9 Delicious Ways to Fight Arthritis- Way 5

Soy products.

Once relegated to the shelves of health-food stores, soy products such as tofu and tempeh have reached the mainstream largely because they've been shown to have cardiovascular benefits. But soybeans also protect bones, thanks to compounds called isoflavones and significant amounts of both vitamin E and calcium. Long a staple of Asian diets, soy can also be found in soy milk -- a boon for people who want to avoid lactose or cholesterol in regular milk.


Make the most of milk. Use soy milk (now sold in many supermarkets next to cow's milk) for puddings, baked goods, cereal, shakes -- just about anywhere you'd use regular milk. But don't mix it with coffee or other acidic foods, which tend to make soy milk curdle.


Try them whole. Trust us: Whole soy beans, sprinkled with a little salt and pepper, are delicious. They look like large sweet peas but have an even gentler, milder flavor -- nothing at all like the better known but more intimidating products like tofu. Check the freezer aisle for edamame (pronounced "ed-ah-MAH-may") -- they come both in their pods, or shelled. They cook up fast -- about five minutes in boiling water and two minutes in the microwave -- and can be eaten hot or cold as snacks or appetizers, or tossed into salads, stir-fries, casseroles, or soups.


Give tofu a few more chances. Many people don't know what to make of tofu. It's an odd color for a vegetable-derived food (white), an odd texture (smooth and moist), and comes in an odd form (usually, a block). Get past all that. Tofu is easy to work with, extraordinarily healthy, and takes on the flavors around it. Easy ideas: Drop half-inch cubes into most any soup; stir into tomato sauces, breaking it up into small pieces; or just cut into cubes, cover with chopped scallions and soy sauce, and eat at room temperature as is.