Bone & joint healthGeneral wellnessNutrition

10 foods your joints love

Add these to a healthy diet to help prevent and soothe joint pain.

Jan, 2026
LearnHealthy eating10 foods your joints love
Slide 1
Salmon
Tart Cherry Juice
Strawberries
Nuts and Seeds
Almond Milk
Sweet Potatoes
Celery
Onions and Garlic
Avocados
Bell Peppers

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Slide 1

Can specific foods nourish healthy joints? Maybe, but the research linking food to joint health is limited, says Lona Sandon, PhD, RDN, LD, assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. "If there were a magic food out there, I'd have found it by now," says Sandon, who has rheumatoid arthritis (RA). “Your best bet to manage joint pain from arthritis, Lyme disease, gout, and other conditions is to aim for an overall good diet that helps you maintain a healthy weight," says Sandon. That said, it can't hurt to add these 10 foods to your menu.

Written byMichael Gollust.
Medically reviewed byAnn Wendling, MD, MPH.August, 2024
Sources: NIH: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Omega-3 Supplements: In Depth. Last updated May 2018. + 13
  1. NIH: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Omega-3 Supplements: In Depth. Last updated May 2018.
  2. Harvard Health Publishing. Fish consumption and rheumatoid arthritis: Natural remedy or just another fish tale? August 28, 2017.
  3. Arthritis.org. Best Fish for Arthritis. Accessed October 26, 2022.
  4. Di Giuseppe D, Crippa A, et al. Fish consumption and risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a dose-response meta-analysis. Arthritis Res Ther. 2014 Sep 30;16(5):446.
  5. Tedeschi SK, Bathon JM, et al. Relationship Between Fish Consumption and Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2018 Mar;70(3):327-332.
  6. Qi Gao, Li-Qiang Qin, et al. Effects of strawberry intervention on cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. British Journal of Nutrition. 2020. 241-246.
  7. Yu Z, Malik VS, et al. Associations between nut consumption and inflammatory biomarkers. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Sep;104(3):722-8.
  8. Schlesinger N, Rabinowitz R, Schlesinger M. Pilot studies of cherry juice concentrate for gout flare prophylaxis. J Arth. 2012 1(1).
  9. Du C, Chapman SC, et al. Impact of Tart Cherry Juice on Joint Flexibility and Pain in Individuals with Self-Reported Knee Osteoarthritis (P01-030-19). Curr Dev Nutr. 2019 Jun 13;3(Suppl 1):nzz028.P01-030-19.
  10. Salehi B, Venditti A, Sharifi-Rad M, et al. The Therapeutic Potential of Apigenin. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Mar 15;20(6):1305.
  11. Chen Y, Xue R, et al. Antiarthritic Activity of Diallyl Disulfide against Freund's Adjuvant-Induced Arthritic Rat Model. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol. 2018;37(4):291-303.
  12. Pattison DJ, Symmons DP, et al. Dietary beta-cryptoxanthin and inflammatory polyarthritis: results from a population-based prospective study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Aug;82(2):451-5.
  13. Arthritis.org. Best Nuts and Seeds for Arthritis. Accessed October 26, 2022.
  14. USDA. FoodData Central. Accessed October 26, 2022.

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