Who doesn’t LOVE broccoli? Honestly, most people don’t consider it their first “go to” food for the day. I on the other hand, DO love broccoli so I was curious when an article popped up on the benefits of broccoli soup for osteoarthritis (OA)! People with OA appeared to benefit, in terms of knee pain and function, from a broccoli-laden soup. Patients who ate the broccoli soup for 12 weeks saw a reduction in mean Western Ontario-McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain scores.  

OAs’ typical onset is in people in their late 4ro0s to mid-50s and the chance of developing this disease increases with age. In fact, most people over the age of 60 have it and of course, women are more likely than men! 

There are 4 stages of OA: 

1. Stage one is considered “early or doubtful”. You may begin to lose some of the cartilage between your joints however, the space between your joints wouldn’t be getting smaller at this point. Bone spurs are also common at this stage (growths on the ends of the bones). 

1. Stage two is considered “mild or minimal”. Bone spurs grow and become painful. The space between joints may begin to narrow a little.  

1. Stage three is considered “moderate”. The cartilage between the bones begins to show signs of wear. The space between joints becomes visibly narrower and bone spurs enlarge. 

1. Stage four is considered “severe”. The amount of cartilage in the affected joints is much lower and may be completely gone. The space between the joints is much smaller and there is less synovial fluid to lubricate the joints. Bone spurs are much larger. 

Bottom line, OA is a progressive disease, so it is important to look at quality of life, lifestyle changes, over the counter medications for pain and inflammation, etc. Focusing on quality of life would be step one. How does the pain impact the patient and how well is pain managed? Remember, if you experience pain on movement, you will likely move less. Then, of course, you can serve broccoli soup. To be clear, the researchers did not say what kind of broccoli soup, but my guess is the broccoli cheddar in a bread bowl isn’t what they are referring to, sorry! Stay well and stay informed! 

For more information and recipes:

Healthy 3-Ingredient Broccoli Soup – The Busy Baker

Anti-inflammatory Broccoli Soup (30 Minutes) – Good Gut Ayurveda | Nutrition, Diet, Recipes