The Optimal Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Arthritis (2024)

An anti-inflammatory diet for arthritis consists of fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. It also includes fish such as wild salmon, sardines, and mackerel, which contain omega-3 fatty acids. When you eat these foods, your body will make less inflammation-producing chemicals.

At the same time, an arthritis-friendly diet avoids processed foods and saturated fats. These foods promote inflammation that causes pain, swelling, and loss of mobility in the joints.

Changing what you eat and how you eat can reduce your risk of developing or aggravating symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis.

This article explains how your diet can affect arthritis symptoms, which foods can reduce inflammation to ease those symptoms, and which foods to avoid.

Benefits of an Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Arthritis

Certain foods are more likely to cause inflammation than others. Foods such as refined grains, alcohol, and ultra-processed foods can alter the gut microbiome, as can foods that are high in trans fatty acids and salt.

A healthy gut microbiome contains beneficial bacteria, yeast, and other fungi, while an unhealthy gut microbiome contains organisms that promote disease. Chronic inflammation can result from an imbalance in these microorganisms, a state called dysbiosis.

Some studies have found that adding more foods from an arthritis diet can be helpful in reducing pain and other symptoms of inflammation, but not all research has found that doing so improves inflammatory markers in the blood.

Aside from the possible benefits of easing symptoms and reducing inflammatory markers, an arthritis diet may also help you lose a bit of weight simply because it encourages you to eat healthier.

Types of Anti-Inflammatory Diets

An anti-inflammatory diet for arthritis focuses on foods that reduce the activity of inflammation-producing chemicals your body produces.

There are no strict rules or schedules to follow, just a focus on striking a better balance of certain fats and incorporating foods that are rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals, such as whole foods that are not highly processed.

There are several anti-inflammatory diets that can be good for arthritis. These eating styles center around vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy fats.

Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is an eating pattern with an emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and legumes. It includes low-fat or fat-free dairy products, fish, poultry, nontropical vegetable oils, and nuts. Following this diet means limiting added sugars, sugary beverages, salt, highly processed foods, refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, and fatty or processed meats.

Scientific research attests to the benefits of a Mediterranean diet on reducing inflammation.

A large study called the MOLI-SANI study found beneficial effects of a Mediterranean-style eating. After assessing dietary behaviors of 24,325 men and women in the Molise region of southern Italy, researchers found that those who closely followed the Mediterranean diet had lower levels of inflammatory markers in their blood than those who followed other diet patterns, including a Western-style diet.

A review of research studies on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for rheumatoid arthritis found that it is helpful for reducing pain and increasing physical function in those with the disease.

DASH Diet

The DASH diet is another popular diet similar to the Mediterranean diet. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Although this diet was originally developed to reduce high blood pressure (hypertension), it can also help with inflammation.

Like the Mediterranean diet, this diet likewise prioritizes vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. If you're following the DASH diet, you can have fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry beans, nuts, and vegetables oils, but will want to limit foods high in saturated fat, full-fat dairy products, tropical oils, sugar-sweetened beverages, and sweets.

Research has shown that adhering to the DASH diet can also reduce inflammatory markers in the blood. Reduced inflammation may be why other research has found that people who follow this diet are less likely to develop osteoarthritis.

Alternate Healthy Eating Index

The Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) is based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and scores your diet according to the foods you eat. It considers fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, healthy fat, and moderate alcohol consumption healthy. Foods considered unhealthy include sugar-sweetened beverages, red and processed meat, trans fat, and salt.

Some studies show foods deemed healthy according to the AHEI can reduce the risk of arthritis in females.

A 2017 study found that women who have high AHEI scores had a reduced risk of rheumatoid arthritis occurring before the age of 55 years. They also had a reduced risk of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. Seropositive rheumatoid arthritis is the most common form of rheumatoid arthritis and is characterized by inflammatory markers in the blood.

Another study from 2019 found a similar result with osteoarthritis. In this study, African American females with obesity or who were overweight, as well those with self-reported osteoarthritis had lower levels of inflammatory markers in the blood when they closely followed the AHEI recommendations. However, the severity of osteoarthritis was only moderately improved, suggesting that other factors may contribute to inflammation as well.

