Bonus Content: 7-Day Meal Plan for Ultimate Pain Relief

What does the pain in your joints have to do with the food on your plate?

More than you might think…

If you’ve ever had a painful flare-up after an ‘off’ day of eating, perhaps you’re all too well aware of the connection.

The food you eat can either help or exacerbate pain of all kinds, and that includes joint pain.

Certain foods can fan the flame of inflammation in your body.

Chronic inflammation in your body will only worsen any arthritis and joint pain you already feel.

When chronic inflammation feels like an out of control fire, all you can think to do is to quickly extinguish it.

That’s why many doctors will quickly write you a prescription for dangerous nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as the go-to solution for joint pain.

But, these drugs are only like putting a band-aid on a hole in a sinking ship. And they have numerous dangerous side effects.

You should think of chronic inflammation as a more foundational problem. Part of rebuilding that foundation is changing your diet.

The foods you eat can have an anti-inflammatory effect or they can have a pro-inflammatory effect.

This is the case with the foods that follow, which are among the worst foods for joint pain.

5. Vegetable Oil

Forget the idea that vegetable oils like soybean and corn are good for you. These omega-6 fats are linked to inflammation, and they’re likely to turn rancid when you cook with them.

4. Gluten

If you’re sensitive to gluten (and many are without knowing) your body may provoke an innate immune response that causes joint pain and other symptoms. If you’re not sure, eliminate all gluten-containing foods for two weeks and then take note if your joint pain worsens upon re-introduction. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

3. Char-Broiled and Blackened Foods

Cooking food at high temperatures (broiling, frying, grilling, blackening, or barbecuing) lead to the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are known to cause high levels of inflammation.

2. Soda and Sugar

This sugary beverage has been found to make knee osteoarthritis, a common source of joint pain, worse.[i] This may very well be due to the large amounts of refined sugar it contains, as refined carbs lead to spikes in your blood sugar and insulin, and in turn increase body-wide inflammation significantly.[ii]

1. Partially Hydrogenated Oil (Trans Fats)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that trans fats would be banned from foods, but it’s going to take some time to get these highly inflammatory synthetic fats totally off the market.

In the meantime, avoid high-trans-fat-risk foods like microwave popcorn, fried foods, frozen pizzas, cake, cookies, pie, margarines and spreads, refrigerated biscuits, ready-to-use frosting and coffee creamers.

Add nature’s anti-inflammatory foods to your diet

Nature also offers a bounty of foods that fight and drain inflammation in the body.

These are the 12 Best Foods that Fight Inflammation and Arthritis Pain

Next up:

The Ultimate 7-Day Pain Relief Meal Plan

Nature’s Most Powerful Anti-Inflammatory Is Found in Pineapple

Kill Viruses… With a Fruit?

Sources

[i] Study presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., November 2012