3 Ways to Ease Knee Pain with Food
Updated: Oct. 04, 2018
Millions of people have debilitating knee pain thanks to osteoarthritis. Remedies range from keeping active and dropping excess weight to steroid injections and even surgery. New research even shows that certain foods can help relieve knee pain resulting from osteoarthritis. Here’s what to add to your grocery list!
1. Got knee pain? Eat soy protein.
People with knee pain reported less discomfort and used fewer pain meds after eating soy protein every day for three months, according to Oklahoma State University research.
Soy is rich in isoflavones, plant hormones with anti-inflammatory properties. Study participants consumed a powdered soy drink mix that contained 40 grams of protein, but, says study author Bahram H. Arjmandi, PhD, you can get the same benefit from sources like flavoured soy milk, edamame (baby soybeans), and soy burgers.
2. Fruit can help relieve knee pain
In a study of 293 Australian adults, eating plenty of fruit reduced the risk of developing bone marrow lesions: a marker for worsening knee osteoarthritis and pain.
The knee-friendliest fruits appear to be vitamin C-packed ones, like kiwi, orange, mango, grapefruit, and papaya. The researchers suspect it’s the vitamin C in fruit that protects the knee joint and supporting structures.
3. Eat fish to fight knee pain
Many studies have found that fish and fish oil ease the joint pain and stiffness of rheumatoid arthritis. Now a study shows that the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish may block not only the chemicals that cause inflammation in osteoarthritis but also the proteins known to wear down knee cartilage.
Eat two servings of oily fish (such as mackerel or salmon) weekly or take one gram of omega-3s in capsule form every day, says nutrition researcher Artemis P. Simopoulos, MD.
