My mother claimed caffeine made it worse. I find inactivity to make it worse. My mom liked to ride a stationary bike 2.5 hrs every day while catching up with the news. She got around well as she aged into her 80's. Ginger & tumeric is anti-inflamatory, my husband thinks it helps his knees.

Can't say about dairy, I don't think it affects me, But I do find that members of the nightshade family affect it quite a lot, some more than others. Turmeric with black pepper capsules help a little, when I take them. Although I'm not real sure it's enough help to make it worth swallowing another pill.

And cold weather, especially if it is also damp, really affects it.

Rusty

Damp weather makes my joints ache terribly, and I'm not that old. When I wake up in the middle of the night with achy joints (hands, mostly), I know it's going to rain within the next 24 hours. It always seems to hit at night; maybe I just tolerate the nagging ache better during the day, IDK. I don't know about dairy or other foods, I've never noticed any relation for me.

Dairyfoexnt affect me but damp weather does. Also inactivity. After a long car ride, i am stiff as can be!

DD's arthritis is very affected by dairy and, of course she avoids it. We tried a nice new (to us) restaurant on one of our outings and the menu offered optional non dairy cheese! She was so delighted. She breaks down and does have pizza, onion soup or some other treat very occasionally but is always prepared to suffer for a day or two. Swollen, painful hands.

I have arthritis as well (20 yrs) but dont notice any problems w dairy. Fortunately, after two hip replacements 13 yrs ago I've been symptom free until last spring. Suddenly right knee is bone on bone.

I don't drink milk, but cook with it and I only use butter, never margarine. Recently I started eating very low carb and that seemed to help my bad knees considerably. However, I have sort of fallen off that wagon, and my knees are still holding out fairly well. Now, if my back would quit hurting....

FWIW, sugar seems to make my joints very ache-y - I don't have arthritis tho.

Dairy does contain sugar, and I wonder about sweetened dairy products...?

The only dairy I eat is yogurt, and I don't think it affects my joints--although it's been a while since I tested that out.

I'm seriouisly affected by the nightshade family though. I became severely allergic to potatoes in my thirties. I can't be in the room if someone is peeling them. Some years later I gradually reacted to the rest of the nightshades. No eggplant. No peppers. No globe artichokes (not a nightshade, but I react the same way). And of all the foods I've had to give up for various reasons over the years, I miss tomatoes the most.

Very hungry awating dinner at my daughter's house recently, I ate a small quantity of red pepper hummus on a couple of crackers. Awoke in the middle of the night with very painful knees. No more indulgent tests.

Not everyone can digest dairy well but taking supplement lactase can help. Osteoarthritis can cause inflammation, swelling and pain. Undigested dairy or sugar in the guts can trigger inflammation in the body that would make osteoarthritis pain worse. I would leave out dairy to see if that helps, or take lactase pills to see if it helps.

I saw a comment from Carolb about sugar, indeed consuming too much sugar regularly also increases inflammation in your body.

On September 3, I gave up all refined sugar, processed foods (no more than 2 ingredients), alcohol, dairy, eggs, gluten, coffee, beans, nightshade vegetables and citrus. The first 9 groups were for the autoimmune protocol diet. Citrus was for a separate health condition. I am reintroducing foods very slowly--one new group every 3 months to coincide with doctor's visits. Dairy was my first introduction. Only my right knee hurts. I'm going to try the PT exercises I've done in the past to see if that alleviates some of my discomfort. This was a very hard diet but I actually don't miss the other food grops that much and I felt AMAZING until the knee started hurting.

i don't use a lot of dairy other than cheese. it's the damp, cold weather that makes my bones hurt.

i have bilateral hip replacements, they will soon be 25 years old. when it gets down in the teens and below, i can feel the cold on the INSIDE of my thighs where the titanium rods sit. i can't explain what it feels like, it's the wierdest sensation ever. i told this to my ortho surgeon years ago and he said i'm not crazy as he has heard this from other patients.

I would assume an allergy could increase inflammation. My daughter has an intolerance to gluten that causes extreme discomfort to her joints. My orthopedic Dr told me that arthritis is simply inflammation in the joints.