Food and arthritis.

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Dazzling diet

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- Nutrients mop up chemicals that damage joints Brightly-coloured fruits and

vegetables can fight arthritis, says Prasun Chaudhuri

The standard grandma’s “eat your fruits and greens” refrain got a new twist last

week when a group of British nutritionists revealed that brightly-coloured

fruits and vegetables like oranges and carrots can cut the risk of diseases like

arthritis.

 

Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition the researchers based at

the Manchester University and Cambridge University reported that those who

develop arthritis eat much lower amounts of oranges or red bell peppers.

 

It has long been known that oxidation — a normal body process — produces harmful

by-products called free-radicals. The free-radicals play notorious roles,

causing several age-related problems, including joint damages found in

rheumatoid arthritis.

 

The new findings support what researchers have been suspecting for some time:

chemicals known as antioxidants, found in coloured fruits and vegetables, mop up

the damaging free radicals super-efficiently and suppress inflammation seen in

arthritis.

 

Particularly beneficial anti-oxidants were cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin found in

carrots or oranges. “The good news is that even a single glass of

freshly-squeezed orange juice or carrot juice a day is enough to cut down the

extra risk of the disease,” wrote lead researcher Dorothy Pattison in the

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

 

The research makes a lot of sense, considering the fact that rheumatoid

arthritis remains an incurable disease affecting one out of 100 people.

 

3 more reasons to go for colours

 

1: The Yellows and Oranges: Sweet potatoes, carrots, corn, oranges, lemons,

pumpkins, mangoes, etc are loaded with vitamin C, and the nutrient carotene

(both the beta and alpha forms). They block cancer-causing substances and

protect from cardiovascular diseases by lowering bad cholesterol.

 

2: The Reds, Purples and Blues: Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries,

cranberries, apples (skin), cherries, pomegranates, red grapes (skin), beets,

red cabbages, etc have anthocyanin, betacyanin, pranthocyanidins as their active

ingredients, providing some of the most potent protective chemicals and

anti-inflammatories in our food. They combat arthritis and ageing-related

problems.

 

3: The Greens: Spinach, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, bea-ns have chlorophyll and

lu-tein that fight diseases. The nutrients cut the risk of colon or bowel cancer

and prevent cataracts.

 

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050829/asp/knowhow/story_5156800.asp

 

 

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