When we hear about arthritis, we often think of it as an age-related disease but diet plays a more crucial role than many realize. The term for this inflammatory disorder actually covers over 100 different types of rheumatic ailments and conditions. Arthritis affects your joints and the tissue that surrounds them, as well as the connective tissue. The most common forms of arthritis are rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), fibromyalgia, and gout (1). While each of these conditions can cause varying degrees of pain in different areas, any type of arthritis can severely limit your life in many ways. Luckily, the condition can be managed by eating anti-inflammatory foods.

Who Gets Arthritis?
While the largest percentage of people diagnosed with arthritis is people over 65 (almost 50 percent), just over 7 percent of the population between 18 and 44 also experiences this often debilitating disease (2). What’s more upsetting, however, is that almost 300,000 babies and children in the US alone also suffer from arthritis or a rheumatic condition—that’s 1 in 250 kids (3).

In general, 1 in 5 Americans (5 million) currently suffer from arthritis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, that number will rise to over 78 million by 2040 (4).

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