The Well-Balanced Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet

Whether you do or do not try adding beneficial oils to your diet, if you have rheumatoid arthritis, it is important that you eat a well-balanced diet and control your weight. A well-balanced diet can help you feel better and can be a positive step in dealing with rheumatoid arthritis. It can also help decrease your chances of developing heart disease or certain types of cancer.

 

Controlling your weight can help minimize stress on the weight-bearing joints, such as the knees, hips, and joints of the feet. It can also minimize your risk of developing other health problems.

 

Some suggestions for eating a well-balanced diet and controlling your weight include:

 

 

What if you are convinced that a certain type of food is helping your arthritis symptoms? While there may be no proven evidence that certain foods (such as cider vinegar, garlic, and honey) can help arthritis, if a particular food seems to help your symptoms, there is probably no harm in incorporating it into a balanced, heart-healthy diet. But keep in mind that while it may be tempting to conclude that rheumatoid arthritis pain gets better or worse because of what was added or eliminated from the diet the day or week before, the unpredictable ups and downs of rheumatoid arthritis make it hard to establish a relationship between diet and disease. Rheumatoid arthritis research scientists have only recently begun to study nutritional therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

 

With supplements or supposed "natural remedies for arthritis," you should use more caution. While these products may seem natural, they can interact with medicines you may be taking and can be expensive (see Natural Cures for Arthritis or Alternative Therapies for Rheumatoid Arthritis).