7 Steps for Healthy Joints

Here are some steps you can take to make sure your joints are healthy!

1. Lose Weight

If your are overweight then every extra pound you have results on more wear and tear on your joints. More wear and tear leads to damage, inflammation, and pain.

2. Stay Active

Even though your joints hurt, that is no excuse to lead a sedentary lifestyle. Doing so may actually make your arthritis worse. Try to take your joints through their range of motion everyday. Do it as much as your joints will comfortably allow.

3. Fight the pain

Initially you can take pain killers but do not go for long on Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) because since 2005, the FDA has required NSAID manufacturers to include a warning label on their products that alerts users of an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, and gastrointestinal bleeding. Pain killers like NSAIDs or Tylenol do not fight the root cause of the pain: damaged and inflamed joints.

4. Fix the root cause of the problem

Osteoarthritis is caused by joint wear, tear, and damage. You should start taking a supplement as soon as possible to provide your joints with the nutrients they need to regenerate tissue. Rheumatoid arthritis is an immune response where your own defense systems attack your joints. The inflammation caused by the initial attack leads to more pain in damage. In both cases, inflammation results and need to be stopped. Some supplements have anti-inflammatory ingredients that will help.

5. Eliminate foods that cause inflammation

Some foods, particularly in western diets, tend to cause inflammation which can make your arthritis worse. These foods include:

• Processed, packaged, or fast foods
• Hydrogenated fats (margarine, shortening, lard or products made with them such as cookies, pies, packaged foods, buns, etc.)
• Fried foods (French fries, onion rings, potato chips, nachos, hamburgers, etc.)
• White sugar and sweets, including soft drinks and sweetened juices
  • Sugar, particularly high-fructose corn-syrup, promotes the production of uric acid which leads to gouty arthritis
• Synthetic sweeteners (Nutrasweet, Splenda, Equal, saccharin, aspartame, sucralose etc.)
• Salt
• Food additives: colous, flavor enhancers, stabilizers, preservatives, etc. Some of the main ones include sulfites, sulfates, benzoates, and colors named FD&C #”X.”  For example, FD&C #5
• Alcohol

6. Stay hydrated

The average person needs to consume about 8 glasses of water daily. An ample water supply ensures that all bodily are running optimally including those that handle joint lubrication and regeneration.

7. Use a joint supplement

These provide your joints with the nutrients they need to repair themselves. Some  have ingredients to address the root cause of the pain.