By Jesse Cannone

If you have arthritis, you’re probably all too familiar with the pain, swelling and joint stiffness characteristic of this disease. With osteoarthritis, the most common form, which impacts 27 million Americans, this pain is the result of the breakdown of cartilage in the joint itself, often from accumulated wear and tear.

With rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that impacts an estimated 2 million Americans, chronic inflammation of the joints leads to pain, stiffness and swelling.

You may have already realized that certain foods cause a flare-up of your symptoms, and if so, rest assured it’s not all in your head. Science shows that certain foods do indeed impact the progression of this disease. The foods that follow are among them, impacting arthritis significantly — and not in a good way.

Top 8 Foods to Avoid With Arthritis

8. Empty Calories

Jelly beans, energy drinks, pastries, fruit drinks, and cakes are examples of empty calories, foods that contain little or no nutritional value, but which can easily add more inches to your waistline. Excess weight increases the load placed on your joints, which may not only speed the breakdown of cartilage, but also may make joint pain and swelling worse.

Further, fat tissue in your body releases pro-inflammatory chemicals, such as cytokines, which can influence the development of arthritis. Losing even a small amount of weight may have a beneficial impact on your risk of developing arthritis, as well as your current symptoms.

7. Gluten

Although a formal link has yet to be established, joint pain is a common symptom described by people with gluten sensitivity, or gluten intolerance. In people who are sensitive, gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, may provoke an innate immune response that may trigger symptoms such as joint pain hours or days after the gluten is consumed.

To find out if gluten may be contributing to your arthritis symptoms, eliminate it from your diet for 2 weeks, then slowly reintroduce them and watch for any symptom flare-ups.

6. Nightshade Vegetables

Nightshade vegetables, including potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and tobacco, contain calcitriol, an active form of vitamin D that may lead to calcium deposits in soft tissues such as tendons, ligaments, cartilage and joints if overconsumed.[i] This may cause or contribute to inflammation and joint pain, particularly in those who are sensitive. As with gluten, an elimination diet can help you determine if nightshade vegetables are problematic for you.

5. Vegetable Oils (Common in Processed Foods and Fast Foods)

Soybean, corn, peanut, safflower and sunflower oils are examples of vegetable oils that are rich in omega-6 fats, which most Americans consume far too much of. It’s not only a matter of the oil you use for cooking at home … far more so it’s the vegetable oils added to just about every processed food that end up being a problem.

Eating too many of these omega-6 fats may increase inflammation in your body, which may make your arthritis symptoms worse.

4. Refined Carbs

Do you notice that your joints seem achier when you’ve been eating a lot of muffins, bagels, cookies, doughnuts or pasta? This may be because these refined carbs lead to spikes in your blood sugar and insulin, and in turn increase body-wide inflammation significantly.[ii]

3. Synthetic Trans Fats

You should limit your intake of trans fats, common in partially hydrogenated oils, as much as possible. Trans fats are strongly linked to systemic, chronic inflammation,[iii] which is at the root of many arthritis symptoms. Common foods that contain trans fats include savory snacks (like microwave popcorn), fried foods, frozen pizzas, cake, cookies, pie, margarines and spreads, ready-to-use frosting, and coffee creamers.

2. Blackened and Barbecued Foods

Foods cooked at high temperatures – including char-broiled, blackened, barbecued, fried, etc. – often contain harmful byproducts of the cooking process called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs are highly inflammatory and can damage your tissues,[iv] making your arthritis worse.

1. Soda

Harvard researchers recently revealed that the more sugary soda men with knee osteoarthritis drink, the more likely the condition is to get worse.[v] Even though increased consumption of soda is linked to weight gain, a known risk factor for osteoarthritis, the link was true regardless of the men’s weight.

This suggests the soda itself may be responsible for worsening the arthritis, although a cause-and-effect link has not been proven.

By Jesse Cannone

You want to live a long, healthy and happy life, right? Here are the best healthy habits you should start doing today to achieve just that.

No really, we mean today.

Print out this list now, post it on your bathroom mirror or your refrigerator, and consult it often to give your mental and physical health a steady boost.

The Best Healthy Habits to Live By

11. Eat Your Vegetables and Fruits

People who eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and therefore have higher levels of antioxidants in their blood, have a 39 percent lower risk of death from any cause than those who eat the least.[i] No surprise here!

10. Read … Often

Curling up with a good book can help you escape from everyday stress, boost your mood, and help prevent memory loss and cognitive decline. Plus, reading even helps you show more empathy for those around you, improving your social interactions.

9. Eat More Omega-3 Fats

These are the healthy fats found in seafood, like salmon, and fish oil. Low intake of omega-3 fats is linked to up to 96,000 premature deaths a year![ii]

8. Turn Off the TV

You can live nearly 1.5 years longer just by cutting back on your television viewing to less than two hours a day.[iii]

7. Maintain Close Ties with Friends

People who live the longest typically have rich social lives and satisfying relationships, whereas those plagued by feelings of loneliness are more likely to struggle with depression, anxiety, stress and even health problems like elevated blood pressure, trouble sleeping and an increased risk of substance abuse and Alzheimer’s disease.

6. Brush Your Teeth Twice a Day

If you rarely brush your teeth, you have an increased risk of developing heart disease and chronic inflammation (a hallmark of many chronic diseases).[iv]

5. Laugh Everyday

Laughter really is the best medicine – it can help you prevent heart disease and lower your risk of a heart attack,[v] lower your blood pressure, reduce stress hormones, improve memory and learning, boost your immune system and make you more alert and creative.

