Arthritis: Over 60 Recipes and a Self-Treatment Plan to Transform Your Life

Extra pounds place excess wear and tear on joints and ligaments. Hundreds of diet plans exist to help you lose weight: ignore them all. The healthiest and most important step towards eliminating unnecessary fat from your body is to eat a balanced diet in moderation, and become more active. Using the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet as your guide, choose foods that suit you best and enjoy them in small portions until your weight has reached an ideal level.

Serve yourself whenever possible (other people always give you more than you need), and only put on your plate what you intend to eat. Do not have second helpings. If you would usually take two tablespoons of peas, take only one. If you usually enjoy a full bowl of soup, ladle out half a bowl as your diet portion. For the good health of your heart and vascular system, cut the amount of butter and animal fat in your diet to the smallest possible amounts, and use only half the oil you would usually use on salads and in cooking. Eat smaller portions and eat more slowly to enjoy the full flavour of your food. There are two exceptions to the rule on eating less. Among the foods you will enjoy on the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet are liver and a nutritious Health Drink. Do not reduce your intake of either of these foods. (Gout sufferers must eliminate the liver, however. See here (#litres_trial_promo).)

If you are trying to lose weight, it is essential to add some extra exercise to your daily routine to burn off unwanted calories. Housework and walking to the shops are not enough.

If you smoke, try to stop. The health evidence against smoking tobacco is overwhelming. Smokers dislike hearing people drone on about this, but the effects of smoke on your body are worth keeping in mind when you are committed to improving your health. As all those massively expensive anti-smoking campaigns tell us, the link between smoking and certain forms of cancer is obvious, but smoking causes other damage as well. There is evidence that the damaging levels of free radicals released in the body by cigarette smoke increases inflammation, and thus increases the level of pain associated with arthritis.

Enjoy gentle exercise

Many of the causes of joint and muscle pain and discomfort should be eliminated or reduced by following the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet. However, you also need to keep active to keep your body at its best, especially if you need to lose weight.

The choice of exercise activities is rich and varied. All you need to do is choose one and give it a try. If your first choice does not suit you, try another, and another, until you find one that you enjoy. Add at least three exercise sessions to your weekly routine. Include gentle stretching at both the start and conclusion of each session. No matter how old or unfit you are, visit the local gym and see if they offer anything that would interest you. Alternatively, contact local community and church groups to see if they offer activities that would get your blood pumping. You’ll be surprised by the variety of activities available. For example, line dancing seems to be all the rage for every age these days, and some of the less strenuous martial arts both strengthen the body and calm the mind.

Remember, talk with your doctor before beginning any new exercise or sporting activity. He or she will probably applaud your decision to get out and get moving.

Good forms of exercise include walking, swimming and stretching. Gardening is also valuable exercise as it promotes joint health by stretching and placing gentle pressure on muscles surrounding joints in the arms, legs, hips and back.

Pain may be increased when you first start exercising, but you will soon ‘work through’ that as your stiff joints regain their flexibility. Exercise unlocks stiff joints and tissues. How many times have you heard someone say, ‘I was so stiff this morning I thought I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed; but once I got moving everything was fine.’ You have probably had this same experience, and know that movement is a large part of keeping stiff limbs and muscles active.

To conquer the pain of arthritis, you should gently and repeatedly move the joints and tissues that hurt. By doing so, you strengthen the muscles that support the tissues, stimulate normal bone growth, and stimulate the circulation to the inflamed area. Remember, if you reduce your level of daily activity because you are afraid of the pain and discomfort that accompanies movement, you are going to lose more muscle strength and fail to stimulate normal bone growth.

Yoga and Pilates are two excellent exercise disciplines. Both stretch and strengthen muscles, but in their elementary forms neither one pushes or pulls muscles into extreme positions or activity. As relaxation is a principal goal in the practice of yoga, it has special value for arthritis sufferers. Yoga originated in India about three thousand years ago, and is based on physical control and relaxation. The practice has become increasingly popular over the past several decades, and many forms of movement and self-training have evolved. To learn more about yoga, visit your local library for books on the subject. Also, shop around to see what programmes are available in your area. Yoga is often offered in community and adult education centres.

Pilates is a form of exercise and body control developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s. Born in Germany in 1880, Pilates was sickly and frail as a child, and as a result became obsessed by physical fitness. By the time the Great War broke out in Europe, Pilates was in England, teaching detectives self-defence. As a German, he was interned for the duration of the conflict. While in the camp he devised a regime of exercises for his fellow internees that maintained their health and fitness level while they were held in confinement. Not one of these people died during the influenza outbreak of 1918, and Pilates often claimed this was due to the exercise programme he developed. (There may be some truth in this, as we now know that exercise strengthens the immune system.)

