While saving more money towards retirement is a common and noble New Year’s resolution, you may also want to make a promise to yourself about preserving your joint function this year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of adults 65 and older in the US have experienced arthritis pain severe enough to seek a clinical diagnosis. You may not have thought too much about it in the past, but joint pain can put quite a damper on your retirement plans. In order to stay healthy enough to complete your bucket list, joint health supplements are only half the battle when it comes to nutrition; in fact, the body tends to absorb nutrients from food much more readily than from supplements. Try working the following four joint health foods into your diet to maintain optimal mobility well into your golden years:
1. Fresh Oily Fish
Omega-3 fatty acids are one of doctors’ most recommended nutrients for maintaining the health of connective tissues not only where you bend but throughout your entire body. Besides keeping your knees and elbows in prime condition, omega-3s such as EPA and DHA found in fish, help regulate your moods and various brain functions to keep you sharp and focused on your goals.
2. Ripe Organic Berries
Upping your intake of antioxidants today by eating berries, including cherries, strawberries, and raspberries will almost certainly keep you and your moveable parts feeling more youthful for many tomorrows yet to come. The greatest benefits will come from the juiciest, most vibrantly colored berries, since organic berries are often left to ripen a bit longer than more commercially grown varieties. It is usually worth the extra expense to purchase organic and local ones or even grow them yourself.
3. Pungent Cheeses
For most people, saving for retirement often entails spending most of the daylight hours inside of an office. Since your skin can only produce vitamin D from sun exposure, all that hard work can lead to a deficiency of this vital nutrient, leading in turn to greater inflammation in your bendy bits and brittle bones as you age. While dairy, in general, is a great source of this vitamin, the high fat content of many products can lead to overeating and subsequent health conditions; in order to satisfy cravings with less, a pungent or salty cheese, such as feta, will usually hit the spot while delivering the goods.
4. Juicy Citrus Fruits
The link between your immune system and the ability to kneel painlessly in a seaside cavern, for instance, probably seems less than obvious, but it is an important one. Autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, are among the leading causes of chronic pain. Fortunately, nature has provided mankind with vitamin C, which is found in citrus fruits, to help regulate the immune system and keep it from misfiring and causing those twinges in your hinges.
Along with regular exercise and daily supplements, increasing your consumption of these foods will buy you what money cannot: more quality time throughout your life.
For more information, give us a call at (210) 969-BONE.
