It’s the holiday season and summer in Australia. It’s part of our Aussie traditions to get together with friends for the festive season to catch up and it usually involves festive food and festive drinks!
But let’s remember that one of the leading causes of joint problems through tears and strains and onto arthritis is lack of exercise and carrying excess weight.
Here are some “naughty and nice” tips to help you enjoy the holidays but keep your joints happy and healthy.
What’s Nice:
Fruit and vegetables.
Our bodies love fruit and vegetables in our diet, and there are some that help you in the fight against osteoarthritis. These include:
Blueberries, strawberries, apples and onions all contain antioxidants that target free radicals and inflammation.
And don’t forget we live in the country of tropical fruit – so add a banana and some pineapple (pina coladas don’t count)
Bananas help to build bone density as they contain magnesium and potassium while pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain which controls inflammation.
Omega 3 rich foods.
We love our fish seafood in our celebrations, and this food group is abundant with Omega 3.
Many types of fish including salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines. Look at including 2 servings of fish per week as part of your staple diet choice.
Other omega 3 rich sources include avocados, chia seeds, soybeans, tofu and soy products, grain fed beef, peanut butter and olive oil and other healthy oils as well as green tea and orange juice.
Choose whole grain products
There are so many great artisan products available now, all so much tastier than our old boring white slide loaf.
When selecting breads, pasta and cereal – make whole grain your choice.
Some Christmas cheer?
Choose red wine it’s rich in antioxidants.
What’s naughty?
It won’t come as a surprise, but anything that has processed sugars like lollies, deserts, cakes and biscuits, chocolate bars and softdrinks. Sugar also goes under different names so look at food labels and see if there is anything ending in “ose” such as fructose and sucrose.
Another area to avoid is “white” items such as white flour products, white rice and white potatoes.
Trans fats are really not good for any of us so avoid processed foods such as snack foods, crackers, fast foods and fried products.
There are so many good delicious food choices available and your joints will thank you for it.
Anyone for cricket?
Get off social media and get out the bat and ball! Our joints love to exercise. It keeps us flexible. Make the time to enjoy some outdoor fun during the festive season.
I hope you enjoy a happy and festive holidays season with some gourmet favourites and some family fun that will taste good and be good for you.
