Does that old knee or elbow injury really hurt now or do your joints just ache? Arthritis is a painful disease that can certainly lower your enjoyment of life. There are different types of arthritis, but more studies are finding that inflammation could be the start of arthritis. When I was first told I was getting arthritis, I changed my diet and almost immediately felt better.
The Different Types of Arthritis
Osteoarthritis comes from wear and tear of the joints and being overweight since weight puts pressure on your knees. Osteoarthritis mainly affects the weight-bearing joints such as the hips, knees, back, and feet, but can also affect the hands.
Osteoarthritis can be caused when the cartilage breaks down and no longer can act as a cushion for the joints. But new studies recently reported by the Stanford School of Medicine found that inflammation can also be a cause of osteoarthritis. Doctors at Stanford believe that the inflammation process occurs early in the development of osteoarthritis [1].
An article in Rheumatology points out that inflammation is increasingly being looked at as contributing to the symptoms and progression of osteoarthritis [2].
Diagnosed with Osteoarthritis
When I was younger, I played all types of sports like football, basketball, bike riding and jumping on a trampoline plus working at physical jobs. By the time I was in my early 30s, I noticed my knees and back hurt terribly just to get out of bed and kneeling was next to impossible. I started to think this was normal aging.
At this time, I hurt my lower back and went to a doctor. After an examination and x-rays, I found out that not only had I injured my sciatic nerve, the doctor told me I was starting to get arthritis in my knees.
I had the normal symptoms of arthritis which include pain, stiffness, swelling, and a limited range of motion of the affected joints. My doctor was well versed in nutrition and felt that I could relieve arthritis and keep it from getting worse by changing my diet, lose some weight and exercise.
I also learned that resistance training, especially with weights, could rebuild bone density and prevent and even reverse osteoporosis. You don’t have to become a body builder to get these bone building benefits. Exercises with dumbbells work fine. Along with a new plant-based diet, working out became much easier than it had been before.
How I Treated Arthritis
Since my doctor was well versed in nutrition, he recommended books about how diet affects our health. The first author I read was Dr. John McDougall, who also believed that arthritis was caused by inflammation and could be reversed with diet, so I changed to a vegan diet.
Within several weeks of my new vegetarian diet, I noticed that my knees no longer hurt. I was very surprised and further visits to the doctor confirmed the swelling and inflammation had been reduced greatly. I then added stretching and exercise, plus I lost some excess weight.
I have continued to experiment with my diet for the past 20 years and found that certain foods will cause my arthritic knees to hurt again. For me, sugar, dairy, and processed foods seem to be the worst. Because of my change in diet, I have never needed any medication for arthritis. The following video from Dr. Michael Greger will explain how a change in diet can alleviate arthritis.
Conclusion
Some will disbelieve that a change in diet can relieve arthritis and improve health, but for me, it ended the pain and has continued to keep arthritis from progressing.
After changing back and forth, adding some fish and grass-fed beef into my diet, I decided to finally change to a plant-based diet without oil. All aches and pains finally went away. I have learned that I felt best without animal foods, without oil, certainly without dairy products, and very little refined sugar.
I am able to keep my weight at an optimum weight, exercise six days a week, and eat all the plant-based foods I want to, and still feel great.
About the Author
Sam Montana is a certified Food Over Medicine instructor from the Wellness Forum Health Center and certified in optimal nutrition from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Copyright © 2010-2018 Sam Montana
Sources
[1] Stanford Medicine - Osteoarthritis results from inflammatory process, not just wear and tear, study suggests
[2] Rheumatology (2005) 44 (1): 7-16. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keh344
