Top diet tips to help ease arthritis

The most important link between diet and arthritis is down to your weight. Being overweight puts an extra burden on the joints, especially weight-bearing joints – the back, knees, hips, feet and ankles. Having too much body fat may lead to increased inflammation and aggravate the pain in your joints.

A balanced diet may help alleviate some of the potential side effects of arthritis medication, and support you against heart disease (which can sometimes be a complication of certain types of arthritis).

How can I manage my weight?

If you’ve been advised by your doctor that you are carrying too much weight, losing some may reduce the strain on your joints so you may find you don’t need to take painkillers quite so often. One of the most effective ways to lose weight and keep it off is to change your diet and lifestyle for the long term – this means changing the way you eat and the amount of exercise you do.

Because of the way our joints work, the pressure on our knees is five to six times our body weight when walking, so even a small weight loss can make a difference to someone with arthritis.

If you eat fewer calories, it’s important to maintain a balance between different types of food so you don’t lose out on important nutrients. Read on for tips to reduce your calorie intake safely.

What steps should I take to change my diet and lifestyle?

Cut down on fat

Fat has twice as many calories as the same weight of carbs or protein and most people eat far more fat than they need. Eating 30g (about 1oz) less fat (that’s about 2½ tbsp of butter) each day will save as many as 270 calories.

Cut down on sugar

Sugar contains ‘empty calories’ this means other than the calories, you obtain no other nutritional benefit from eating it, so you can cut down on sugar without losing any nourishment. Eating 30g (about 1oz or 1½ tablespoons of table sugar) less sugar each day saves 120 calories. If you tend to add sugar to cereals and puddings consider a light sprinkling of dried fruit, like raisins instead – unlike sugar or artificial sweeteners, dried fruit provides vitamins and minerals. But go easy, as dried fruits are still fairly high in calories.

Discover more in our expert sugar guides.

Eat more fruit and vegetables

The World Health Organisation recommends that we eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. This is to make sure your body receives the important nutrients that it needs to maintain good health and to protect it during the stress of disease. It has been suggested that some plant compounds, known as antioxidants, may help to protect the joints by mopping up some of the chemicals that cause inflammation. Choose more vegetables or salad to help fill your plate and lower your calorie intake. Fruit and vegetables are good sources of fibre, choose a wide range of colours to increase the variety of vitamins, minerals and plant compounds you consume. Brightly coloured vegetables and fruits are rich in these protective antioxidants, as are leafy green vegetables.

In fact, interesting research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA), found that a compound found in broccoli could be key to preventing or slowing the progression of the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis. To date the research has only been conducted in animals and it’s not known how much we would need to consume for it to have an effect, however it’s a potentially exciting study for the future.

Versus Arthritis’ former medical director Prof Alan Silman said: “Until now research has failed to show that food or diet can play any part in reducing the progression of osteoarthritis, so if these findings can be replicated in humans, it would be quite a breakthrough. We know that exercise and keeping to a healthy weight can improve people's symptoms and reduce the chances of the disease progressing, but this adds another layer in our understanding of how diet could play its part.”

Discover what counts as five-a-day and cheap ways to get your five-a-day.

Exercise regularly

Exercise not only burns calories that would otherwise end up as fat, it also increases your strength and suppleness. It’s important to find something you can manage and enjoy as this will encourage you to do it regularly.

Get inspired with our fitness and nutrition guides.

Which nutrients are important for arthritis management?

Calcium

Calcium, along with nutrients like vitamin D and magnesium, is important for maintaining healthy bones. Calcium deficiency increases your risk of osteoporosis, which is even more of a risk for women after the menopause. Many people with arthritis also have a risk of developing osteoporosis.

Calcium can be found in:

• Dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt
• Calcium-enriched milk alternatives made from soya, rice or oat
• Fish that are eaten with the bones (such as canned sardines and salmon)
• Green leafy vegetables like Swiss chard.

Versus Arthritis recommends a daily intake of calcium of 1,000 milligrams (mg), with added vitamin D if you’re over 60.

Read more about calcium and osteoporosis:

The best sources of calcium
Am I at risk of calcium deficiency?
What is osteoporosis and what affects bone density?

Iron

Iron is important in preventing anaemia and many people with arthritis are also anaemic. Anti-inflammatory drugs to help treat arthritis help the pain and stiffness but may cause bleeding and stomach ulcers in some people, which may lead to anaemia. The other main cause of anaemia in arthritis is anaemia of chronic disease, which often occurs with rheumatoid arthritis and similar conditions and doesn’t improve with iron supplements.

Good sources of iron include:

• Lean red meats as well as the darker meat of chicken (such as thigh fillets)
• Oily fish e.g. sardines, salmon, mackerel etc
• Pulses e.g. lentils and haricot beans
• Dark green vegetables e.g. spinach, kale and watercress.

Your body absorbs iron better if you take it with vitamin C, so have fruit juice or a good portion of fruit or vegetables with your meal. It is best not to drink tea with your meal as this reduces the amount of iron that your body can absorb – wait an hour after eating before you enjoy your next cuppa.

Discover easy ways to boost your iron intake.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 are an essential form of polyunsaturated fatty acids that have been shown to help some people with inflammatory types of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. It is thought to help reduce the number of tender joints and shorten the time people feel joint stiffness. These fats can be found in rapeseed oil, free range eggs, oily fish and fish oil supplements.

If you want to increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids, Versus Arthritis recommends eating oily fish at least twice a week. However, it’s not recommended to eat oily fish more than four times a week (if you are a woman of reproductive age) so you may want to consider a supplement. It’s better to take pure fish oil rather than fish liver oil.

For help selecting a fish oil supplement read our review.

Oily fish that contain high levels of omega-3 include:

• Anchovies
• Eel
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Trout
• Mackerel
• Herring
• Whitebait

Try our healthy fish recipes and our favourite healthy ways to cook salmon.

Enjoyed this? Now read…

What are the benefits of oily fish?
10 healthy fish to eat
What to eat for healthy joints
What is an anti-inflammatory diet?
What is a Mediterranean diet?

Visit the Versus Arthritis website to find out more about the everyday realities of the condition.

This article was last reviewed on 8 October 2024 by Kerry Torrens.

A qualified nutritionist (MBANT), Kerry Torrens is a contributing author to a number of nutritional and cookery publications including Good Food magazine. Kerry is a member of the The Royal Society of Medicine, Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT).

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