Fight arthritis by reducing your fat intake

Cut your total fat intake to avoid extra calories, and switch to healthier fats for more arthritis-fighting nutrients.

• Thinking about cutting fat from your diet to lose weight? Official recommendations limit fat to 30 per cent of your total calorie intake because fat contains twice the calories of the other nutrients.
• So cutting back on fatty fare goes further toward lightening your load than cutting the same amount of carbohydrates.
• But the kind of fat you eat is important as well. Saturated fat is most closely tied with cardiovascular risks.
• Saturated fats are solid at room temperature, like butter, some cheeses and the fat on meats. These fats should account for no more than 10 per cent of your total calories.
• Omega-3s, and the monounsaturated fats in oils like canola, can actually be good for you.
• The Arthritis Foundation recommends trading corn, safflower and sunflower oils for olive, canola and flaxseed oils, and keeping your daily meat and poultry intake to an amount roughly equal to a deck of cards. Here are some other suggestions:

• Drink an extra glass of nonfat milk a day: Studies suggest that getting more calcium while cutting calories helps people lose more weight than dieting alone.
• Calcium intake is linked with less body fat and less weight gain in midlife. And getting protein from milk or other sources can help you feel full on less food.

Skim fat from soups by throwing a few ice cubes into the pot: The fat will coagulate and cling to the ice after sitting a few minutes and come out of the broth when you take out the cubes.

• Most fats are liquid when heated, so they can be blotted off with a napkin.
• Next time you get pizza, sop up the oil on top. With meats, sop up the juices when serving. When browning ground beef, pour out the oil and rub the meat down with a paper towel.

• Yes, butter is delicious, but it is also almost pure saturated fat.
• Find alternatives. Dip breads in olive oil or spread with jam rather than buttering.
• Use salsa on baked potatoes. Experiment with low-fat or no-fat cream cheese spreads and herbs. Remember to consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet.