising from any part of a joint — including cartilage, bone, ligaments, tendons or muscles. Most commonly, however, joint pain refers to arthritis, which is inflammation or pain from within the joint itself.
Joint pain can be mild, causing soreness only after certain activities, or it can be severe, making even limited movement, particularly bearing weight, extremely painful. Eating the right foods can help alleviate joint pain. Here are six of our favorites:
- Spinach – Spinach is high in antioxidants and has been proven to reduce inflammation, pain and slow down the progression of osteoarthritis. You can add spinach to just about anything to make a scrumptious joint healthy dish.
- Nuts – Nuts are nutritious, but walnuts, pistachios, and almonds contain really high amounts of calcium, magnesium, vitamin E, protein, and alpha-linolenic that boost the immune system. Specifically, walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids that help reduce osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis pain.
- Saffron – Saffron acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and helps to reduce arthritis symptoms. Studies have shown that crocin, which is one of the main compounds of saffron is shown to possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiproliferative qualities and it’s effective in people suffering from joint pain.
- Red fruits – Research has shown that the anthocyanins found in cherries and other dark red and purple fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries have an anti-inflammatory effect. Cherries and especially unsweetened tart cherry juice have been shown to have great results in people suffering from osteoarthritis.
- Garlic – Garlic has miraculous effects when it comes to symptom and disease prevention. Apart from lowering blood pressure and helping heart disease, garlic has strong anti-inflammatory properties and helps in reducing the risk of osteoarthritis and its painful symptoms.
- Fish – The fatty fish varieties like salmon, tuna, and trout, and their fish oils are high in omega-3 fatty acids that have been proven to fight inflammation and immediately decrease joint pain. Their high amounts of vitamin D also helps in reducing the symptoms of arthritis and similar diseases.