Arthritis-fighting food: sweet potatoes and cheese

It's easy to make arthritis-friendly nutrients part of a sensible daily diet because there's such a variety of them, covering virtually every food group. Sweet potatoes and cheese, in particular, are both delicious and good for you.

• These tropical root vegetables (which are technically not related to white baking potatoes) are such a nutritional powerhouse, they once topped a list of vegetables ranked according to nutritional value by a U.S.-based science research centre. Sweet potatoes are a rich source of vitamin C, folate, vitamin B6 and dietary fibre, among other nutrients.
• Though you'll benefit from eating sweet potatoes in any form, fresh potatoes are better than canned products, which are packed in a heavy syrup that leaches the vegetable's most valuable nutrients, including vitamins B and C.
• Store sweet potatoes someplace dark, dry and cool, but not in the refrigerator: Cold temperatures damage cells, causing the potato to harden and lose some of its nutritional value.
• Eat cooked potatoes with their skin, which is an especially rich source of nutrients and fibre. Handle gently to avoid bruising, then bake or boil and serve with a touch of fat from butter, oil or another dish and some salt and pepper.

• Hard or soft, fresh or ripened, cheese in all its variety is an excellent source of calcium for bones and protein for muscles and other joint-supporting tissues. Depending on type, cheeses (especially hard varieties such as cheddar and Colby) are also a good source of vitamin B6 and folate.
• The sheer abundance of cheeses makes it easy to get more in your diet — by, for example, slicing hard cheeses onto crackers or grating them into casseroles or spreading soft cheeses such as cottage cheese or Brie onto fruits or vegetables.
• When you have arthritis, grating cheese is hard enough without the grater becoming clogged. To make the job easier, give the grater a light coating of oil, which keeps the cheese from sticking and makes it easier to rinse the grater clean.
• Hard cheeses that are well wrapped and unsliced can last up to six weeks in the refrigerator. (Chilled soft cheeses are best used within a week.) To make cheese last even longer, throw it in the freezer, but expect thawed soft cheese to separate slightly and hard cheese to be crumbly — ideal for melting into casseroles and sauces but not as good for nibbling.
• Cheese tastes best when served at room temperature, so if you've been storing it in the refrigerator, take cheese out and let stand for an hour before serving to enjoy its full flavour.
• Healthy eaters know that every dinner table should have a plate of fresh raw vegetables in addition to all the prepared foods. Consider adding a large hunk of cheese to the platter each night, along with a knife. Sitting there in front of you, it's hard to resist slicing a piece off a few times to round out the meal.