The Arthritis Diet - What's the Glycemic Index Anyway?

Patients always ask me "Is there an arthritis diet?"

The "scientific community" is mixed on this point. Some researchers say yes and others say no. Even medical doctors argue about it.

I believe that food affects EVERYTHING in your body and therefore MUST impact your arthritis symptoms. After all, it is the ONE thing you put in your body every day, right?

Think about it. Was there a time when you were trying to get healthy or lose weight and you were following a strict eating plan? Lots of fruits and vegetables, lean meats, not a lot of fat? And didn't you feel really good during that time? Your energy probably soared, your GI tract worked well, and you probably noticed things like your skin and hair looked a little better.

That's what good food will do. In ancient times, food was the original medicine. There are hieroglyphs in the tombs of Egypt showing doctors healing patients with herbs, spices, honey and other food. And back then, their food wasn't tainted with pesticides and chemicals like ours is today. Let's look at low glycemic eating. I think it's the ultimate arthritis diet.

The Low Glycemic Plan

The reason I recommend low glycemic eating as the ideal arthritis diet is this:

All food eventually gets turned into blood sugar. High sugar levels cause inflammation inside you. Let me explain.

When you eat bread (or pasta, or rice, or a donut, or a potato) your blood sugar spikes quickly. Your body releases insulin (the hormone secreted by the pancreas that takes sugar out of the blood and into your cells). Insulin's job is to take that sugar OUT of your blood and get it INTO your cells.

Here's where it gets a little technical... have you ever seen a car rust because it's exposed to sea air or snow? That's called "oxidation." It's a natural process caused by oxygen reacting with a metal. When we eat, breathe, sleep, whatever - just by living - we constantly have "oxidation" going on inside us. It's almost like rusting on the inside. That blood sugar spike from that potato and the insulin release after speeds up that oxidation causing "free radicals". (You've heard of those before, right?) Those free radicals cause chaos in your body; they damage cells, they harden arteries, and they cause inflammation (and arthritis symptoms are caused by inflammation).

But if you can SLOW down that blood sugar spike and the insulin release, you can SLOW down the oxidation (rusting on the inside) AND the inflammation.

Make sense?

Low Glycemic Index Foods

Some foods like carrots have a high GI rating because they have natural sugars. In cases like this, where the food is inherently healthy (natural, raw, unprocessed, etc.) the trick is to eat smaller portion sizes to keep them from affecting blood sugar. (In the case of carrots, have one big carrot or 10 baby carrots at a sitting - not 4 big carrots or 40 baby carrots!)

I really recommend you eat only low glycemic foods for the first month of your arthritis diet. Some people freak out when I say that, but my response (usually) is "You can do ANYTHING for a month, can't you?" This is your life and if arthritis is keeping you from being active and doing the things you love, then one month's time is a small price to pay. At the end of that month, you'll have gotten rid of many of your cravings anyway, and you might find the arthritis diet is easy and you like it!

I have provided lists of low, medium, and high glycemic foods. Pasta, 100% whole wheat bread and brown rice are included in the low glycemic list. THEY ARE ONLY LOW GLYCEMIC IN THE PORTIONS INDICATED. You don't have to worry about counting calories with this eating plan, but you DO need to watch your portions when it comes to the grains.

Here are some definitions for you:

Carbohydrates - anything that originally grew in the ground. All your grains, fruits, beans, and vegetables fall in this category. So do most nuts, but because of their fat content, nuts are considered fats (but HEALTHY fats!)

Proteins - mostly animal products. Beef, chicken, pork, turkey, duck, shellfish, fish, eggs, and dairy products (which also count as carbohydrates, but dairy products tend to have low glycemic ratings).

Fats - Butter, oils, nuts, avocados (also a carbohydrate but it counts as a fat). Fats break down to saturated (are solid at room temperature) and unsaturated (liquid at room temperature). The unsaturated fats are ideal in an arthritis diet. I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil almost exclusively in my cooking, and the natural fats found in certain fish are excellent for joint health. Try to eat fish two times a week as it's also an excellent protein source.