Joint pain and stiffness are common complaints doctors hear from patients. Personal health advocate Carrie Bloemers says, arthritis is a common problem that can lead to joint swelling and pain. “It’s really uncomfortable and it’s something that people experience and live with daily.”

There are natural things patients can do to minimize the pain without taking medication. “The foods we eat can increase the inflammation levels in our body so therefore, if we are able to follow an anti-inflammatory diet with antioxidants we can help control some of the symptoms of arthritis and inflammation,” said Bloemers. Antioxidants lower levels of inflammation throughout the body.

“The goal is to minimize the overall symptoms so the aches and the pains from arthritis so they may have a lower dependency on some of the medications they are taking,” said Bloemers. Foods high in antioxidants like blueberries, grapes, and greens, can help with joint inflammation. But processed foods and foods in high fat and sugar can keep your joints inflamed.

“Not only do we need our blues and our purples, we need red, yellow, orange, and green nutrients so plant based materials every day too,” said Bloemers. A regular healthy diet can help with day to day pain and swelling.

“Eating blueberries one time isn’t going to make your knee feel better. It’s your habits of including a healthy diet high in antioxidants, low in inflammatory foods, like high fatty processed meats or high sugar foods that over time are going to help lower the inflammation in your body,” said Bloemers. In addition to fruits and vegetables, health experts also recommend patients maintain an active lifestyle to prevent joint stiffness.