5 Foods for Joint Pain Relief

When your joints ache, don’t open the medicine cabinet for a pain pill. Hit the grocery store to find some surprising helpful — and delicious — foods instead.

Sweet Potatoes. The deep orange color of a sweet potato comes from the rich supply of beta carotene it contains. Beta carotene is the natural precursor of vitamin A (retinol). When you eat a sweet potato, your body converts some of the beta carotene into vitamin A. The rest of the beta carotene acts as a powerful antioxidant that helps prevent joint damage caused by free radicals. In fact, a 2011 study in the journal Spine showed that low levels of beta carotene increased the risk of spinal degeneration in humans.

Sweet potatoes also contain anthocyanin, an anti-inflammatory phytonutrient that contributes to its orange color. Among other effects, anthocyanin blocks the COX-2 inflammatory pathway in much the same way as aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) do, but without the risky side effects. 

One cup of cooked sweet potato contains 180 calories and more than twice the RDA for vitamin A. Sweet potatoes are also an excellent source of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. 

Pineapple. Juicy, tangy pineapple is a powerhouse of nutrients to help aching joints. Top of the list is vitamin C — one cup of pineapple chunks has about 80 mg, which is enough to meet your daily requirement. You need plenty of vitamin C to make collagen, the protein that literally holds us together.

Collagen is key to building strong cartilage in joints. It’s also key to keeping the tendons and ligaments that hold your joints together, strong and flexible. And vitamin C is well known as a powerful antioxidant that helps keep free radicals from attacking your joints.

Pineapple is also a great source of the trace mineral manganese, which is needed to build many of the antioxidant enzymes that protect your joints against attack by free radicals. 

Bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme found in pineapple, has valuable anti-inflammatory effects for joint pain, especially knee pain. A cup of fresh pineapple chunks has about 85 calories. Avoid canned pineapple in syrup—it is double the calories, and the added sugar isn’t good for your joint pain.

Walnuts. Your body has a natural mechanism to regulate pain and swelling in your joints called prostaglandins, which has as an anti-inflammatory function. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential building blocks for these substances, so having plenty of them in your diet is crucial to reducing the discomfort from sore joints.

Nuts in general are a great source of omega-3s in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), but walnuts are a particularly good source. For good health, men need 1.6 grams of ALA daily; women need 1.1 grams. One ounce of walnuts (about a quarter cup) has about 2.5 grams of ALA. One tablespoon of walnut oil has about 1.4 grams of ALA. For vegetarians, vegans, and people who just don’t like fish, walnuts are an excellent alternative source of omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. They’re also a great source of vitamin E, B vitamins, and trace minerals such as zinc and calcium.

To get the full benefits of walnuts, consume the skin as well, as 90 percent of the phenols are found in the skin.

Adding walnuts to your dietary consumption is easy. They are a great crunchy snack, are a nice addition to cooked vegetables and salads, and make a good topping for oatmeal. Walnut oil has a rich, nutty flavor. It’s not great for cooking, because it can become bitter when heated, but it’s a wonderful addition to salad dressings. 

Turmeric/Curcumin. Turmeric is long known in Indian Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine as a digestive aid and is also anti-inflammatory. Turmeric is a deep yellow powder made from a root related to ginger. It’s a main ingredient in curry spices—and it’s what gives mustard its bright yellow color.

The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin, which has been shown to suppress the action of a number of chemical signals in the body, such as tumor necrosis factor, that attack joints. Curcumin also blocks other inflammatory signals, including those in the pro-inflammatory COX-2 pathway.

A study presented in the journal, Experimental Neurology (2016), revealed that curcumin counteracted the outcome of traumatic brain injury by decreasing oxidative stress, and increasing  synaptic simplicity and cognition. Turmeric also stimulates a key antioxidant pathway called Nrf2.

Salmon. All fatty fish, including salmon, sardines, tuna, and mackerel, contain substantial amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. In particular, the omega-3s found in fish include eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), both extremely valuable for suppressing inflammation. They work by inhibiting cytokines, or pro-inflammatory enzymes, and interrupting the chemical cascade that causes inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acids work best if you use them steadily for prevention, not to treat a flare-up of joint pain. To help keep your joints from aching, I recommend eating a 3- to 6-ounce serving of fatty fish two to four times a week.

Fish oils have been shown to aid in healthy body composition. They increase cell membrane health and fluidity. When cell membranes are more fluid, the cell absorbs the proper nutrients to keep it healthy.