Physical therapy is incredibly important and powerful when it comes to taking care of your body and recovering from arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. But you can’t expect to see prolonged results if you do not also take your nutrition into account. There are a lot of common foods out there that can cause or worsen inflammation. If you want to fully curb your arthritis and joint pain, you need to know what foods to avoid, as stated by the Arthritis Foundation.
Eight food ingredients you should not each if you are worried about inflammation include:
- Sugars: We are constantly reminded to keep our sugar intake to a low to moderate level, but for people with inflammatory conditions, they must be especially careful. Sugar is delicious and hard to avoid, but you should make an effort to skip anything that has a high sugar content.
- Saturated fats: Anything with a high content of saturated fats, like most cheeses and pizzas, can be a nightmare for people with inflammatory issues. Additionally, consuming high amounts of saturated fats can increase your chances of developing a heart disease.
- Trans fats: Not to let its sibling, saturated fats, get all the attention, trans fats can also worsen arthritis. Take any fried foods, like potato chips and donuts, in moderation to decrease inflammation.
- Omega-6 fatty acids: While this sounds like a science experiment, omega-6 fatty acids are actually quite common in most oils and dressings, and is believed to be necessary for healthy body growth. As you get older or your arthritis worsens, start to cut back – you aren’t growing anymore, after all.
- Refined carbohydrates: The majority of white breads and potatoes are heavy sources of refined carbohydrates that have been linked to rising obesity rates and worsening arthritis.
- Mono-sodium glutamate (MSG): What is MSG, anyway? Most people don’t know and don’t realize they consume it regularly. This additive that is meant to improve food flavor profiles, especially savory items like soy sauce or certain soups, is a chemical that has been directly linked to chronic inflammation.
- Gluten: The jury is somewhat out on gluten right now. Most of us know one or two people who claim to be allergic to it, despite studies showing only 1% or less of the population has a gluten allergy. Potential allergies aside, gluten can worsen inflammation in just about anyone.
- Aspartame: This is technically a neurotoxin that triggers chemical changes in the brain, but you’ll find it in all sorts of diet products to replace sugar. If your body has an allergic reaction to aspartame to try to fight the toxin, it will manifest as headaches and inflammation.
Keeping track of what you should and shouldn’t be eating can understandably become a burden you want to avoid. If you would like to explore nutritional counseling options for professional guidance and moral support, ProFysio Physical Therapy can help. We offer personalhealthy exercise consultations, instructed by one of our doctors, to inquiring parties so starting towards a better tomorrow is easy and risk-free.