Arthritis is a chronic, debilitating condition that doesn’t have a cure yet. Instead, doctors assist patients diagnosed with arthritis to manage the condition and reduce flare-ups through various methods, the most important being medication and diet. If you have a family history of the disease or are worried about it for some reason, you can always be proactive and begin practicing habits that can help prevent it.
While factors such as genetics, lifestyle, and chronic stress can increase your risk of arthritis, diet also plays a very important role in the prevention of the disease. And this includes beverages as well. A lot depends on what you choose to consume and how you choose to consume it. A cup of coffee can be an antioxidant-rich way to start your day or an unhealthy drink bogged down with sugar and cream.
Here are 5 drinks that have been proven to help reduce your risk of arthritis or help manage its symptoms.
Water
As a general rule of thumb, you should always drink more water. There is no better drink than humble tap water to help with all aspects of your health, and this is the same for arthritis. Since inflammation is the biggest influencer of the disease, it’s important to stay hydrated and allow the body to flush out toxins that may end up causing it. Staying hydrated also helps keeps the joints lubricated, preventing pain and swelling in them.
Aim to drink about 2 liters of water every day. There’s no need to buy vitamin water, just plain old filtered tap water will do!
Tea
Tea has always been touted for its numerous health benefits, and there have been a number of studies that have proven the same. Whichever form of tea you like to sip on, you’d be pleased to know that all of them are good for you. All types of tea contain a healthy dose of polyphenols, which are strong anti-inflammatory compounds – this helps prevent a number of health conditions, including arthritis.
Green and white teas, though, contain the greatest number of polyphenols, but green tea is the way to go if you’re looking for the best of the best. Green tea contains a polyphenol type called epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG), which research has proven to be 100 times stronger in antioxidant ability than both vitamins C and E. What’s more, is that ECGC may also help keep your joints stay strong by improving the strength of cartilage and bone.
Tart Cherry Juice
Juices that are rich in vitamin C come with a lot of health benefits, including a high content of antioxidants. Since antioxidants help neutralize free radicals in the body, which are notorious for causing inflammation, vitamin C-rich fruits are a great thing to add to your diet to help prevent arthritis.
However, in most cases, it’s far better to have the fruit in its natural form than as a juice as the latter comes with lots of added sugar and calories. Tart cherry juice is the exception to the rule since it has been found to reduce osteoarthritis symptoms and prevent flare-ups of gout.
Smoothies
While fruit juices aren’t typically recommended, smoothies, on the other hand, are great! This is because smoothies contain the entirety of the fruit, fiber, and all. Plus, they are a great way to digest a number of different healthy fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other ingredients. You could even add some yogurt to get a dose of probiotics.
With smoothies, you can make sure to have a balanced beverage that could even replace a meal. By adding healthy ingredients to your drink, you can ensure you get a delicious drink that is also rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and probiotics.
Milk
Certain patients who’ve been diagnosed with arthritis are advised to stay away from dairy products because they are sensitive to the proteins in milk. As a result, consuming dairy can result in bloating gas, and inflammation – the last of those is the biggest worry for arthritics.
On the other hand, if consuming dairy doesn’t cause any negative effects on your body, having a glass of milk every day may be actually beneficial to you. This is because there has been some research that suggests milk consumption may actually prevent gout and slow down the progression of osteoarthritis.
