Eat well, exercise for healthy joints

A certain amount of wear and tear on joints is inevitable with the passage of time. But varied exercise, good posture and changing your diet can help.

Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most important steps; the heavier you are, the greater the impact on your joints and the stronger your muscles need to be to control movement.

Dietitian Sue Baic, of the British Dietetic Association, breaks it down: ‘‘For every 0.5 kilograms lost, we reduce the weight going through the knee joint at each step by 2kg.’’

Regular physical activity will help support a healthy weight as well as good joint functioning. For runners, taking a few days off between runs is advised so knees have time to recover.

Low-impact exercises like cycling, pilates and swimming can be used to mix up a routine. Squats and lunges a couple of times a week will develop strength, which supports more controlled movements.

However, be careful of squatting below 90 degrees, due to the pressure placed on knees. Climbing stairs carries less risk.

Good posture helps maintain healthy joints, too.

It is common to become more stooped with age, but this changes the centre of gravity so more pressure is placed on knees and hips.

Stand tall with your head in line with your shoulders, your shoulders directly over your hips, your hips aligned with your knees, and your knees aligned with your feet.

Eating a Mediterranean diet can also help your joints. Baic says some recent research suggests diets high in saturated fat – found in fatty meats and meat products, full-fat dairy, cakes, biscuits and coconut oil – can weaken cartilage in the knees and hips.

She recommends a Mediterraneanstyle diet high in monounsaturated fat and with plenty of fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts and seeds.

Omega-3 in the oily fish has been found to reduce joint pain and shorten the duration of morning stiffness.

The brightly coloured vegetables provide antioxidants that reduce the risk of cartilage loss and slow progression of osteoarthritis. Monounsaturated fats in the avocado and almonds have been found to reduce pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis.