Got milk? It might help your arthritis

You might drink milk to strengthen your bones, but it could also do your joints some good. A study reported in the June issue of Arthritis Care & Research found that women who drank low-fat or skim milk experienced a slower progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA).

The study, which was conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School, followed 2,148 participants with knee OA for four years. Researchers measured the participants' joint space in the knee to see how much their osteoarthritis was progressing. Narrowing of the joint space is a sign that osteoarthritis is getting worse. The more milk women (but not men) drank, the less their joint space narrowed.