It’s winter in the northern hemisphere and it was marked at my house when I was growing up by 2 major things: 1. My mom giving me cod liver oil every morning and 2. My father soaking his legs in hot water and putting
If you have arthritis you don’t need anybody to tell you what it is. But what usually sends you to the doctor is pain and stiffness, swelling and sometimes redness. Usually with an examine you get diagnosed with one of the 100 types of arthritis with osteoarthritis(OA) a degenerative joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune disease) being the most common.
OK, so what’s the rice crispy knees all about? When the twins were young, they would put there hands on my knees and say “mom, you have Rice Krispies in your knees. Can we get Rice Krispies in our knees too?”
Yeah, that’s what they sounded like 25 years ago. So you just imagine what they sound like now. Which brings me to my last visit to the doctor which included x-rays.
He pointed out the areas in my knees and spine where thinning of cartilage tissue in the joints were located. It definitely explained the pain I was experiencing.
That’s why I decided to write this post. I don’t like taking medication and only take it when the pain climbs past 6 out of 10. So I decided to let you into my diet and my daily routine.
I usually keep a journal on pain days when the pain is 6 or above. I find that keeping a journal helps determine patterns in weather and diet. If I see that whenever I eat food x I get more pain then I eliminate it and see if there is a reduction of pain.
There are some foods I avoid as much as possible sugar, red meat, poultry fried foods, refined foods, dairy products, corn, peanut, sunflower and safflower oils. These food can be arthritis pain and swelling triggers.
So I eat foods high in omega 3 which helps shut down the inflammation process that causes inflammation. Foods that are high in omega 3 include salmon, tuna, mackerel and , herring. I only eat seafood sparingly because of the mercury component in fish in north america.
For vegans you can try chia seeds, brussel sprouts, kale, spinach, walnuts, hemp and flax. My go to omega 3 is spinach.
Let me be clear. I have my cheat days but I have to space them out and keep it under control. Otherwise the next day I am in pain and may even need medication to be able to move around without holding onto something.
Before breakfast: I have a bottle of alkaline water and a cup of lemon ginger and garlic tea-my morning anti-inflammatory tonic
Breakfast: Green Wheat Grass Smoothie and a bowl of berries and grapes. The berries are usually what evers in season. But my favs are blueberries, strawberries and blackberries.
Mid-morning snack: hot tea with lemon(red zinger, lemon zinger or blueberry)
Lunch: Depends on how hungry I am. If I am not that hungry I have a pea protein smoothie If I am hungry I get Jamaican rice and peas, cabbage with carrots and alkaline water. I usually top the jamaican brown rice and peas with fresh spinach and cherry tomatoes.
Mid-afternoon snack: same as morning snack or a fruit salad of berries.
Dinner:
Portabella Mushroom Sandwich, salad, alkaline water
Desert: Homemade frozen sorbet
Before Bed: Hot tea (i.e., chamomile or ginger tea with lemon)
NO GO LIST:
These are a list of arthritis trigger food. You can use the Elimination Diet to help you determine which foods trigger your arthritis. See the blog post from November 14, 2018: alcohol, corn, wheat, rye bread, bacon and pork, beef, eggs, coffee, oranges and dairy, fried foods,
Safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, mixed vegetable oils, margarine, vegetable shortening, hydrogenated oils, black tea, salty highly spiced foods.
Nightshade foods like peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and potatoes, mustard, colas, chocolate, tobacco, Motrin(a nightshade derivative)and should not be used by Nightshade sensitive people.
GO LIST:
A low fat mostly vegan diet. Foods like: green tea contains antioxidants that reduce inflammation and slow cartilage destruction, artichokes, cherries and berries contain, anthocyanins found have an anti-inflammatory effect,
Nuts and nut butters—Nuts are rich in fiber and protein and contain vitamins and minerals that are excellent for not only arthritis but also for weight loss, heart health and cabbages, brown rice, oats, beans are packed with fiber, a nutrient that helps lower inflammation.
Beans are also an excellent – and inexpensive – source of protein, which is important for muscle health, shiitake mushrooms, cold water fish, sea greens, fresh fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, squashes, ginger and parsley garlic, onions, contains a compound that may limit cartilage-damaging enzymes in human cells. olive oil, flaxseed oil has properties similar to non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs