DIET AND ARTHRITIS

doctor for a check-up. Let him decide what your desirable weight really is.

Eat regular meals each day. Frequent small meals or between-meal snacks along with regular meals may work better for you than trying to pack the extra food in the three regular meals.

Get as much rest as possible-regularly. Rest helps you conserve energy.

Spend some time in the fresh air. Exercise moderately, possibly a stroll before dinner. Exercise is needed to develop muscle tone and appetite.

Do not be discouraged during the first few weeks of your plan. It takes a while to begin to gain.

Weigh yourself regularly. Be patient, and stick to your plan.

Avoid being misled by quick, easy methods of gaining weight.

You need just as much patience and will power as those trying to lose weight.

FOR PATIENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is more common in people over 45 years and particularly in those over 65. In those age brackets, there is a tendency to put on extra weight, to deposit less calcium in the bones and sometimes to develop a mild form of anemia. These conditions, although not the osteoarthritis itself, can be improved by sound nutrition. Your doctor probably will advise you to eat more foods rich in calcium such as milk and milk products as well as foods containing iron and vitamins. He will, at the same time, advise you to lose weight without depriving yourself of any of the essential nutrients you need.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

If you have rheumatoid arthritis, food will not cure you, nor did it cause your disease. Nonetheless, good nutrition can affect the way you feel, how you respond to treatment and how successfully you can resist the ravages of inflammation.

In this case just an adequate diet is not enough. It should be a diet rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals

all vital to tissue resistance and repairThis means you should

be sure to eat enough fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and dairy products.

This diet, with extra servings of foods chosen from the four food groups, also helps fortify the body against

the general debilitation and possible anemia that may accompany rheumatoid arthritis.

Liberal amounts of milk and other sources of calcium are recommended for rheumatoid arthritics. The extra supply of dietary calcium helps to avoid the bad effects on tissue repair and growth and bone metabolism caused by the disease.

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

In juvenile arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and all other forms of rheumatic disorders, good food is equally important, not as a cure but to keep the patient's body in as sound

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