6 Foods That Knees Dig
For more youthful knee joints — or anything that bends — consider what’s in your kitchen.
These six foods could be your best medicine: berries, ginger, avocado, flaxseeds, omega-3-rich fish, and soy. Research shows they help stifle joint-damaging inflammation, according to John La Puma, MD, author of ChefMD: The Big Book of Culinary Medicine.
On Your Menu
Try this joint-friendly daily meal plan: whole-grain cereal or oatmeal with berries for breakfast, a turkey and avocado sandwich or a soy burger for lunch, a handful of walnuts or flaxseeds for a snack, and wild salmon or tilapia for dinner.
More Picks (and Pans)
Some other diet do’s — and don’ts — from La Puma:
Make a fruit bowl . . . with orange and grapefruit chunks. Vitamin C can thwart cartilage loss and slow osteoarthritis progression.
Sip tea. It’s chock-full of anti-inflammatory compounds
Nix red meat, and skip the sugary and starchy stuff. Proinflammatory substances in these foods — like saturated fats in red meat — could spur joint pain or make it worse
Make this Asian Salmon with fresh ginger for extra anti-inflammatory action.
Asian Salmon
Ingredients
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
4 (3-ounce) salmon fillets with skin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3 green onions, chopped
Directions
1. Combine the ginger, curry powder, and pepper and rub the mixture onto the flesh sides of the salmon.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet until the pan is moderately hot.
3. Add the garlic and cook until it’s golden brown.
4. Place the salmon skin side down in the pan and cook, covered, for 5 minutes.
5. Turn the fish and cook, covered, for another 2 minutes.
6. Add the green onions and cook for about half a minute.
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July 15th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Hi, Brick,
Thanks for the props! People really are reducing their osteoarthritis pain with what they eat. Amazing.
Can’t vouch for the recipe (5 minutes in a covered pan might be too long, IMO, for covered 3 ounce salmon filets).
But I can vouch for my Cedar Planked Roasted Salmon with Ginger Berry Salsa…check it out.
Warmly
JL
July 21st, 2008 at 8:26 am
Hi JL,
You’re welcome. Your book is chock-full of healthy ideas! I alwasy love when authors and people i’ve highlighted in my posts comment directly! The Cedar Planked Roasted Salmon with Ginger Berry Salsa sounds great.