That's good news for the 16 million Americans who suffer from osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is one of the most common forms of arthritis. According to the Arthritis Foundation, there are more than 100 different kinds of arthritis. While it's impossible to recommend one type of diet for every individual affected by arthritis, the Arthritis Foundation does recommend some general dietary and lifestyle guidelines to help ease symptoms and pain associated with arthritis. Among the safe and widely accepted guidelines are the importance of maintaining proper body weight and eating a well-balanced diet using the food guide pyramid to plan meals.
Most experts emphasize the importance of maintaining good exercise habits.
Proper exercise itself is important for the strength and integrity of joints, and also contributes to weight control and a positive attitude. Also, there is some evidence that omega 3 fatty acids, found primarily in cold water fish, may help reduce the pain and stiffness of rheumatoid arthritis. However, he goes on to recommend other dietary approaches that have received very little examination in well-controlled studies. The author encourages the use of two substances, glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate, which he claims help cure arthritis. Glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate are synthetic versions of compounds the body makes to help form cartilage.