How to Manage the Symptoms of Arthritis in Elderly Seniors by Making Wise Food Choices

• By Jean Nesian
• December 28, 2022

Arthritis is one of those chronic conditions that, as you get older, you learn to live with. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that you should consign yourself to (often) unbearable pain. More often than not, opting for medication and massive, positive lifestyle changes are enough to turn things around for a lot of seniors. 

Making smarter eating decisions, in particular, can already go a long way. That being said, if you’re looking for assisted living near me to not only acquire aid in your day-to-day living but seek help in alleviating your arthritic pain as well, you should definitely confirm whether they have in-house nutritionists who can take care of you. 

Below, we have compiled some of the nutritionist-backed guidelines that have made life-changing improvements in the lives of seniors suffering from arthritis. There’s no better place to start than here.

Curbing Inflammation and Boosting Joint Flexibility and Protection Are Keys to Fighting Arthritis

Since arthritis arises as a result of long-term damage to joints and the presence of inflammation in the body, it’s only right to pay closer attention to these two factors. What’s the good news with regards to food and both of the said elements? Well, as long as you make wiser diet decisions, you’re essentially halfway to beating arthritis.

We need to emphasize careful attention to the foods you eat since there are certainly options out there that do the complete opposite of healing your ailment. There are pro-inflammatory foods, after all, and you more or less need to only look at the following list to know what to avoid:

• Processed foods like cereals, canned food, etc.
• Any kind of added sugar, especially from candies, ice cream, and sugary drinks
• Alcoholic beverages
• Oils that have high omega-6 fats
• High-sodium foods
• Foods with excessive gluten and advanced glycation end products like bread and french fries respectively

We can’t assert more the importance of limiting, if not completely avoiding the foods we mentioned above. It applies both ways, after all. If you continue to eat pro-inflammatory food while eating anti-inflammatory options, you won’t get the optimal result (i.e. the best symptom relief from arthritis). 

What Are the Foods that Are Anti-Inflammatory?

Now that you know the worst foods to avoid, it’s time to familiarize yourself with the ones that you should be adding more to your diet. This way, once you search for a senior living near me, you’ll be able to confirm whether the particular community serves these foods or not. 

Our Madison senior living community, the Lantern of Saybrook as well as our senior living Chagrin Falls branch are pretty uniform when it comes to the nutritious food and beverages we incorporate in our daily meal plans. We’ve always held the belief that proper nutrition alone can reduce and even eliminate the need to medicate.

With that said, we highly recommend that you start eating more of these research-backed anti-arthritis foods so you’ll be on your way to optimal health in no time.

• Dark, leafy vegetables

What can top greens like broccoli and kale when nutrition density is the topic? These vegetables are Vitamin C powerhouses. If you’re not already aware of it, Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that not only boosts immunity but, more importantly, maintains the flexibility of your joints. 

We also can’t forget about spinach, which contains other nutrients and compounds like calcium, kaempferol, and sulforaphane that directly decrease inflammation according to studies. Is it any wonder why a diet packed with leafy vegetables has always resulted in significantly lower inflammation?

• Berries

Assisted living homes in Ohio make it a point to include berries in their meal plans, especially if they are in season. Just ask our staff and residents at the Lantern Chagrin Falls, and you’ll know how frequently we incorporate these life-giving fruits into our community. 

It’s a given that they’re jam-packed with nutrition. That alone allows them to keep inflammation. If we add specific nutrients like anthocyanins and quercetin into the equation, that’s how most kinds of berries bring about such immensely positive effects for arthritis patients. Both have been proven to decrease inflammation, after all.

• Green tea

The EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) found in green tea is another antioxidant that may protect joints and cartilages from further damage. The polyphenols green tea contains have always been found to delay the progression of disease. It just so happens that arthritis is one of them. 

• Garlic and ginger

This herb and spice combo both exhibit powerful anti-inflammatory properties based on test-tube tests done on the two. What makes things even better is that there’s no particular compound responsible for the said effect. It’s just that garlic and ginger as a whole can bring about anti-arthritic effects!

• Fatty fish and walnuts

Nuts have always been a sure win for promoting overall health. But did you know that walnuts, in particular, have a common denominator with fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and tuna? They all contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, which is a good type of fat for not only the heart but arthritis, too. 

As an added bonus, most fish contain Vitamin D, too, which is necessary for optimal calcium absorption. 

It Really All Boils Down to Nutrition

Did you notice something about the foods we listed above? That’s right. Most of them are what we would immediately consider healthy from the get-go. This rings especially true for food like dark, leafy greens, fish, green tea, and fruits like berries. It’s just that they happen to be the best fuel you can give your body in helping it prevent the effects of arthritis!

On the whole, it’s not really so much the food as the concentrations of nutrients that they contain. These nutrients are what you should certainly be focusing on if you’re searching for assisted living facilities near me and want to make sure that a community will be able to address your arthritis woes:

• Most antioxidants and polyphenols
• Anthocyanins
• Vitamin C, D, E
• Calcium
• Omega-3 fatty acids

Take these into consideration if you’re planning to choose supplementation and other viable foods to incorporate into your diet. Finally, don’t forget to talk to your primary physician about taking them or making changes in your diet. All the better if your chosen senior living near me has a dedicated nutritionist who can guide you all the way. 

Conclusion

As you can see, you definitely don’t have to live with arthritic pain for the rest of your life. Being able to free yourself from it is nothing short of life-changing, so we highly suggest that you exercise discipline when sticking to these foods and avoiding their worst counterparts. 

The next time you search for senior apartments near me, don’t forget about your nutrition. It’s going to, more or less, dictate your overall experience (and life) within the given community, after all.