After the war Joseph Pilates returned to Germany and began working with dancers and others who sought perfection in body form, flexibility and balance. When asked to begin work with the German army, Pilates refused and fled to America. On the boat he met a nursery teacher whom he later married. Together they established a fitness studio in New York, where dancers, athletes and members of top society soon became his clients. His devoted followers have included Martha Graham, Gregory Peck, Katharine Hepburn, Jodie Foster, Michael Crawford, Joan Collins and Sigourney Weaver. Tennis professional Pat Cash and world champion ice skating star Kristi Yamaguchi are among the athletes who have profited from Joseph Pilates’ teaching. His methods are now taught around the world.

The Pilates method differs from other fitness programmes in the way the exercises are approached. Like yoga, it binds the activities of the mind with those of the body, making the mental perception of the body as important as physical movement. As in yoga, the three main elements of each exercise are relaxation, control and co-ordination. Pilates differs from yoga in one important way, however: the Girdle of Strength, that is the internal cage of muscles that supports and holds the body’s internal organs in place, is tightened and used in every exercise practised. So too are the multifidous muscles, which stabilize the lumbar spine. By building power and flexibility into these often overlooked muscle groups, Pilates uniquely contributes to the physical fitness of sufferers of innumerable physical ailments and injuries.

For more about Pilates and how it can help you, browse in your local library and bookshop for more information. Also contact community and fitness centres to see what they have to offer in the way of basic courses.

Get adequate sleep

Insomnia affects the ability to concentrate and increases the awareness of pain and discomfort. If you have trouble sleeping, you are not alone. According to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, more than 100 million people in the United States do not get a good night’s sleep on a regular basis. Tired people have slower reaction times, are less productive and are less likely to interact with others in a positive manner. Like everyone else, arthritis sufferers should do all they can to maximize their chances of sleeping for eight hours a night. Here are some tips on what you can do to help you deal with this insidious problem.

First, however, what is insomnia? According to the Mayo Clinic, in the United States, these are some signs to watch out for:

It takes longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep

You wake several times during the night

You wake up feeling muddled and tired

You fall asleep during meetings and daytime events

You are forgetful.

Dr Peter Hauri, Director of the Mayo Clinic Insomnia Program, suggests that answers to the following questions may help determine why you have sleep problems:

Do you feel anxious when you are getting ready for bed?

Do you argue with your spouse or partner in bed?

Do you worry about the next day’s tasks when you are trying to fall asleep?

Do you keep checking the time on a bedside clock?

Do you sleep better on holiday, or at a friend’s house, than when you are in your own bed at home?

Do you try to force yourself to go to sleep?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions you should take action.

Dr John W. Shepard Jr, M.D., Medical Director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, has offered the following tips on how to get the full eight hours of sleep we all need each night. Remember, however, that what works for one person may not work for another. Try one or two of the following suggestions at a time until you find the combination that is right for you.

Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Both are addictive stimulants that can interfere with sleep. (Remember that on the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet, neither caffeine nor cigarettes are permitted.)

Exercise, preferably in the afternoon.

Watch what you eat and drink. Fatty and spicy foods may cause heartburn that disturbs sleep.

Avoid drinking alcohol before going to bed; it may cause you to snore or get up during the night. (You should be avoiding it anyway while on the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet.)

If you must have a midnight snack, eat foods rich in the amino acid L-tryptophan, which triggers the release of serotonin in the brain. Good snacks include a glass of milk (warm or cold, as you prefer) or a tuna or turkey sandwich.

Make sure the room is cool before going to bed, but have enough bedding to keep your body warm. Warm hands and feet encourage sleep.

Avoid naps. Save your sleep for night-time.

Enjoy stillness. Leave the radio and television off. If external noises disturb you use earplugs.

Use your bed only for sleeping and sex. Watch television somewhere else.

Set a sleep schedule. Try to go to bed and get up at the same time each day. Remember that a lazy Sunday morning in bed after a night out can mean a restless night ahead.

Do not fret if you cannot go to sleep immediately. After a time, get up and do something else, like reading a good book. Then try again.

Learn to relax

Learn to unwind and let the world pass by. Use techniques like yoga and meditation to help release you from internal tension.

A hot bath or shower will relax you. Gently massage the area around inflamed joints. Try using herbal bath products that make you relax.

Many people who are disabled or slowed in their daily activities by pain become obsessive about what they cannot do. If this sounds familiar, then concentrate on what you can do, and do not be afraid to ask others for help to take care of the rest. It isn’t easy, but it is necessary. If, for example, you are used to keeping your home and garden immaculate and can no longer do so, you need to admit that this is the case and take steps to reduce or spread the load. Decide which chores can be reduced in frequency, which can be turned over to someone else and which can simply be ignored. You may have ironed your bed linen – even your underwear – for many years but is it really necessary?

Have a good laugh

Laughter and a positive attitude are powerful medicines to be taken in large and frequent doses. When someone is in pain or discomfort they have a tendency to turn emotionally inwards. Before they know what has happened, the pain is worse. And as the pain gets worse, they withdraw into themselves. Laughter brings out the best in people. Let it lift you when those aching joints are getting you down.