How Modern Diets are Failing Our Joints

Ever notice how your joints feel stiff after a long day or when you wake up in the morning? It’s not just age—it could be what you’re eating. With a few clicks on a screen, we can have almost any food we crave delivered to our door. Food lasts for months or years and we even have ready-to-eat Maggi and microwavable meals. But, all the convenience and deliciousness in the world cannot make up for the serious health repercussions that follow, like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. This is especially true for our joints. As we age, we lose bone density and our joints become more vulnerable to chronic pain and injury. The right nutrition can safeguard our joints, but with the unhealthy, modern diets of today’s age come great risks.

Luckily, it’s never too late to turn our diets around and choose a healthier lifestyle for happier joints!

The Modern Diet: What is Processed Food?

Most of the foods we eat are processed in some way—even washing or cutting counts. But some foods are only lightly processed, while others are loaded with preservatives and additives to boost flavour and shelf life. In India, the packaged food market has been growing fast, reaching $45 billion in 2020 and expected to hit $70 billion by 2025. The problem with ultra-processed foods is that they lose the nutrients we need to stay healthy. Remember the food pyramid from school, where sweets and fried foods were at the top? Nowadays, those ultra-processed options are a much bigger part of our diet than they should be.

Why is Modern Food Less Nutritious?: The Proof is in the Pudding

Modern foods have fewer essential nutrients needed to maintain good health. Besides packaged food, studies show that we also eat less nutritious food in general. Our consumption of fruits, vegetables, grains, and healthy proteins, has decreased across generations. Today, we eat far more refined sugars, salt, oils, and trans fats than our ancestors. Research from the National Sample Survey Office showed that millet consumption dropped by 50% between 1961 and 2009, and 32% between 1983 and 2012. In our grandparent’s time, sugar and fat-laden chips, candies, biscuits, and soft drinks were not part of their routine diet. They ate whole grains, pulses, unadulterated fruits and vegetables, and unrefined oils. These foods are packed with omega-3s, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help keep inflammation at bay.

The Modern Diet: You Become What You Eat

What we eat has a huge impact on our health. What we put into our bodies is reflected in our external appearance, including our joints. Diets that are high in refined sugars, trans fats, and preservatives lead to chronic inflammation, which can wear down our joints. High starch and sugary foods cause glucose spikes and disrupt gut health balance, leading to more inflammation. When the omega fatty acids and trans fats get imbalanced, we also have more inflammatory molecules floating about. Preservatives and artificial additives disrupt gut health and send the immune system into a frenzy, causing – yes, you guessed it – inflammation. In the long run, inflammation in the joints leads to painful conditions like arthritis. A 2020 study in Arthritis & Rheumatology found that eating trans fats and refined carbs, which are common in ultra-processed foods, speeds up the worsening of osteoarthritis (OA). These foods increase inflammation in the joints and cause cartilage to break down faster.

Putting on too much weight from unhealthy eating habits can put extra pressure on the joints as well, further increasing the chances of having joint pain. To avoid going down a painful path, we can always reduce the amount of unhealthy food we consume. The fried and processed foods (yes, even the french fries), the sugary snacks, chocolates, and drinks, processed meats, frozen foods, salad dressings and sauces all come under this category.

Redefining the Modern Diet: The Journey Back to Health

For strong bones, we need to eat foods rich in calcium, vitamin D (which helps us absorb calcium), and vitamin K; and for our cartilage, we need vitamin C and collagen. To reduce inflammation in the body, we need to consume foods that are rich in antioxidants and foods that keep our gut thriving. These include foods like

– Leafy green vegetables
– Fatty fish
– Nuts and seeds
– Berries
– Eggs
– Citrus fruits
– Ginger
– Garlic
– Cruciferous vegetables
– Turmeric
– Olive oil
– Bone broth
– Legumes
– Mushrooms, etc.

While we can point fingers at these unhealthy foods and villanise them, preparing whole foods from scratch is not always possible.We get it—sometimes, grabbing a quick packaged meal isn’t just convenient, it’s a necessity. I mean, who has the time to cook elaborate meals like our grandparents did, right? Sometimes, a quick meal is all we can manage. So how do we protect our joints in a way that is practical? The answer is balance and mindful eating.

It’s hard to ditch all our favourite snacks, but even cutting back a little can make a huge difference! Imagine replacing that sugary soda with a glass of fresh orange juice. Your joints will thank you for it. Along with this, supplementing vitamins and anti-inflammatory agents can make all the difference to our joints. That is why three60’s Daily Joint Care & Protect is loved by so many. With clinically proven ingredients like the Hadjod plant, collagen, and a blend of micronutrients, just 1 tablet a day can fortify your joints for life.

Conclusion

We all want to be healthy and zestful for as long as possible. To protect our joints from deterioration, we must be proactive in our dietary choices and give our bodies the things it needs to stay strong. Remember, every little change counts! So let’s take it one meal at a time, and before we know it, our joints will feel stronger, and we’ll be moving with ease. Intuitive eating can go a long way, so consume that which feels good in the body and for an extra boost, remember that the right supplements for your bones and gut are always available at three60. Stay strong, stay active, everyone!

About The Author

Dr. Kriti Soni

Dr. Kriti Soni is a pharmaceutical scientist specialising in developing drug delivery systems and natural products