You are what you eat! While food can’t cure arthritis, a nutrient-rich diet is a vital contributor to maintaining a healthy lifestyle while coping with arthritis and similar mobility-impairing conditions. Hence, it’s doubly important for you as a loved one to help your aging parent formulate an effective nutrition plan filled with nutritious food for arthritis relief.
Avoid Alcohol
Creating a healthy nutrition plan for arthritis is not all about what foods to incorporate into mealtimes, it’s also about what not to incorporate too! While moderate drinking can help to prevent arthritis from developing, alcohol doesn’t help much with pre-existing arthritis, doing more harm than good. Arthritis medicines don’t mix well with alcohol, leading to harmful effects such as stomach ulcers and bleeding that exacerbate your loved one’s arthritis symptoms and pain. While arthritis and alcohol don’t get along, on the other hand, sufficient water intake does wonders for managing arthritis symptoms like stiffness and soreness.
Beating Inflammation
Those who have a certain type of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are prone to joint inflammation throughout the body, causing painful swelling, joint deformity, and bone erosion. If your loved one suffers from an inflammatory form of arthritis, they should increase their consumption of foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, because this type of fat is known to possess anti-inflammatory properties that can manage inflammatory reactions in one’s body. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in foods such as fish, nuts, and seeds.
Meeting the Calcium Quota
Maintaining good calcium levels goes a long way in preventing the trademark pain and soreness arthritis tends to come with. Furthermore, calcium is known to promote bone strength, which strengthens joint function and support, helping to protect your loved one’s bones. Calcium-rich foods to add to your loved one’s meals include:
- Yogurt
- Milk
- Cheese
- Almonds
- Rhubarb
- Figs
Maintaining Healthy Weight
Weight is also an important factor in your loved one’s nutrition and wellness journey, especially if they also suffer from obesity. Additional weight causes extra pressure and stress on the joints, worsening your loved one’s arthritis symptoms and general wellbeing. Thankfully, there are a plethora of methods that’ll lead to sustainable weight loss. When your loved one needs to lose weight, they should avoid sugary drinks, fried foods, processed meats, and other foods that cause weight gain. On the other hand, versatile and filling foods such as beans and nuts are fantastic choices. Having dark chocolate as a treat for yourself between meals is a perfect reward in how it’s guilt-free, is composed of less sugar compared to milky varieties, not being a huge distraction from your loved one’s regular diet.
Unlock Your Loved One’s Wellness with The Trace!
Our senior living community in Covington, LA is an ideal living environment for any older adult on the journey to reach their health and fitness goals, thanks to our health-focused programs. Learn more about how we can keep your aging loved one happy and healthy through the senior living options we offer.