4. Have More Sex

Assuming its done with a monogamous partner, having more sex is linked with increased lifespan, pain relief, weight loss, a stronger immune system, lower risk of heart disease, increased self-esteem, lower blood pressure and healthier responses to stress!

3. Drink More Green Tea

If you enjoy green tea, drink up. Drinking five cups a day reduces your risk of premature death from all causes by 16 percent, and your risk of dying from heart disease by 26 percent.[vi]

2. Sit Less

You can increase your life expectancy by two years just by cutting the amount of time you spend sitting to less than three hours a day.[vii]

1. Exercise Regularly

Getting your heart pumping for about 30 minutes a day reduces your risk of chronic disease and can extend your lifespan by about 3.5 extra years (exercise more intensely or for an hour a day and you can boost your lifespan over four years). Even if you’re severely obese, exercising can boost your life expectancy higher than someone of normal weight who’s sedentary![viii]

By Jesse Cannone

Are you constantly asking yourself … “Why am I always tired?”

You get plenty of sleep, yet your energy levels are drained and you’re always fighting off feelings of fatigue …

If this describes you, you’re in good, albeit bleary-eyed, company, as millions of Americans report feeling tired every day.

What’s really going on?

First, Rule Out the Obvious 3 …

1. Food

What’s your diet like? Are you trying to get by on energy-zapping foods like sugar and refined carbs? Drinking too much alcohol or coffee (which will only give you a short-term boost, followed by a crash)? Or are you not eating much at all? Try adding more whole foods like nuts, vegetables, eggs and lean proteins to your diet, and eat a little something with protein, carbs and healthy fats (like peanut butter on whole-grain crackers or a half of a turkey sandwich) every few hours, and see if your energy improves.

Also, be sure you’re drinking enough water, as even mild dehydration can zap your energy.

2. Stress

Stress from financial worries, relationship problems, health concerns or work demands can easily make you feel exhausted. The longer the stress continues, the greater toll it’s likely to take on you physically, so it’s important to take time to de-stress and unwind.

3. Lack of Exercise

Though exercising regularly requires physical effort, it will give you more energy both in the long run and shortly after your workout. A quick jog or even a brief 4-minute workout will leave you feeling energized, and in the days and weeks to come, research shows that overall regular exercisers are less fatigued than those who are sedentary.

One caveat: be sure you don’t exercise too close to bedtime, as your body needs time to unwind for sleep (wrap up your workout at least three hours before you plan to go to sleep). Also, avoid excessive over-exercising, which can lead to fatigue.

Next, 9 Health Issues You Should Know About …

If you’ve ruled out the three factors above, and you’re still feeling like you’re always tired, there are some medical reasons that could be to blame. Talk with a health care practitioner to find out if your fatigue could be the result of one of these conditions:

9. Thyroid Problems: Both hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) can result in fatigue. In the case of hypothyroidism, you’re likely to feel exhausted even if you’ve had a full night’s sleep (or even more sleep than normal). With hyperthyroidism, the fatigue may be due to insomnia (another symptom of the condition) or bodily stress caused by the disease (which can lead to rapid pulse, tremors, high blood pressure and more).

8. Sleep Apnea: This common condition causes you to wake up multiple times during the night because your airways become blocked. You probably won’t remember these frequent awakenings in the morning, but they are still a major contributor to daytime sleepiness and fatigue. Many people with sleep apnea are unaware they have the condition (which is often also accompanied by heavy snoring), but if you suspect you might it’s worth getting checked out.

Studies show that a simple treatment of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy during sleep (basically wearing a mask that sends a stream of air down your throat to keep your airways open) can help sleep apnea patients gain energy and feel less fatigued.[i]

7. Diabetes: Fatigue, particularly a feeling of being weak and tired, is a common early warning sign of diabetes, which occurs due to high blood sugar levels.

6. Anemia: A simple blood test can help you find out if you have anemia, which means you don’t have enough red blood cells, usually as the result of a lack of iron. Because red blood cells provide oxygen to your tissues, if you have anemia it can leave you feeling exhausted. Anemia is especially common among women.

5. Nutrient Deficiencies: A lack of virtually any important nutrient can leave you feeling fatigued, although iron, B vitamins (particularly vitamin B12) and potassium are some of the most common. A blood test can let you know if you’re deficient in any nutrients, which can be remedied by dietary changes and supplementation.

4. Medications: Certain medications are notorious for making you feel drowsy, and this includes some you might not expect. For instance, antihistamines, pain medications, heart and blood pressure medications and antidepressants can all make you feel sleepy. Even statin drugs widely used to lower cholesterol are linked to fatigue.[ii]

3. Obesity: Excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue are associated with obesity, for various reasons including interruptions to sleep and biochemical and hormonal changes.

2. Heart Failure: Fatigue, lethargy and daytime sleepiness are associated with heart disease and heart failure. A medical check-up can help you distinguish between heart-related fatigue and fatigue from other causes.

1. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): If you have severe tiredness that doesn’t go away, isn’t relieved by resting, and is not due to another medical condition, it could be chronic fatigue syndrome. CFS can leave you feeling so drained that you have difficulty completing your normal daily activities.

Is Difficulty Sleeping Making You Tired?

Perhaps the number one answer for the question “Why am I always tired?” is due to problems falling asleep and staying asleep. Give your bedroom a quick check to see if light pollution, noise, computers or other distractions could be keeping you from a sound night’s sleep. Also be sure you’re practicing good sleep “hygiene,” such as going to bed and waking at around the same time each day and turning off your work several hours before bed so you have time to unwind.