There are many causes of osteo arthritis and climate and diet are among them. We can't all live in a warm, Mediterranean climate, which helps to prevent our joints becoming cold and stiff. But we can all watch what we eat and drink as many of us are aggravating our condition with toxic products.

Three main types of food aggravate arthritis:

Dairy products

Various acidic foods and drinks

Wheat products

Dairy products, like milk, butter and cheese are hard for the human body to digest. Cows have two stomachs and the milk meant for their calves grows big bones and small brains. It's not strictly for humans, especially if your body can't copy with it.

One lecturer who talked about arthritis showed her audience her hands and knuckles, which were completely flexible. She drank a glass of milk and within 20 minutes her knuckles and joints had swollen and she was unable to make a fist. She was allergic to cows milk.

Dairy products leave fat deposits in the body, upset the stomach and clog up circulation. They also encourage the development of catarrh in children, which can lead to sinus and adenoid problems.

As a replacement you might try other milks and cheese, from goat's milk, sheep's milk or soya. They are much better for the arthritic, as well, it might be said, for people with allergy problems, like asthma.

Acid Foods, like rhubarb and citrus, aggravate the joints. Certain sharp fruits, oranges, lemons, grapefruits, are not good for the joints. Also carbonated fizzy drinks, alcohol and spicy foods and flavourings can cause acid to form in the stomach, and this goes into the joints.

Many natural practitioners recommend that the arthritic should have no fruit at all and this is true in many cases. People with extreme arthritis should follow this regime. Many however can do well by eating more gentle non-acid fruit, like grapes, cherries, apples, pears and banana.

You should see how you get on. If your arthritis doesn't improve then cut out fruit altogether.

The third thing, Wheat, has become a staple of Western diet but again it is hard to digest. With many people it causes bloating and indigestion, which again puts acid into the blood and then the joints.

An experiment that gave farm animals a choice of different grains to eat found that they preferred other grains, like oats, rye, barley and corn to wheat, and only ate wheat if there was nothing else.

We can learn a lesson from that and should do the same. It is advisable to cut down on bread altogether, perhaps just having it once a day if necessary. The problems with wheat accumulate, the more you have it.

If you feel you need some bread you should consider switching to having a light rye bread, oat-based cereal for breakfast and cutting down on wheat-based sandwiches and wheat pasta.

Meat products, like beef, pork and lamb, are rather acidic and cause some of the graunching in shoulders and other joints. Ideally cut these out of your diet and just have a little free-range chicken and wild fish. Or alternatively have more vegetarian meals and just have meat once or twice a week.

You will feel better, will be less bloated and the joints will improve.