“One of the benefits of juicing is getting a concentration of vegetables into people who normally wouldn’t get enough,” says Sonya Angelone, RDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. But that doesn’t mean chugging glasses of your average fruit juice. There’s a right way — and a wrong way — to juice, Angelone says.
Juicing When You Have Arthritis
Foods can have an effect on inflammation in the body, which is related to arthritis. Some foods — like those that are deep-fried, sugary, processed, or refined — lead to more inflammation, while others, like fruits and vegetables, lead to less inflammation, says Ashley Harris, RD, clinical dietitian at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs in Ohio. RELATED: Can a Vegan Diet Help Your Arthritis? Juicing is an easy way to fill up on those foods full of antioxidants that help lessen inflammation, like the anthocyanins in berries and bromelain in pineapple, says Nathan Wei, MD, a rheumatologist and director of the Arthritis Treatment Center in Frederick, Maryland. It can also help with weight loss, which is important when you have arthritis. “Fat cells contain leptins, which are proteins that aggravate inflammation,” Dr. Wei says. “The fewer fat cells, the fewer leptins hanging around.”
Juicing Done Right: 10 Rules to Follow
One of the cons of juicing is that it’s easy to fill up on calories. If you’re going to do it right, keep an eye on the sugar content of your juices. Too much sugar not only makes it hard to lose weight but also can cause blood sugar spikes. Such spikes can make arthritis symptoms worse and could lead to diabetes and some cancers, Harris says. Follow this list of dos and don’ts for juicing with arthritis. Do: Work one or two juices a day into a healthy, plant-based diet while paying attention to calories. Tart cherry juice, for instance, is healthy but high in calories, so be sure it’s counted as part of your overall calorie allotment for the day, Angelone says. Do: Drink juices made up of 80 percent vegetables and 20 percent fruits to limit sugars, Harris says. Do: Pair your juice with protein, such as nuts or Greek yogurt, to help control your blood sugar. Do: Try juicing with vegetables, fruits, and spices thought to have anti-inflammatory effects, such as ginger, which may help improve symptoms of osteoarthritis, according to a study published in 2013 in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. You can also try turmeric, cinnamon, and chili powder along with citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons, berries, tart cherries, carrots, and leafy greens, Harris says. Do: Help your body with nutrient absorption. Research on people with osteoarthritis of the knee, published in 2014 in Clinical Interventions in Aging, found that turmeric extract was as effective as ibuprofen in treating pain. But because turmeric can be hard for the body to absorb alone, Harris recommends adding a few shakes of pepper to improve the absorption rate. Do: Notice how your body reacts to foods. Nightshade vegetables, such as tomatoes and peppers, can cause a worsening of arthritis symptoms in some people, Harris says. Knowing how you react to foods will help you create the best arthritis-friendly juices for you. Do: Drink fresh juices, because nutrients break down over time. Your best bet is to make them at home with a juicer. If you order juices from a company, which can be expensive, Harris recommends going with one that uses high-pressure processing, which preserves the juice and keeps it free of bacteria while preserving nutrients. Do: Scrub your produce with a clean brush. If arthritis makes chopping difficult, Angelone suggests buying precut fruits and vegetables. Don’t: Rely on juicing exclusively for your nutrition, Wei says. Because juicing removes most of the fiber from food, doing a juice cleanse can make you constipated, Harris adds. You may also miss out on nutrients like vitamin B12 or those that require some fat in order to be absorbed, such as beta-carotene. Don’t: Ignore the potential for juices to affect your medications. “Because you are concentrating nutrients, you need to be extra careful about any potential food-drug interactions,” Harris says. For instance, grapefruit juice is known to interfere with a variety of medications. Prednisone, which is sometimes prescribed for arthritis pain, can make it more difficult to control your blood sugar, and juice can exacerbate that. Vitamin K, found in leafy greens, can interfere with blood thinners. Before you buy out the produce section of your market, check with your pharmacist and doctor about which juices may interact with your arthritis or any drugs. One last piece of advice: “Make sure your overall diet is nutritious,” Angelone says. That’s the ultimate goal.
