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Let's find out what's really true when it comes to diet and arthritis and what's just scaremongering and wishful thinking.
Fact: Losing weight helps
Obesity is strongly linked to risk of arthritis. If you have arthritis, losing weight can help your symptoms improve or slow down the rate at which they get worse. And mobilising arthritic joints is often helpful, so as you lose weight it's easier to move — and as you move, it's easier to lose weight and your joints become less painful.

Myth: Cider vinegar helps
Cider vinegar is the Greek-style yoghurt of natural cures. According to its advocates, it cures everything. Trouble is, it's not so easy to get cider vinegar into your joints, and you really wouldn't want it there anyway. If you have acid in your joints, you'll know all about it: that's gout! There's also no way for cider vinegar, or anything else you eat or drink, to alter the pH of your blood or of your body as a whole. The hydrochloric acid in your stomach is hundreds of times stronger than vinegar. Your body has ways to balance pH so your blood stays a steady pH7.34-7.45, unless you have really serious kidney problems. There's lots of anecdotal evidence to support using this, but no science at all, so if you're using it and it works, by all means carry on, but it's almost certainly just the placebo effect.
Fact: Omega 3 can help
Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid. It's found in oily fish and other sources, including tree nuts. Omega-3 may help to reduce arthritis pain, and it does have a beneficial effect on mood. Arthritis can make you feel down, because the lack of function is frustrating and it's depressing to be in pain, so this effect is important and may be linked to its pain-reducing properties.
Myth: Citrus fruits erode the lining of your joints
Citrus fruits are said to erode the lining of your joints, accelerating the damage arthritis causes and making it more painful faster. However, there's no proof that this is true. In fact, it's the mirror image of the truth. Eating more citrus fruits may actually help you if you have arthritis. In the Framingham heart study in Massachusetts, people who ate over 152mg of vitamin C (equivalent to about 5 lemons) sea their osteoarthritis symptoms improve!
There's a huge amount of information out there on arthritis and diet, but most of it is poorly supported by the evidence and often the actual opposite of the truth coffee, so far from causing gout, can actually decrease your chances of getting it, for instance. Red meat doesn't "acidify the body" (nothing does), and red wine doesn't fix arthritis — though it does contain a class of anti-inflammatory chemicals called resveratrol that may help if you drink it moderately.
READ Apple Cider Vinegar for Weight Loss: Real People, Real Experiences
If you think I've got it right, got it wrong, or just didn't get it at all, whether you're an arthritis sufferer, a professional in the field or you just have something to say, get in touch in the comments section below!
- Photo courtesy of jemasmith via Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/26085795@N02/5330418888
- Photo courtesy of jemasmith via Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/26085795@N02/5330418888
- Photo courtesy of HealthGauge via Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/healthgauge/8432672998
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