What Is Inflammation?

There are two types of inflammation: acute and chronic. Acute inflammation is the body's natural response to an injury or infection. When you get hurt, your body releases white blood cells to protect and heal the area. As a result, you may experience redness, warmth, swelling, and pain around the injury.

Chronic inflammation is different. It occurs when inflammation sticks around and causes your immune system to work nonstop. The damage caused by chronic inflammation can lead to long-term health conditions, such as arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and some bowel diseases.

Inflammation is also closely linked to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress causes your body to produce an increased number of free radicals, which are harmful compounds that can lead to disease. Antioxidants in the foods you eat can neutralize free radicals, reducing the risk of disease and inflammation.

Foods That Prevent and Reduce Inflammation

Foods high in antioxidants and other beneficial compounds can help prevent and reduce inflammation.

Fruits

Ideally, a healthy diet consists of three to four servings of fruit a day. Colorful fruits areantioxidant-richand high inanthocyanidins, both of which can help reduce inflammation.

Fill your grocery cart with deep red, blue, and purple berries; grapes; pomegranates; plums; cherries; oranges; peaches; nectarines; cantaloupe; apples; and pears. Papaya, tangerines, apricots, and persimmons are other great choices.

Vegetables

Like fruits, vegetables are part of a healthy diet. Aim for four to five servings of vegetables a day.

All vegetables are good for you, but dark leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, cauliflower, carrots, beets, onions, peas, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes are among the better choices for an arthritis diet because of their beta-carotene content. Foods rich in beta-cryptoxanthin, such as winter squash, red peppers, and corn should also be included.

Beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin are both pigments found in food. The body uses these provitamins to make vitamin A. Vitamin A supports healthy vision, immune function, and other vital processes. Its role in enhancing immune system function is what allows vitamin A to fight inflammation.

Beans and Legumes

Beans and legumes are a great way to add more fiber and replace meat or animal proteins. A healthy diet should include one to two servings a day.

Good choices include Anasazi, adzuki, black, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, and lentils. When cooking dried beans, make a large batch and keep extras in the freezer to use in soups or hummus.

Whole Grains

Whole grains contain all parts of the grain—the endosperm, germ, and bran—while refined grains contain only the endosperm. Cracked grains are whole grains that have been minimally processed until they crack. A healthy diet can include three to five small servings of whole or cracked grains a day.

Sorghum, millet, farro, brown or wild rice, quinoa, and steel-cut oats are suggested. They're good sources of fiber and inflammation-fighting antioxidants.

Avoiding refined grains doesn't mean you have to give up on pasta or bread. These products also come as whole-grain options. When it comes to these more processed foods, go for quality over quantity. Organic pasta, rice noodles, bean thread noodles, whole wheat, and buckwheat noodles are good choices.

Healthy Fats

An important part of a healthy diet is not avoiding fat altogether, but getting the right amount of healthy fat.

Replace saturated fats in meat and dairy with omega-3 fats found innuts (particularly walnuts), flaxseeds, hemp seeds, and chia seeds, and monounsaturated fats found in avocados, olives, and extra-virgin olive oil.

When cooking or preparing foods for an arthritis diet, use healthy fats like olive oil or avocado oil instead of saturated fats like butter or lard.

Fish and Seafood

Fish and seafood are part of a healthy diet. They are packed with anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats.

Salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel, and black cod are especially good sources of healthy fat and lean protein.

Whole Soy Foods

Whole soyfoods are healthy food choices. Whole soy foods provide isoflavones that may reduce inflammation.

Look for minimally processed, organic soy. Tofu, tempeh, soymilk, edamame (immature soybeans in thepod), and soy nuts are good selections.

Selenium-Rich Foods

Selenium is an important antioxidant mineral. Selenium-rich foods can be added to your meals and snacks.

Good sources include Brazil nuts, tuna, crab, oysters, tilapia, cod, shrimp, lean beef, turkey, wheat germ, and whole grains.

