Eat peaches for pain-free joints!
Can’t remember the last time you walked up the stairs, got out of a chair or picked something up off the floor without feeling an ache in your joints? Strategically adding some delicious foods to your diet could spell relief!
1Tame inflammation with peaches!
Mangos, papayas, peaches . . . enjoying one cup of any orange fruit daily could reduce stiffness and joint pain 46%! Orange fruits are brimming with a compound (beta-cryptoxanthin) that reduces inflammation inside joints while also helping to heal damaged cartilage, the padding that protects bones in your joints.
2Keep cartilage strong with onions!
You’ll feel less achy and move more easily in 21 days if you eat 1/2 cup of raw or cooked onions each day, reports the journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. The quercetin and sulfur in onions help protect and rebuild cartilage, says study coauthor Frances Williams, PH.D.
3Stop pain with EVOO!
In addition to healthy monoun- saturated fats, extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) contains oleocanthal, a compound that blocks the same pain pathways as anti-inflammatory medications—with no worry of negative side effects! No wonder Spanish scientists found that consuming three tablespoons of EVOO a day, ideally in place of other fats, provides the same pain relief as taking 200 mg. of ibuprofen daily.
4Fueling flexibility with avocados
Eat four avocados weekly, and your joints should feel 40% more flexible and strong in 90 days, reports the journal Clinical
Rheumatology. Avocados’ goodfor-you fats reduce your immune system’s production of two jointdamaging compounds, prostaglandins and cytokines, responsible for the inflammation that damages cartilage, explains study coauthor Matt Jaspar, PH.D.
5
Nix swelling with yogurt
Having a daily cup of yogurt with live active cultures or a 6-oz. glass of kefir— a yogurtlike drink— could reduce joint swelling and stiffness as much as 23% in 60 days. These fermented foods pack lots of beneficial bacteria shown to switch on enzymes that flush trapped fluids out from in and around joints before they cause painful swelling.