The Three Things You Can Do Now To Boost Joint Health

June 30, 2021 1 Comment

Being physically active is extremely important for your health but getting active can be difficult for some of us due to unhealthy joints. Our joints help us get around, walk, sit, squat, crawl, and stand up. So when your joints suffer, it can make these basic movements challenging or even impossible.

Our future selves will thank us for investing in our joint health now! If you want to get started right away, we made a quick and easy lifestyle guide to prioritize joint health and improve your long-term quality of life.

Eat a Joint-Healthy Diet

The first and perhaps most important part of this lifestyle guide is what you eat.

The body is only as healthy as the foods you choose to ingest, and this also affects your joint health. Therefore, you need to eat more foods that help the body provide a better anti-inflammatory response and foods that naturally contain substances the body uses to lubricate or produce the joints.

Some of these foods are:

• Turmeric
• Fatty fish
• Nuts and seeds
• Colorful fruits
• Olive oil
• Oatmeal

Equally as important are the foods you should avoid. These foods make joint health worse over time because they negatively impact the body's inflammatory response.

Some of the harmful foods are:

• Refined grains
• Added sugars
• Alcohol
• Other highly processed foods

If you want to cook up some delicious and joint health-friendly recipes, try the following:

Turmeric Chicken and Quinoa

Time: 1 hr 16 mins
Servings: 8
Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken or tempeh
• One teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• One tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• One teaspoon ground turmeric
• One onion chopped
• One tablespoon grated, chopped peeled fresh ginger
• Four cloves garlic minced
• Two plum tomatoes chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoon curry powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cups quinoa rinsed
• Two bay leaves
• 1 ½ tablespoon Asian fish sauce
• Two ¾ cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

Full Recipe

Cherry Mango Smoothie

Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 1
Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen sweet cherries
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup frozen mango
• 3/4 cup water

Full Recipe

Anti-Inflammatory Buddha Bowl

Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4
Ingredients

• 2lb cauliflower florets, stems removed and broken into chunks
• 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp turmeric
• salt and pepper
• 10oz chopped kale
• One clove of garlic
• Eight medium cooked beets, peeled and quartered
• Two avocados
• 2c blueberries
• 1/3c chopped raw walnuts

Full Recipe

Go for Low-impact Workouts

If joint health is a concern, the last thing you want to do is go out for an intense run or strenuous hike. Running and hiking done in moderation is great, but it's no secret that hikers and runners often have joint problems.

If you want to try your hand at low-impact workouts that still make your heart beat fast or build muscle, you can opt for swimming, rowing, kettlebell training, cycling, or any exercise that doesn't make your joints carry too much weight or force per round or rep.

Gift Yourself a Joint Health Supplement

Supplements nowadays have gone through large amounts of research and quality checks, so it wouldn't hurt to add some as icing on your joint-health cake. The best supplements for joints offer benefits for healthy inflammation and those that provide the same compounds needed for joint health.

Some of these are:

• Turmeric/Curcumin
• Glucosamine
• Collagen
• Hyaluronic Acid
• Fish oil
• Chondroitin

Takeaway…

Caring for our joints today will go a long way, especially as we age. Not only are we laying the foundation for healthy aging, caring for our joints also allows us to look forward to engaging in physical activities without worrying about feeling discomfort or pain.

The best part about boosting joint health is that it's not complicated to begin with. Eating a joint-healthy diet, doing low-impact and non-strenuous exercise, and taking high-quality joint health supplements are the basic yet the most impactful for long-term joint health.

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