Osteoarthritis (OA), also known as degenerative arthritis, is considered to be the most common form of arthritis. The most common symptoms felt by patients of this degenerative disease are joint stiffness and joint pain. When left untreated, it can be the leading cause of many types of disabilities.
If you’re suffering from this disease, despair not for all is not as bleak and dreary as it seems. Although there’s no remedy that can cure this condition completely yet, there are quite a few things you can do to help alleviate the pain. Your diet for example, can influence the frequency and intensity of the pain. Foods such as potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants should be avoided if you find that they make your osteoarthritis condition worse. Additionally, coffee and alcohol consumption should also be reduced. While there is no hard written rule on what you should and shouldn’t eat, the best way to tell what type of foods you should avoid is to keep a record of the foods you eat and remove the ones that tend to cause you pain.
List of Osteoarthritis Home Remedies
The natural remedies listed below are great for reducing inflammation and speed up cartilage regeneration. Some of the ingredients might be harder to find locally but I have included the link where you can purchase them online. When in doubt, always check with your doctor first!
Water. Our body is made up of 50-65 percent of water; our brain 70 percent. Yet, why do so many people drink less than 8 glasses of water every day? To stay in good health, you need to keep your body well-hydrated. This is especially true when you want your body to make new cartilage for your joints and make it easier for you to bend them and move around. In short, drink plenty of plain, clean water every day and you will see a major improvement in your overall health. You will not only feel better, think better, live longer but also have more energy!
Vitamin C. Having enough vitamin C in your diet is very important because without it, your body will have a very hard time making collagen. Collagen is basically the building block for cartilage, tendons, muscles and bone. Since you are using your joints for various daily activities, your body needs enough vitamin C to repair and replace the cartilage as necessary. Furthermore, vitamin C has been found to help slow down this degenerative disease and reduce the pain.
So, in order to help accelerate cartilage regeneration, you need to include enough vitamin C rich foods such as red peppers, papaya, oranges, lemons, kiwi, and broccoli into your diet. Having said that, you shouldn’t overdo it either. Too much of anything is bad for you; everything in moderation, including moderation!
Vitamin D. Having foods that are rich in vitamin D can be beneficial to your health in many ways, which in turn can help reduce the swelling and pain. In fact, vitamin D can help slow down the evolution of osteoarthritis. Seafood such as salmon and sardine are great sources for getting this vitamin into your system. If you don’t like seafood, try eggs or other dairy products. You should also spend at least 5 minutes in the sunshine every morning to let your skin turn the sunlight into vitamin D. Again, avoid taking too much vitamin D or staying under the sun too long because too much of anything is toxic.
Beta-carotene. Foods such as carrots, oatmeal, pumpkins and baked sweet potatoes are all great sources of beta-carotene. You need enough beta-carotene foods in your diet because they can help slow down your arthritis condition with their antioxidant proprieties.
High-fiber foods. If you have been eating healthy, you will know whole grain foods such as brown rice and corn are extremely beneficial to our body. These foods can not only help with the repair of arthritic joints but also help you make it easier for you to lose weight.
Ginger. This famous culinary herb has been used as a natural remedy worldwide for treating all kinds of illness. The medicinal value of this herb can only be understood once you experienced its healing powers for yourself. For osteoarthritis patients, its anti-inflammatory properties can help reduce the inflammation. There are many ways you can consume this wonderful herb–you can slice it and eat it raw, make ginger tea, or take ginger capsules.
Turmeric. Just like ginger, the medicinal value of turmeric can only be appreciated once you know how to use it properly. A lot of people have found that they are effective for reducing inflammation. To consume it, you can either take turmeric capsules or use turmeric powder in your cooking.
Cayenne. Cayenne can help reduce swelling and the pain that is commonly felt by patients of osteoarthritis. It also has stimulating qualities which can help increase blood flow to the joint and help with cartilage regeneration. You can shop for cayenne here.
Horsetail. This herb can help strengthen joint tissues and it can be consumed in the form of capsules, tea, or extract.
Devil’s claw. The powerful anti-inflammatory properties of this herb are great for increasing mobility in joints. You can get your devil’s claw root capsules here.
Hawthorn berries. This herb is great for stimulating collagen production in the cartilage which in turn can help reduce the friction between the joints and bones, thus minimizing the damage and pain. Hawthorn berries capsules are commonly consumed in capsules.
Feverfew. This herb is effective for reducing inflammation. To use this herb, you can either take it the form of feverfew capsules or make feverfew tea.
If you know any other natural remedies which have helped you with your osteoarthritis and you would like to share with other osteoarthritis patients, please send me a message so that I can include them in this list! ^^