--- title: 5 Joint-Friendly Foods and 5 That May Hurt Them description: Osteoarthritis, or joint pain, can start in your early 30s. canonical: https://time.com/4088027/joint-pain-good-bad-foods/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-28T21:18:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:50.609Z article:section: Health og:title: 5 Joint-Friendly Foods and 5 That May Hurt Them og:description: Osteoarthritis, or joint pain, can start in your early 30s og:url: https://time.com/4088027/joint-pain-good-bad-foods/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18bd5f33c1c3aa08/698869f7196cf471da038b23/woman-knee-joint-pain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3840 og:image:height: 2160 og:image:alt: woman-knee-joint-pain og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Joint-Friendly Foods and 5 That May Hurt Them twitter:description: Osteoarthritis, or joint pain, can start in your early 30s twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18bd5f33c1c3aa08/698869f7196cf471da038b23/woman-knee-joint-pain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Joint-Friendly Foods and 5 That May Hurt Them > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Know Right Now: Processed Meat Linked to Cancer [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Processed Meat Linked to Cancer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DIJK7hQC.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2015-10-26. Processed meat causes bowel cancer, and red meat is a probable cause, according to the WHO_ by [Hallie Levine / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Hallie Levine / Health.com Contributor Oct 28, 2015 9:18 PM UTC  Close up of woman having knee pain Close up of woman having knee pain Getty Images by [Hallie Levine / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Hallie Levine / Health.com Contributor Oct 28, 2015 9:18 PM UTC Knee pain while climbing stairs is often the first sign of osteoarthritis (OA), according to a 2015 University of Leeds study. Your MD may prescribe physical therapy or show you some exercises to do at home—and recommend a more joint-friendly diet. Certain foods protect against [arthritis](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20706071,00.html), while others can worsen it. Keep these picks and skips in mind the next time you hit the grocery store. **Best: Low-fat milk** A study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that the more low-fat or fat-free milk women drink, the slower their progression of knee osteoarthritis. **Best: Wine** Folks who drank four to six glasses a week were less likely to get knee OA, according to a recent U.K. study. One theory credits wine’s antioxidants. It contains a compound that helps lower the levels of inflammatory enzymes in the body, similar to the way some NSAIDs work. **Best: Fatty fish** They’re loaded with [inflammation-busting](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20705881,00.html) omega-3 fatty acids, which animal studies suggest can help alleviate symptoms of osteoarthritis. Try these [24 healthy fish recipes](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20345280,00.html). **Best: Cherry juice** Drinking two cups of tart cherry juice daily reduced [inflammation](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20705881,00.html) in the body, helping ease OA symptoms, per a 2012 Oregon Health & Science University study. **Worst: Cheese** The Brigham and Women’s Hospital study reported that eating cheese could speed up the progression of knee OA, possibly due to its high fat content. **Worst: Soda** Women who had one sugary soft drink a day were at higher risk of developing [RA](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20464354,00.html) than those who skipped it, found a 2014 Harvard study. **Worst: Beer** The more you drink, the greater your odds of knee or hip osteoarthritis, per the U.K. study. It could be the extra pressure on joints from the dreaded “beer belly”. **Worst: Bacon** The high amount of saturated fat in this Sunday breakfast favorite causes inflammation in your body, which can worsen arthritis. **Worst: Trans fat** Found in many baked goods, chips and fried foods, it’s a double whammy on your joints, triggering [inflammation](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20898778,00.html) and weight gain. [_This article originally appeared on Health.com_](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20959687,00.html?xid=time) _More from Health.com:_ * [10 Exercises for Healthy Knees](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20856640,00.html?xid=time) * [13 Ways Inflammation Can Affect Your Health](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20898778,00.html?xid=time) * [22 Worst Foods for Trans Fat](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20533295,00.html?xid=time) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4088027/joint-pain-good-bad-foods/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4088027/joint-pain-good-bad-foods/"},"headline":"5 Joint-Friendly Foods and 5 That May Hurt Them","datePublished":"2015-10-28T21:18:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:04:50.609Z","description":"Osteoarthritis, or joint pain, can start in your early 30s","url":"https://time.com/4088027/joint-pain-good-bad-foods/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Public Health","Healthcare"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18bd5f33c1c3aa08/698869f7196cf471da038b23/woman-knee-joint-pain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Hallie Levine / Health.com"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18bd5f33c1c3aa08/698869f7196cf471da038b23/woman-knee-joint-pain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"woman-knee-joint-pain","caption":"woman-knee-joint-pain","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4088027/joint-pain-good-bad-foods/","name":"5 Joint-Friendly Foods and 5 That May Hurt Them"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Processed Meat Linked to Cancer","description":"Processed meat causes bowel cancer, and red meat is a probable cause, according to the WHO","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/DIJK7hQC/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-26T13:24:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DIJK7hQC.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4088027/joint-pain-good-bad-foods/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4088027/joint-pain-good-bad-foods/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```