People with osteoarthritis should improve their diet by cutting down on highly refined and processed foods, saturated animal fats, sugar and salt, and by eating more wholegrain cereals and fresh fruit and vegetables. A diet high in Omega-3 fatty acids such as fish, vegetables, nuts, flaxseed oil has been found to prohibit the body’s production of inflammatory immune compounds called leukotrienes. Researchers have also found that people who ate at least two servings of baked or broiled oily fish per week reduced their chances of suffering from arthritis almost by half (Simopoulos AP. Essential fatty acids in health and chronic disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;70(30 Suppl):560S-569S).

Oily fish include salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, anchovies, and albacore tuna. You can also take fish oil capsules to reduce stiffness and lessen tenderness in the joints.

Several foods have been mentioned anecdotally as stimulants of osteoarthritis pain. They include potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and orange juice. No studies have been conducted to verify that these foods aggravate the pain of osteoarthritis, however.