Vitamin Information Center

It is a well known fact that ‘we are what we eat’. Food not only affects us physically, but psychologically as well. However, researchers are now looking into the effects of food on chronic ailments like osteoarthritis, only to find that food plays a vital role in dealing with this ailment. Here’s more on this newly developing field of study.

Osteoarthritis or Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) is the wear and tear of our joints caused by the breakdown of cartilage in them. Cartilage, which is a hard but slippery tissue between joints, is more of a cushion for the bones which form the joints. It not only avoids direct friction between the bones but, also helps to absorb shock, allowing them to move smoothly over each other, as it is composed of 65-80% water, collagen, proteoglycans and chondrocytes.

This is what happens when you suffer from osteoarthritis –
• Cartilage loss is there.
• Joints begin to deteriorate due to constant rubbing of bones with each other.
• Fluid accumulates in the joints.
• Structural changes and bony overgrowths can be seen around the joint.
• Patient suffers chronic pain.
• Problem can affect the joints of fingers, hips, knees, feet and spine too.
• Severe symptoms might lead to loss of mobility in the patient or disability.

With over 21 million Americans living with the disease, commonly seen in elderly people above the age of 65 years, researchers are now delving into different ways of tackling the problem to gain more control over it, the most recent one being dietary changes for osteoarthritis.

There are various factors which pave way for a person to develop osteoarthritis, like – obesity, vitamin C deficiency, low bone mineral density and vitamin D deficiency. Thus keeping these in mind dieticians suggest some additions and subtractions in your diet to avoid and also keep under control this ailment.

Some dietary changes to keep osteoarthritis at bay -

Foods to avoid -

• Reduce the consumption of fatty foods in your daily intake as the more weight your body has to carry, greater is the burden on the joints and greater the risk.
• Identify the inflammatory elements of your diet by eliminating all short listed ones from the food you consume. Reintroduce them one by one, noting your body’s reactions to them. This would help you identify the culprit food items, which you need to remove at the earliest.
• Common inflammatory foods are – wheat, potato, pepper, egg plant, tobacco, tomatoes etc. you need to stay away from them for about a month and then start reintroducing.
• Elimination of dairy products and animal food has proven to help many. Thus staying on a vegetarian diet would be best for high risk patients.
• Research has shown that periodic fasting has helped show improvement for arthritis patients. It helps to cleanse and restore the digestive system and kidneys, relaxes the mind and nervous system and is good for the well being of the body as whole.
• Lifestyle changes involving elimination of alcohol, smoking, tobacco, coffee, fats, sugar and excessive salt, are now known as ways to overcome the problem at best.

Foods to add -
• Vitamin C is known to develop cartilage, thus foods rich in the vitamin should be deliberately had on a regular basis, in addition to tablets. Some foods are citrus fruits etc.
• Vitamin D helps to decrease the narrowing of joint spacing, thus a daily supplement of the Vit-D tablet is a must for osteoarthritis patients.
• Osteoarthritis symptoms are said to show a slowdown with foods rich in glucosamine and chondroitin.
• In general eating green leafy vegetables, carrots, avocado, sea weeds, fish, soy products, sprouts, oats, barley, rice, millet, and fish like salmons, tuna, sardines etc, help patients suffering from the disease and also help to overcome the above mentioned deficiencies.
• Regular intake of calcium supplements is a must.
• Lifestyle changes like weight reduction, exercising and diet control, not only help reduce weight, they also help people with low bone mineral density.

So eat healthy and live healthy!

High intake of Vitamin D can reduce chronic pain in women, a new study has suggested. A team of researchers from the Institute of Child Health in London found that women suffering from chronic pain may benefit from an extra daily dose of vitamin D, which comes from sunshine and fortified milk.

Called the “sunshine vitamin” because of its exceptional quality of being produced by the body by just basking in the warm sun, low levels of the vitamin D may contribute to women’s chronic pain that can cause complications such as sleep disorders, loss of appetite and depressiondefine or other serious disorders.

The British researchers reached their findings after studying 7,000 women and men aged 45 in England, Scotland and Wales. In their study the researchers found that chronic widespread pain is linked to low levels of the vitamin D in women, but surprisingly not in men.

Lead researcher Dr Elina Hyppnen of the Institute of Child Health in London and colleagues found that all women, irrespective of whether they were smokers, non-drinkers, overweight or underweight, reported higher rates of chronic pain due to vitamin D deficiency. However, vitamin D levels appeared to make no difference to the number of male participants who reported pain symptoms.

The researchers, who reported their findings in the latest edition of the ‘Annals of Rheumatic Diseases’ journal, found that women with vitamin D levels between 75 and 99 nanomoles of 25-hydroxy-vitaminD (25(OH)D) per liter of blood, a level believed necessary for good bone health, had the lowest rates (8%) of chronic pain, while women with vitamin D levels of less than 25 mmol/liter had the highest rates (14.4%) of this type of pain.

As the deficiency of vitamin D only affects women, the researchers believe female hormonesdefine may have some role to play in women’s chronic pain.

Though the latest research suggested that vitamin D levels could play a role in some cases of chronic pain in women, but lead researcher Hyppnen thinks the follow-up studies are needed to confirm the findings.

Still she thinks, “If I had chronic pain I would certainly check I was getting enough vitamin D.”

But, Kate MacIver of the Pain Research Institute at Liverpool University cautioned that high intake of Vitamin D supplements to prevent or treat chronic pain could result in Vitamin D toxicity and high blood calcium levels.

Technically a hormone, Vitamin D is produced within the body when the skin is exposed to the ultraviolet B (UVB) rays in the sunlight. Known as sunshine vitamin, it is also found in oily fish, egg yolks and margarine.

The basic function of vitamin D is to regulate the levels of calcium and phosphorous in the blood, thus helping to build strong bones and healthy teeth. It’s also believed to strengthen the immune systemdefine and possibly prevent some forms of cancerdefine, including prostate, breast and especially colondefine cancer.

Deficiency of Vitamin D can occur due to inadequate dietary intake of preformed vitamin D, malabsorption of vitamin D, or too little exposure to sunlight. The deficiency can lead to problems such as liver or kidney disorders or hereditary disorders. In adults, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, as well as rickets in children and osteoporosis in pregnant and post menopausal women.

As little as 30 minutes of early morning or late afternoon sunlight on the face, hands and arms two or three times a week can supply the entire Vitamin D one needs. In addition, many experts recommend 400-600 IU a day for people over the age of 50 and 800 IU for those over the age of 70. For younger adults, 200-400 IU a day is probably sufficient.

CHRONIC pain in women may be related to low levels of vitamin D, the nutrient made by the skin when exposed to sunlight.

Researchers who studied nearly 7000 British 45-year-olds found that almost 15 per cent of women with the lowest levels of the vitamin reported experiencing chronic pain - nearly twice the 8.2 per cent prevalence reported among women with higher readings.

However, vitamin D levels appeared to make no difference to the number of men who reported pain symptoms - leaving the study’s authors perplexed as to whether lack of vitamin D in women was the cause.

The authors noted that a disease caused by extreme vitamin D deficiency, osteomalacia, was known to cause bone pain.

The research concluded that further studies were required to establish whether pain would be lessened if patients increased their vitamin D intake.

For the study, published yesterday in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, the authors included medical data from 6824 Britons who were examined between 2002 and 2004, when they were aged 45. Information was collected on their smoking and alcohol habits, time spent outdoors, time spent watching television or at a computer and dietary supplements, including vitamin D.

Samples of their blood werealso analysed for

levels of 25-hydroxy-vitaminD (25(OH)D), which is a metabolised form of the vitamin and a marker for vitamin D levels.

The lowest prevalence of chronic widespread pain (8.2per cent) was reported in women with 75 to 99 nanomoles of 25(OH)D per litre of blood.

The rate was 14.4 per cent for women with less than 25nmol/l, and 14.8per cent for women with 25-49nmol/l.

John Eisman, director of the bone and mineral research program at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, said the study was interesting but by its design could not “unravel” whether lower vitamin D was causing the pain, or vice-versa.

Professor Eisman, who is also an endocrinologist at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital, agreed that more studies were required.

In the meantime, if doctors were faced with patients battling chronic pain, “it might be worth giving them vitamin D, to see if it makes a difference”, he said.