{"id":11175,"date":"2020-11-13T20:13:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T20:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/?p=11175"},"modified":"2026-04-14T01:47:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T01:47:32","slug":"5-tips-for-healthier-joints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-healthier-joints\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a05 Tips\u00a0for Healthier Joints\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"Physical activity, a healthy diet, and good posture\u00a0can\u00a0help you stay healthy and keep your joints healthy, too.\u00a0Persona dietitian, Emily Navarro, breaks it down:\u00a01) Maintain a healthy weight\u00a0\u00a0Carrying\u00a0a few extra pounds\u00a0puts stress on\u00a0your joints.\u00a0In fact,\u00a0losing just one pound of weight removes four pounds of pressure from your knees.\u00a0In other words,\u00a0shedding ten\u00a0pounds\u00a0will\u00a0take 40 pounds of pressure off your knees.\u00a0\u00a0Joint health benefits of a healthy weight:\u00a0\u00a0Reduces\u00a0pressure on your joints\u00a0Helps\u00a0ease pain\u00a0Reduces\u00a0inflammation\u00a0Preserves cartilage2) Keep moving\u00a0\u00a0When your joints ache, exercise might feel like the last thing you want to do. The truth is, staying active\u00a0actually helps\u00a0ease joint stiffness, reduces\u00a0pain, and strengthens the muscles that support your joints.\u00a0Take it slow and\u00a0protect your joints\u00a0with low-impact exercises like swimming, walking, yoga, cycling, or strength training.\u00a0\u00a0Joint health benefits of physical activity:\u00a0\u00a0Reduces joint stiffness\u00a0Eases discomfort\u00a0Keeps joints strong and flexible\u00a0Weight maintenance\u00a0\u00a03) Practice good posture\u00a0When you sit still at a computer, do\u00a0repetitive motions,\u00a0or\u00a0lift\u00a0heavy\u00a0objects\u00a0you\u00a0can\u00a0strain\u00a0the joints in\u00a0your\u00a0neck, back, hands and wrists.\u00a0Practice good posture\u00a0to\u00a0reduce stress on your joints and muscles.\u00a0\u00a0Tips for good posture:\u00a0\u00a0Sit\u00a0upright, lift your chest and relax\u00a0your shoulders.\u00a0When you sit in a chair, keep\u00a0your\u00a0feet flat on the floor\u00a0with\u00a0your hips bent at a 90-degree angle.\u00a0\u00a0Change\u00a0positions\u00a0often and get up to move\u00a0or stretch\u00a0at least\u00a0twice an hour.\u00a0\u00a0Adjust your computer monitor\u00a0so that the top of the screen is at,\u00a0or slightly below, eye level.\u00a0Position your keyboard and mouse level with your elbows.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a04) Stay Hydrated\u00a0You\u00a0are made of\u00a0mostly\u00a0water.\u00a0Every cell, organ,\u00a0and tissue\u00a0in your body\u00a0needs\u00a0water to function\u00a0properly, including your joints.\u00a0Water\u00a0helps lubricate and cushion\u00a0the\u00a0connective tissues that make up your joints. And\u00a0just like a wet sponge, hydrated cartilage is softer\u00a0and\u00a0more\u00a0flexible\u00a0which reduces\u00a0friction\u00a0and pain.\u00a0\u00a0The amount of water you need\u00a0varies based on\u00a0your size, weight, activity level, and gender.\u00a0According to the\u00a0National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, women\u00a0generally need\u00a0about 11.5 cups of water a day and men should aim for 15.5 cups.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Tips to stay hydrated:\u00a0Drink full glass of water in the morning while you wait for your coffee to brew.\u00a0\u00a0Keep a\u00a0water bottle within reach\u00a0at all times, even when you are\u00a0at\u00a0home.\u00a0Add a slice of cucumber, frozen berries, or a sprig of fresh herbs\u00a0to water or unsweetened tea\u00a0for a hint of flavor without\u00a0added\u00a0sugar.\u00a0Eat foods with a\u00a0high-water\u00a0content, like raw vegetables and fruit.\u00a0\u00a0Cut back on alcohol. When you do imbibe,\u00a0drink in moderation and have\u00a0plenty of water to counteract the effects.\u00a0\u00a05) Eat a healthy diet\u00a0Eating well\u00a0is not only great for\u00a0overall health and wellness,\u00a0it can support joint health and reduce inflammation too.\u00a0A diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods like vegetables, fruit, fish, nuts and beans with minimal amounts of processed foods and saturated fat can slow joint destruction, reduce pain, and ease pressure on your joints by helping maintain a healthy weight. It&#8217;s truly much simpler than comparing EAA vs BCAA and how their benefits after a workout.Tips for a healthy diet:\u00a0\u00a0Aim for five to nine servings of vegetables and fruit per day.\u00a0Add a handful of spinach to smoothies, snack on cut veggies with hummus, and fill half your plate with produce.\u00a0\u00a0Eat lean proteins like chicken, fish, beans, Greek yogurt, and eggs to support strong muscles.\u00a0Eat seafood twice per week. Oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and trout\u00a0are high in omega-3s which help reduce inflammation.\u00a0Go meatless once a week. Swap\u00a0meat\u00a0for plant-based sources of protein like beans and lentils.\u00a0Cut back on processed foods. Replace sugary drinks with water or unsweetened tea and\u00a0replace packaged\u00a0snacks\u00a0with\u00a0whole foods like fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.\u00a0\u00a0What\u2019s the deal with nightshade\u00a0vegetables?\u00a0\u00a0Nightshades are a family of vegetables like eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, and potatoes\u00a0that\u00a0some consider\u00a0to be\u00a0culprits for joint discomfort. These vegetables offer plenty of health benefits\u00a0and there is no evidence that nightshades are to blame. Still, some people\u00a0report\u00a0relief when they avoid\u00a0them. Track how you feel after eating these vegetables, if you feel discomfort, consider\u00a0eliminating\u00a0them for a few weeks then add them back slowly to see if\u00a0your symptoms are related.\u00a0\u00a0","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Physical activity, a healthy diet, and good posture\u00a0can\u00a0help you stay healthy and keep your joints healthy, too.\u00a0Persona dietitian, Emily Navarro, breaks it down:\u00a0 &nbsp; 1) Maintain a healthy weight\u00a0\u00a0 Carrying\u00a0a few extra","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":11177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[672,1827,1893,1907,1909],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","category-healthy-aging","category-wellness-journey","category-wellness-journey-fitness","category-wellness-journey-healthy-aging"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11175"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19733,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11175\/revisions\/19733"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}