Acidic Food & Joint Pain

Joint pain can be caused by many things: Rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, gout and lupus, to name a few. But it can also be caused by reactive arthritis, which is a condition that is brought on by an infection somewhere else in your body. A condition that can result from a food bacteria like salmonella; therefore, given that reactive arthritis is brought on through a food bacteria and gout can be made worse by eating certain foods, it is believed that food plays a role in joint pain.

Acids

• Acids are water-soluble compounds (they can be dissolved in water), which have a pH balance of less than 7. Many foods we eat contain a type of acid and have differing pH balances. The desired human pH balance of acid to maintain in our body is represented by the number 7, so anything lower on this 1 to 14 numerical scale (like highly-acidic foods, a pH of zero to 4) makes your body more acidic, which can cause health problems like gout.

Highly acidic foods: pH of 0 to 4

• Animal meat is very acidic, with red meats like beef and pork topping the list --white meats are less acidic than red meat; however, they are still highly acidic. Some other highly acidic foods are: bread (white and wheat), sugar (white and brown), pastries and cakes made with white flour, chocolate, pasta made from white flour, pickles, jams, jellies, fruit juices and yogurt. There are additional acidic foods not listed here, as well as these other acidic products: beer, wine, carbonated soft drinks, black tea, artificial sweeteners and white vinegar.

Highly acidic foods and joint pain

• When an individual eats a diet high in acidic foods their body's pH balance is disrupted, which can create health problems; one of which can be joint pain. Those individuals who already have gout, a condition that can create great pain in the joints of the body--and is sometimes extremely debilitating--will often see their gout exacerbated by eating acidic foods. Likewise, individuals who suffer from other joint pain are also affected to some degree by the amount of acidic food consumed in their diets.

Joint pain symptoms

• Joint pain symptoms are inflammation and fluid build up near the joint, stiffness of the joint and the tissue surrounding it, pain and an inability to use the affected joint for a period of time during the day and sometimes fatigue.

Healthy foods that are acidic

• While it is only reasonable to assume that avoiding sugars--and other unhealthy foods that are highly acidic--you should be able to help reduce joint pain, it is surprising for some to learn that healthy foods can also be very acidic. And even though these foods are good for you, it would be prudent to limit the daily intake of them and to balance your diet with an equal amount of alkaline foods. Some healthy acidic fruits and vegetables are: corn, winter squash, olives, lentils, cranberries, blueberries and plums.