How Do I Alleviate Arthritis Pain With Diet?

Hey JJ Here. Every year around this time, I get the urge to make my home feel a little extra special. A space that feels just like the holidays. And Wayfair is my go to for that. Think cozy textures, twinkly decor, warm lighting, and all those little touches that make you want to curl up with a good book and a blanket. You'll usually find my books stacked on a great little end table I got from Wayfair, proof that function and style can coexist. Now, whether you're adding last minute hosting essentials, picking out gifts for loved ones, or refreshing your decor for the season, Wayfair makes it easy with beautiful finds, great prices and fast delivery. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Plus, with free shipping for any order over $35, that's fast delivery and a total peace of mind. It's the perfect mix of joy and order, bringing the holiday spirit in, then storing it all with ease. If you're ready to make your home feel as good as it looks, get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair Every style, every home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com hey, it's JJ here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever, and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family's sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on your first order. Ray Ban Meta Glasses come with open ear audio so you can listen to your favorite music without blocking out the world around you.

Hey Meta, play Gorgeous. Here's Gorgeous by Doja Cat.

You can also ask Meta AI questions.

Hey Meta, when's Doja Cat's next concert?

Doja Cat is playing at the Los.

Angeles Theater next Tuesday.

Sweet Ray Ban Meta Glasses available at Ray Ban stores and other authorized retailers.

How do I Alleviate Arthritis Pain with Diet? This is JJ Virgin, four time New York Times bestselling author, celebrity nutrition expert and Fitness hall of Famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions, and now I'm sharing what I found with you. Welcome to Ask the Health Expert. I would like to inquire about how to alleviate arthritis pain from the nutrition side. Besides following a Mediterranean diet, what else can I do? Or what should I avoid to improve my flexibility and quality of life? I do walk more than two miles a day and I do strength training six days a week. This is from Gabby Scotty from my Instagram and Gabby, I would love to answer this question, so I'll be right back with it.

Hey jj, Virgin here. Okay, real talk. So often the holidays sneak up on me. Travel, gifts, hosting, you know, all the things and suddenly it's like, wait, who spent what and where? And I know I'm not the only one who's looked at a bill in January and thought, wow, that escalated quickly. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. It's rated the Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean on your laptop or on your phone. Monarch lets you link everything and gives you real time visibility so you're not shocked later. Right now, I've been checking the holiday spending category so I don't accidentally start the new year with that dreaded debt hangover. And honestly, just seeing everything laid out is already helping me stay more aware. This season, Monarch does the heavy lifting. It links your accounts in minutes, gives you smart categorization and super clear visuals. Yes, that end of your reset could be a real goal this time. Don't let financial opportunities slip through the cracks. Use the code virgin@monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year@monarch.com with the code Virgin this episode is brought.

To you by McAfee.

I got a message that our flight was canceled, but they can put us on another flight and we just need to confirm our credit card info.

Wait, I got a security alert from McAfee. It flagged that message as a scam.

McAfee's scam detector automatically spots and alerts.

You to suspicious texts, emails, and deep fake videos. Learn more@mcafee.com online protection. All right, so this is great because there's so much you can do. And what I will share with you is that I. When I was 17, I dreamed of becoming a pointe ballerina. Now, if you have ever met me in person, you would realize this is absolutely a ridiculous dream because I am six feet tall, and you've never seen a point ballerina who's six feet tall. There's no one to dance with them. And maybe I could have just been, like, this amazing soloist somewhere. I don't know. Not a whole lot of demand for that. But I really loved doing it, except it wasn't the right sport for my body. And I tore my ACL when I was 17, and then when I was in my 20s, I walked out on a volleyball court and it completely ruptured. That was it. It had been hanging on by a thread for a while, but that was it. Boom. It went over the years, I had multiple surgeries. I didn't have any more meniscus left in my knee. And the doctor just said, hey, you know what? You'll just have to have a knee replacement in a couple of years. Just put it off. This was in, like, mid-20s. He says, yeah, by the time you're 30, you're gonna have to have a knee replacement. Put it off as long as possible, because you have to have one every 10 years. Like, what a horrible sentence, right? So obviously, I decided that was not going to be me, and I was going to keep it really, really strong. And I remember when I finally did go to get this done, I actually had to go in to get another surgery because one of the screws that they use to hold the ACL in place, that broke. The ACL just broke in half. But the screw was coming out. Imagine that coming out through the side of my leg. So they had to fix that. And I walk in and they said, yeah, we looked at your X rays and your MRIs, and we can't even understand how you're walking, how you're not in total pain. So I attribute that. Now, I'm an n of 1, but now, I've seen it work with so many people that I know that there's more people out there like me. So I'm going to give you some great things that you can do. And by the way, you have nothing to lose but the pain and everything to gain, like more quality of life and flexibility. And so first thing I'm going to have you do is Mediterranean diet's a great start. Now, I want you to take it a little farther, and I want you to virginize it. So apply the virgin diet principles to the Mediterranean diet, because you can do the Mediterranean diet and still do gluten, still do dairy, still do eggs, still have corn and peanuts and sugar and artificial sweeteners. Um, soy is not in there, but you can still do. So here's what's interesting. The virgin diet, which I initially did to help people with weight loss, because I found that when they did that, the average person lost seven pounds in seven days. Oh, my gosh. And then shifted and learned how to eat. So it worked for them so that they didn't gain it back. Even better. But what I started to find, I had a guy, and this guy was in his 70s. He was a professor who was no longer teaching. He was going to go have a knee replacement, and when he went on this program, his pain subsided and he didn't have to go have the surgery. So super cool. Because what it's going to do is help reduce inflammation. Because if you're eating foods you're intolerant to, and quite often, if you're using any kind of pain medications, you're under any kind of stress, you are eating gluten, you're eating fructose, your gut gets leaker, and you start to develop intolerances to the foods you're eating on a regular basis. The most common ones are dairy, gluten, soy, eggs, corn, peanuts, and then I have sugar and artificial sweeteners in there because they're just rotten foods and they can create the problem. All right, so that's the first one. And I totally outline how to do this in the virgin diet book. Super simple. I also have an online program. If you want more hand holding, I walk you through it, called the Breakthrough Food Intolerance online program. That's step one. And in there, you're going to learn about healing foods that help heal that leaky gut. Some of the things that can really help their fish is amazing. Now, fish oil is one of the things you want to think about taking because it reduces inflammation. So kind of like I always think of it like nature's Advil. So fish oil specifically in triglyceride bound form. Super good for that freshly ground flaxseed meal. Very gut healing. Same with apples and green bananas can help with gut healing. And loads of the rainbow of veggies for all the antioxidants that help lower inflammation as well. So that's helpful. Look at adding curcumin in your foods. Now you can't. It's very hard to absorb, so make sure you're doing it with fat. But I would also recommend taking curcumin. I have a product called Curcumin Chews that are like these little chewy candies with no sugar that are awesome for that. So that's an option for you as well. And then I also put in there my bone broth protein shake because the bone broth and collagen can help with gut healing and joint health too. And of course vitamin C here is really helpful as well. So lots of things the takeaway is there are a lot of things that you can do here and this is where journaling is so important too, because you really want to track your progress and track what's happening and see how you're feeling as you're going through this. And I want to hear the results. So Gabby Scotty, when you do this, let me know. This is JJ with Asking the Health Expert. I do this five times a week, so make sure you never miss a show by going to subscribetoj.com.

Hello listeners, this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger, and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week, I tag all things Books and Reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately. And I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment, whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything. You'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and Visit our website, whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com to find out more.