Tea

Tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. The leaves can be processed in different ways to create white, green, oolong, and black tea. The recommended amount of tea is two to four cups a day.

Herbal teas are infusions made from other plants. Some, like turmeric tea, may also help reduce inflammation.

Spices

Spice your meals with turmeric, curry powder, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, basil, cinnamon, rosemary, and thyme. All of these contain powerful plant compounds that can reduce inflammation.

Multivitamins and Supplements

If you're not getting the nutrients you need purely from food, consider trying high-quality multivitamins and supplements.These natural products may help reduce pain, stiffness, and other arthritis symptoms, especially when used alongside traditional treatments:

• Glucosamine and chondroitin: These components of cartilage may offer relief in osteoarthritis.
• Fish oil: Omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) show promise in treating rheumatoid arthritis.
• S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM-e): This natural compound is as effective as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in relieving osteoarthritis pain.
• Curcumin: This active compound in turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory agent best taken with a source of fat or black pepper.
• Vitamins: Supplementing with vitamins D and K may be helpful if you have a deficiency.

Talk to your healthcare provider or a dietitian before taking a multivitamin or supplement. Sometimes supplements can cause side effects or interact with other medicines you may be taking.

Foods That May Cause Inflammation

Some foods are more likely to cause inflammation. These include ultra-processed foods, foods with added sugar, and foods high in salt. Limiting these foods can help keep inflammation down:

• Frozen or packaged dinner meals
• Packaged snack foods
• Desserts, sweets, baked goods, ice cream
• Fast food, fried foods
• Soda or soft drinks sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners
• Foods made with white flour or sugar
• Red meat and dairy products (only OK in moderation)

Unfortunately, the standard American (or Western) diet contains many of these foods. It's known to be high in saturated fats, sugar, refined carbohydrates, and man-made ingredients. This eating pattern is associated with increased weight and body fat, especially visceral abdominal fat, which promotes low-grade inflammation throughout the body.

Tips for Following an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

When it comes to an anti-inflammatory diet for arthritis, know that what's best varies from person to person. There is no one-size-fits-all anti-inflammatory or arthritis diet. It's meant to be an eating pattern that incorporates the healthy inflammation-reducing foods you prefer.

An arthritis diet offers much in the way of flexibility, variety, and options. The most important thing is to build your meals and snacks around a wide range of colorful, whole foods and limit fast foods and highly processed choices that come in packages with long ingredient lists.

To make a change toward a more anti-inflammatory, arthritis-friendly diet:

• Prepare more meals at home from whole ingredients.
• Take steps to cut down on packaged highly processed foods like frozen or packaged dinners and fast food, which are high in unhealthy saturated fat.
• Purchase fewer snack foods like chips, crackers, and cookies.
• Avoid simple refined carbohydrates from sweets, desserts, baked goods, and foods made with white flour.
• Replace fatty cuts of meat with cold water fish or other seafood.

Think of an anti-inflammatory diet as a long-term and ideally lifelong way of eating. Instead of a diet that you may try for a few weeks or months, an anti-inflammatory diet for arthritis involves establishing consistent healthy eating habits.

While it's often promoted as a way to manage inflammatory diseases, an anti-inflammatory diet for arthritis is also a healthy eating pattern for everyone. It can help you lose weight, which can relieves osteoarthritis symptoms. It also offers other health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.

Combined with an anti-inflammatory diet, exercise and a healthy lifestyle support better results. Being physically active has many benefits, including reduced pain and stiffness from arthritis and lower stress and anxiety levels.

Summary

All forms of arthritis can be painful and debilitating, but an anti-inflammatory diet along with lifestyle changes can help relieve symptoms. If you have arthritis or any other type of inflammatory disease, adding more anti-inflammatory foods is a delicious and effective way to help manage your symptoms and prevent chronic diseases.

For an anti-inflammatory diet to help with arthritis, make sure you are eating a healthy amount of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and good fats. Avoid highly processed foods, sugary or sweetened foods, and foods high in salt.