Is Your Diet Impacting Your Knee And Hip Health

A healthy diet with all the nutrients can help you feel good on the inside and look good on the outside. Eating a diet full of healthy vegetables and fruits can reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases and improve your health. You can’t overlook the power of food. If you eat right, you might not be able to treat your problem, but you can definitely get some health benefits that will help you improve your condition. You don’t even have to add a big overhaul to your diet, just a few simple changes can keep you healthy and happy.

Role of diet in Knee health

When it comes to your knee health, a healthy diet can help avoid various problems. With the right diet, not only will you be able to maintain your weight but also cut inflammation and build strong cartilage. Here are a few diet tips that will improve your knee health:

1. Fewer calories

If you have a trim waistline, there will be less stress on your joints. Lose those extra pounds to help your knees feel better. All you need to do is lower your calorie intake by eating more plant-based goods, avoiding sugary drinks and food, and taking smaller portions of food at regular intervals.

2. More fruits and veggies

The importance of more fruits and vegetables in your diet cannot be stressed enough. The antioxidants present in them provide protection to your cells from any damage. Apples, shallots, strawberries, and onions have antioxidants that reduce pain and inflammation in the knees.

3. Omega-3 fatty acids

This will decrease stiffness in the knees and reduce joint pain. Just take a few servings of fatty fish every week. You can try tuna, salmon, trout, sardines, herring, and mackerel.

4. Replace your oil

Start using olive oil for cooking. The oleocanthal present in olive oil prevents inflammation in the joint. But it also adds extra calories. So, use the oil to replace fats like butter to get the benefits of olive oil without any extra calories.

5. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is responsible for building connective tissue and collagen. Citrus fruits, cabbage, broccoli, kale, cabbage, strawberries, red peppers, etc. have a high content of vitamin C.

People with arthritis have their body in an inflammatory stage. So, it is important to avoid foods that might increase inflammation in the body. Here are some foods you should avoid if you have any knee issues:

1. Excess fats and oils
2. Too much Salt
3. Sugar
4. Alcohol

Role of diet in Hip health

When it comes to improving the health of your hip, apart from exercise and medications, you need to take control of your diet as well. There are some foods that might help reduce pain and inflammation and promote heart’s health while there are some foods that spur the inflammation in the joint resulting in excessive hip pain.

Omega-6 fatty acids are very harmful if you already have issues related to hip pain and inflammation. They are found in processed foods like baked goods, chips, crackers, etc. You can also find these acids in fast foods. These acids are necessary for our health, but if we have processed food a lot, the ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids gets out of balance resulting in inflammation.

You need to avoid processed foods including prepackaged meals, snack items, etc. Before you buy any packed food, check if the label contains Trans fats, hydrogenated oils, or saturated foods. You need to limit the content of these fats in your body. Also, reduce the amount of red meat and high-fat dairy products intake as they contain saturated fats.

Omega-3 fatty acids, on the other hand, reduce inflammation to improve joint health. You need to increase the following foods in your diet:

• Green, leafy vegetables like lettuce and broccoli
• Canola, olive and flaxseed oils
• Fish like tuna, salmon, sardines, mackerel, anchovies, and herring
• Pecans and Walnuts
• Fish oil supplements

Apart from what to eat and what not to eat, it is also important that you are cooking the right way. For example, instead of grilling steak, you can go for baked salmon that will offset inflammation and enhance your hips’ health. Here are a few tips that you must follow while cooking to take care of your hip:

• Use olive or flaxseed oil instead of butter.
• Add spices like turmeric and ginger while cooking as they reduce inflammation.
• Include whole-grain foods in your diet