Learn what nutrition can do for
autoimmune ARTHRITIS & JOINT PAIN
Joint pain can make it difficult to do the simplest tasks, and affect very single part of your life.
You might be wondering if there are foods to avoid with rheumatoid arthritis, or if there is a psoriatic arthritis diet that will help you. Joint pain may be your main issue, or it might be a symptom of another autoimmune disease such as multiple sclerosis, Hashimoto’s, or lupus.
Maybe you want to know if there are certain vitamins or natural remedies that will help you. Ultimately, you want to move freely without pain.
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How Nutrition can improve Joint Pain
"With new treatment strategies, drug-free sustained remission is becoming an achievable goal" for patients with arthritis.
Gut healing
Most, if not all, autoimmune joint pain sufferers will benefit from gut healing1. Poor gut health is a main cause of joint pain, and correcting it is a key natural treatment for healing. This is why identifying which foods to avoid with your arthritis is key. Personalized nutritional therapies, comprehensive stool testing, and targeted herbal treatment plans should be used to promote gut healing and joint health.
Improve immune system functioning
treat symptoms naturally
There are many natural treatments that can be used at the same time as prescription medications to support your joint health. As your joints heal, this should allow your doctor to prescribe a lower dosage of your medication.
Prescription medications for joint pain can be very helpful – but ultimately, they are just “band-aids.” No prescription can permanently cure joint pain. Plus, these medications can have some serious side effects. By treating with natural remedies, we can address the root cause while safely avoiding further painful symptoms and joint damage.
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The main causes & triggers for Joint Pain
Autoimmune joint pain can is seen with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, lupus, Hashimoto’s, multiple sclerosis, and other related diseases. Ultimately, there is an underlying autoimmune disease. This means that your immune system is “overactive” and/or malfunctioning, and is attacking healthy cells. In some cases, your immune system is directly attacking your joints, and in other cases inflammation is the root cause of joint pain. Ultimately, the joint is being damaged. Your immune system isn’t actually trying to harm you – it’s just very confused. Figuring out which foods to avoid for your arthritis will be individual, and may be different for someone else.
There are many contributing factors that cause autoimmune joint pain. Everything from your individual genes to the environment around you can impact your joint health. Things that can cause autoimmune joint pain include: food sensitivities, nutritional deficiencies, stress, poor dental hygiene, toxins released by microbes living in your intestines, suboptimal liver functioning, air pollution, and more.
Joint pain triggers will be different for each person. Identifying these triggers and then reducing your exposure to them is key.
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Nutrition & Lifestyle Treatments for Joint Pain
Medications like Aspirin, ibuprofen, methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and steroids can provide much needed relief to joint pain sufferers. However, these medications can come with their own negative side effects, as well.
Natural treatments for joint pain are different. When done properly, they are less likely to cause side effects and they stay effective over time. The goal is to:
- Identify 1-2 food sensitivities (a full elimination diet is not necessary and actually often dangerous)
- Correct nutritional deficiencies
- Identify key gut microbe imbalances, then address them
- Optimize the natural detoxification processes in the liver and other organs
- Reduce exposure to environmental triggers
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How a dietitian-nutritionist can help
Autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and Hashimoto’s are poorly understood. Therefore, it’s absolutely essential to work with healthcare providers who are committed to serving the autoimmune community and are up to date on the latest research.
A dietitian-nutrition specializing in autoimmune disease will help you identify 1-2 food triggers without putting you on an elimination diet. Elimination diets are dangerous, as they can promote eating disorders, which autoimmune sufferers are more likely to have. Identifying which foods to avoid with your arthritis is particularly helpful.
A dietitian-nutritionist will also ensure that you are obtaining adequate nutrition, and are not deficient in key nutrients. By evaluating your eating habits and patterns, learning about your symptoms, and reading your blood work, a dietitian-nutritionist can make recommendations appropriate for you that can improve your joint health.
Additionally, stress is a well known trigger for autoimmune joint pain2. There are specific nutrients that the body needs more of while stressed, and certain foods that can help our bodies handle stress better. Targeted nutrition can be used to reduce the impact of stress, therefore reducing your joint pain.
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Citations:
- Alwarith, Jihad et al. “Nutrition Interventions in Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Potential Use of Plant-Based Diets. A Review.” Frontiers in nutrition vol. 6 141. 10 Sep. 2019, doi:10.3389/fnut.2019.00141
- https://www.healthline.com/health/rheumatoid-arthritis/stress-and-ra
- Vighi, G et al. “Allergy and the gastrointestinal system.” Clinical and experimental immunology vol. 153 Suppl 1,Suppl 1 (2008): 3-6. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2249.2008.03713.x