Eating the Right Fat In The Diet to Reduce Inflammation

An effective way to reduce the inflammation and pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis is to control the intake of fat that comes from our diet. The reason here is that fat is able to influence the inflammatory process in either a negative or a positive way. A specific chemical called prostaglandins which play an important role in controlling inflammation in joints are derived from fats in our diets.

For instance, the chemical prostaglandin E2 is the chemical that causes inflammation in arthritis patients. It comes mainly from fats found in meat and cooking oils. On the other hand, prostaglandin E1 and E3 act in quite the opposite way. Both of them actually block swelling and reduce the pain and inflammation in joints. Therefore, by controlling the types of fat in our diet, we can actually relieve the symptoms of arthritis patients such as joint pain and discomfort.

The chemical prostaglandin E1 is derived from gamma linolenic acid (GLA) which is found only in a few seed oils such as borage, evening primrose, blackcurrant and hemp or linseed. On the other hand, the prostaglandin E3 is derived from alpha linolenic acid (ALA) and is found mostly in green leafy vegetables, rape seed oil, wheat germ oil and oily fish.

The rule of thumb to improving the quality of lives of most arthritis patients is to reduce the amount of meat especially animal fat in the diet for those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The same goes to cooking oil. Arthritis patients are encouraged to consume cooking oils derived mainly from plants.

Moreover, increasing vegetables, seeds and oily fish in the diet of arthritis patients may help to reduce inflammation without the unwanted side effects caused by drug. This is one of the reasons many arthritis patients find a vegetarian diet which is free of animal fat or products, helpful in improving their quality of lives.

Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA)

As mentioned above, the chemical prostaglandin E1 which comes from gamma linolenic acid (GLA) helps in reducing inflammation and swelling of joints in most arthritis patients. For rheumatoid arthritis patients, increasing the intake of food in diets that contain large amount of GLA will definitely help to relieve the symptoms of arthritis.

The easiest way to increase the intake of GLA is to eat more seeds and seed oils. Some examples of food here that contain high amount of GLA are evening primrose, borage and blackcurrant oils. These foods are all available in the forms of supplements. On the other hand, hemp or linseed oil has to be taken as oil and this unfortunately has an unpleasant taste. You could probably mix this oil with other oil in salad to make it tastier.

Some seeds contain useful amounts of helpful GLAs. Try to use a handful of seeds in every meal. Ex. Sunflower seeds, linseed, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds.

Besides, eating pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seedsand lin seeds will also help to boost your intake of GLA. These foods can be eaten as they are or added to almost any dishes. Use the seeds whole, when they will have to be chewed well to release the oils, or process them briefly in a pestle and mortar, coffee grinder or a good processor to lightly grind them. Whole seeds can be lightly toasted under the grill to vary their flavor.

Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA)

Other than GLA, the alpha linolenic acid or ALA is also one of the prostaglandins that reduce inflammation and swelling in joints for arthritis patients. The prostaglandin E3 comes mainly from ALA. As such, increasing the intake of food in our diets that contains large amount of ALA is encouraged for arthritis patients. It’s a natural way of suppressing the pain and swelling of joints without the side effects of drugs.

Reducing intake of animal fats usually helps rheumatoid arthritis patients. When rheumatoid arthritis patients are opting for a vegetarian diet, it will definitely boost the intake of alpha linolenic acid (ALA) which is used to manufacture prostaglandin E3 since ALA is usually found in vegetables.

In addition, you can also try wheatgerm oil which contains large quantity of ALA. Wheatgerm oil supplement will further boost alpha linolenic acid intake – but this is not suitable for those excluding wheat from the diet.

Besides, eating oily fish is also a good way to increase ALA in the diet. The term “oily” fish may sound rather unattractive, but in fact, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, salmon, herrings, kippers and whitebait are some of the fish that contains large amount of ALA.

Oily fish are one of the best foods for reducing inflammation. Ex. Mackerel, herring, salmon steak.

Most of these fish can be bought in a form where you do not have to fiddle with fish bones or sin, and some types can be eaten whole. Pre-prepared fish can be bought fresh, frozen or canned. Other than eating them in the main diet, you can also add them in small quantities to salads and rice, bean or vegetable dishes.

Try using anchovies to season some of your dishes instead of salt. You are not only boosting your ALA levels but also reducing your sodium.

Conclusion

All in all, relieving the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis can be done via eating the right fat in the diet of arthritis patients. The gamma linolenic acid (GLA) and alpha linolenic acid (ALA) are two of the most prominent inflammation reduction prostaglandins that derived from fats. Increasing the intake of these fats will certainly help to relive the pain and swelling of joints.

It’s also a natural and the safest way to relieve inflammation of arthritis without the side effects of drugs. Arthritis patients are encouraged to go for vegetarian diets in order to reduce the prostaglandin E2 that causes inflammation in joints. Prostaglandin E2 comes mainly from meat and cooking oil made with animal fat.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 10:32 pm and is filed under Anti Inflammatory Fat. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.