When considering a diet for arthritis, you want to add foods that stop inflammation and promote healing while eliminating foods that cause inflammation.

A diet for arthritis is not a weight-loss program, though many people do lose weight on it. Rather, it is way of selecting foods that help arthritis based on the foods' anti-inflammatory aspects, as well as how the food can help your body remain optimally healthy.

A high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet is almost always inflammatory. The step in creating a diet for arthritis relief is to cut back on carbs (especially refined flours and sugars) and eat more protein.

The following are foods that help arthritis;

Dark-green lettuce (romaine is excellent), spinach, tomatoes, and other salad vegetables are rich in antioxidants that dampen inflammation. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kale are also packed with inflammation-fighting loaded with antioxidants. Any of these vegetables are great foods arthritis.

Coldwater fish are rich sources of the anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fatty acids. Wild salmon is far better than farmed salmon. As a note: Alaskan salmon is typically wild salmon while Atlantic salmon is typically farmed salmon. Also, canned salmon is almost

Grass-fed beef and other animal foods: Meat that grass-fed animals (as opposed to corn-fed animals) also contains anti-inflammatory omega-3s. It's not as high as salmon but most people eat more beef and chicken than salmon.

Olive oil is a great anti-inflammatory oil while most polyunsaturated vegetable oils like corn oil, sunflower and mixed vegetable oils have an inflammatory influence.

Blueberries are rich in natural compounds that reduce inflammation and may also protect the brain from the effects of aging. Frozen blueberries contain equal benefits, are less expensive and always in season.

Cherries, when eaten daily, can significantly reduce inflammation, a 2006 Journal of Nutrition study showed.

Turmeric is a widely used spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking and often found in curry spice blends. This spice contains a powerful anti-inflammatory compound, along with other health benefits.

The symptom of joint pain hands you an opportunity to clean up your diet. By adding foods that help arthritis, you are adding foods that promote health and wellness.

Allergies to foods and ingredients in foods is another aspect of the diet for arthritis that you want to look at. When looking at adding foods that help arthritis, you also want to eliminate foods that might cause allergic reactions.

A diet for arthritis starts with the food elimination diet and the Coca Pulse Test. These are the two best ways to start your arthritis diet for osteoarthritis, because they are more reliable than the conventional tests. Because allergens can cause your heart rate to soar, taking your pulse in the morning upon rising, and comparing it to your rate after eating certain foods will indicate which foods to eliminate.

The most common irritants to eliminate in a diet for arthritis are: beef, pork, chocolate, eggs, citrus fruits, coffee, corn, malt, milk, potatoes, tomatoes, some spices, wheat, yeast, sugar, and chemical additives.

Researchers have found those with allergic symptoms are often sensitive to the 3,000 chemical additives we ingest, plus 10,000 environmental chemical contaminants assaulting our bodies every day. Eliminating as may of those as you can is at the heart of the diet for arthritis. So be sure to read labels and don't buy anything with ingredients you can't pronounce that sound like they came right out of a chemistry lab.

One of the most prevalent chemicals is the additive monosodium glutamate or MSG. MSG is a flavor enhancer found in foods from hot dogs to flavored potato chips to salad dressings - just about anything bottled or canned. Not only can MSG cause an allergic reaction, some neurosurgeons believe it can produce abnormal development of the brain and behavioral problems and learning difficulties. This is a chemical to avoid not only for the arthritis diet for osteoarthritis but also for children with their developing brains. Better yet - avoid processed food altogether for an easy to follow diet for arthritis.

In your diet for arthritis, consider eliminating nightshade foods - a common allergen for many people. Approximately one-third of rheumatic arthritis sufferers are sensitive to nightshade plants like tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers.

If you are a smoker suffering with arthritis, quitting may look more attractive when you realize that tobacco is a member of the nightshade family, as is poison ivy. Imagine rolling up a leaf of poison ivy and smoking it!

Another thing to consider for those over 40 is taking digestive enzymes. A lack of hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes in the stomach, common among people over forty, can also contribute toward food allergies. This slowdown of digestion will also create over-large food molecules which end up in the bloodstream. The defensive reaction by the body to these molecules create the allergic response that leads to arthritis symptoms.

There is an intricate relationship between gout and food, just as there is an intricate relationship between arthritis symptoms and the foods we eat. When considering gout foods to avoid, some will be different than the diet of arthritis and there might be a few additions in the gout diet to the foods that help arthritis.

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