Arthritis patients can experience extreme stiffness, pain, and swelling during flare-ups. Thankfully, several foods help with bringing down the inflammation and help in relieving the symptoms.

Here’s a diet plan for arthritis patients that consists of the food they should eat and the foods they shouldn’t eat to keep their symptoms under control. Keep in mind that you must consult your doctor before embarking on any special diet so as to not accidentally aggravate your condition.

Foods you should eat

• Soy and soy products
  Omega-3 fatty acids are extremely essential for cutting down the inflammation. Soy in any form is loaded with these essential omega-3 fatty acids. To add it to your diet, you can eat edamame or tofu with your meals. You can also eat soybeans that are low in fat and high in fiber and protein content. Soy can also boost the overall health of a person. Therefore, a diet plan for arthritis patients would be incomplete until you add soy to it.

• Olive oil
  Olive oil contains anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, it can have a good effect on the symptoms of arthritis and hence, should be added to the diet. In a study in which mice were given extra virgin olive oil for 6 weeks, it was found that it could play a role in stopping the development of the condition. Not just that, the study also found out that olive oil could bring down the swelling in joints, reduce inflammation, and slow down the destruction of cartilage. Although more research is required to know the benefits of olive oil for arthritis patients, having it can prove to be beneficial for your overall health and can help in fighting the symptoms of the condition.

• Cherries
  A diet plan for arthritis patients must include tart cherries as they have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which they get from the flavonoid anthocyanin. The effectiveness of the anti-inflammatory properties is such that it has been compared with NSAIDs in some researches. Studies in which Montmorency cherry juice was used found that they could ease the join pain in people suffering from osteoarthritis. They also found that the fruits could reduce the chances of flare-ups in people suffering from gout. In some recent studies, it was discovered that cherries could boost the quality as well as the duration of sleep.

Foods you shouldn’t eat

• Processed foods
  Foods such as packaged meals and baked items are high in trans-fat content to give them a longer shelf life. But once you consume it, the fat triggers inflammation in the body. Therefore, you must ditch processed foods and replace them with fresher variants of it.
• Fried food and red meat
  Red meat is loaded with saturated fats, which can lead to high cholesterol levels and inflammation. Also, when it comes to fried foods, it is not just fried meats that you should avoid. Other foods that are deep-fried such as donuts and french-fries are equally harmful and must not be a part of diet plans for arthritis patients.