Osteoarthritis and diet: what foods to avoid and favor?

Osteoarthritis or osteoarthritis is a disease that can affect all joints of the body. Despite everything, the most common forms are osteoarthritis of the spine, fingers, knees and hip.

In most cases, osteoarthritis manifests itself as joint pain accompanied by swelling. It can also cause nighttime awakenings and difficulty getting rid of rust in the morning in the more advanced stages of the disease.

There are many factors that promote osteoarthritis. It does not only occur with age, as you might think! Other factors may be involved including:

• excess weight ; People who are overweight or obese have a greater prevalence of developing osteoarthritis. The cause is excess weight, which puts significant pressure on the joints.

• intensive sports practice ; especially among tennis players, skiers and rugby players who, through their sports practice, experience sudden movements and shocks that damage the cartilage.

• professional activity ; We are certainly not saying to stop working, but our job can be a risk factor for osteoarthritis. We are thinking in particular of construction professionals.

• genetic factors ; Indeed, osteoarthritis can be transmitted from generation to generation.

• to have a good omega-3/omega-6 ratio. Our modern diet is rich in omega-6, which causes an imbalance in the omega-3/omega-6 balance and therefore promotes a pro-inflammatory environment. To be more precise, omega-6 contributes to the formation of lipid mediators: prostaglandins and leukotrienes from the transformation reaction of arachidonic acid by two enzymes: lipo-oxygenase and cyclo-oxygenase. These lipid mediators are responsible for inflammation. The challenge is to increase omega-3 intake in order to rebalance the balance. In the case of osteoarthritis, omega-3s are involved in particular in the reduction of markers of inflammation, the limitation of the destruction of cartilage, accompanied by the inhibition of the destruction of cartilage cells (chondrocytes).
• to limit the saturated fatty acids which induce inflammation and cause pain. A first study on the animal model highlighted a potential link between a diet rich in saturated fatty acids and inflammation. This could be explained by an increasing increase in the production of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) depending on the intake of saturated fatty acids. CRP is originally a protein produced by the liver and synonymous with inflammation in the body.
• to obtain a acid-base balance in other words a good balance between acidifying foods and alkalizing foods. The diet contains multiple so-called acidifying foods which lead to a lowering of blood pH and inflammation in the cartilage. To put it simply, once the blood pH is below the range 7.37 and 7.43, acids accumulate in the body, causing tissue demineralization and inflammation. Therefore, it will be necessary to include sufficient alkalizing foods in our diet to balance the balance.
• to promote the vitamin D. This vitamin contributes to the proper functioning of bone and muscle tissues, but not only that. A set of studies has shown the link between vitamin D deficiency and the appearance of inflammatory diseases. Indeed, the more advanced the stage of osteoarthritis, the greater the vitamin D deficiency. It is therefore important to have a sufficient daily intake of vitamin D. The synthesis of this vitamin is very particular unlike other vitamins: 20% of vitamin D results from our diet while 80% is synthesized by our body thanks to the rays of the sun.
• to favor the antioxidants. They play a key role in combating oxidative stress by neutralizing reactive oxygen species including free radicals. In osteoarthritis, antioxidants are involved in the fight against the aging of bones and cartilage.

To summarize, in case of osteoarthritis, you should avoid foods as much as possible pro-inflammatory and favor foods anti-inflammatories in your diet to limit joint pain.

THE omega-6s are present in large quantities in our diet and promote a healthy pro-inflammatory.

We recommend you :

• to limit your intake of sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and pine nuts to encourage your consumption of pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, linseed and chia seeds having a good omega-3/omega-6 balance.

• to reduce the use of vegetable oils such as sunflower oil and safflower oil to favor oils richer in omega-3, including linseed oil, chia oil and camelina oil.

A diet rich in saturated fatty acids causes inflammation in the cartilage and therefore pain. Saturated fatty acids ultimately have a quite harmful effect on our health and their consumption must be limited.

We recommend you :

• to restrict the consumption of coconut oil, palm oil, cocoa oil and shea oil as well as their butters which are very rich in saturated fatty acids. Coconut oil is the oil richest in saturated fat with an amount of 86.5 g per 100 g of oil.

• in general, limit the use of butter and crème fraîche and switch to oils lower in saturated fatty acids: walnut oil, linseed oil and chia oil. 

• to reduce your consumption of cheeses such as sheep's cheese, goat's cheese, and Roquefort which are richest in saturated fatty acids. Prefer cheeses lower in saturated fatty acids such as chamois d'or or fromage blanc.

• of prefer white meats red meats whose consumption should be limited to 500 g per week, the equivalent of 5 steaks per week maximum.

The diet includes a lot of so-called foods acidifiers which lead to a lowering of blood pH and inflammation in the cartilage.

• to reduce the consumption ofacidifying foods including meats, fish and eggs in general. 

• avoid excess of certain legumes such as lentils and chickpeas which are slightly acidifying. Prefer beans (white and red) and cooked soybeans which are alkalizing. 

• to introduce into the diet of alkalizing foods such as fruits (including banana, kiwi, grapefruit), green and colorful vegetables (carrot, eggplant, broccoli and spinach, etc.) and dried fruits (apricots, grapes, blueberries, hazelnuts, etc.).

• to associate acidifying foods with alkalizers to promote a good acid-base balance. The meal can consist of a portion of chicken breast (acid-forming food) with a portion of broccoli and potatoes (alkalizing food). And, there you have it, no more acid-base balance problems!

In the case of osteoarthritis, omega-3s are involved in particular in the reduction of markers of inflammation, the limitation of destruction of cartilage, accompanied by the inhibition of destruction of cartilage cells (chondrocytes).

We recommend you :

• to enhance your dishes vegetable oils, notably walnut oil, linseed oil and perilla oil.
• practice fish oil cures (including cod liver oil). These types of oils have the particularity of having a good omega-3/omega-6 ratio and available fatty acids.
• to consume a daily handful of seeds and nuts, the equivalent of 15 g. We find the nuts, flax seeds, chia seeds as well as their oils.
• to introduce into your meals at least one oily fish per week. Mackerel, herring, sardines and salmon are fatty fish naturally rich in omega-3.
• to favor, as far as possible, the purchase of products bearing the label Blue-white-heart which concentrate a significant content of omega-3. This concerns a large list of products including eggs, milk and even meat. To put it simply, the diet of farm animals reflects our daily diet. To do this, Blanc-Blanc-Cœur assists farmers in this quality approach by introducing alfalfa, rapeseed or flax plants into their livestock feed for their richness in omega-3. À as an indication, a Blue-White-Heart egg contains on average 2.5 times more omega-3 than a classic egg.

Vitamin D participates in the proper functioning of bone and muscle tissues, but not only that! Vitamin D deficiency causes the appearance of inflammatory diseases.

We recommend you :

• to consume at least one fatty fish per week including salmon, herring and mackerel which are naturally rich in vitamin D.
• to favor the milks and white cheeses enriched with vitamin D compared to unenriched products which contain a higher vitamin D content.

THE antioxidants play a leading role in the fight against aging of bones and cartilage.

We recommend you : 

• to consume as little as possible 5 servings of fruits and vegetables which provide our body with vitamins, minerals and, of course, antioxidants. The fruits richest in antioxidants are prunes, figs, blackberries and blueberries. And, for vegetables, we find artichokes, cabbage, asparagus and broccoli. In addition to providing antioxidants, fruits and vegetables allow us to stock up on vitamins and minerals.

• to introduce into your daily diet a small handful of walnut kernels or cumin also well known for their antioxidant power.