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My joints closest to the finger tip have been very painful recently and a clear indicator I've been overdoing it. I've not played for a week and the pain has subsided. The joints were clicking but that has stopped.

I don't want to give up the piece so can I do anything to make my fingers stronger and eliminate the pain? Apart from slowing down the practice does taking cod liver oil and calcium suppliments make a noticable difference and can I allign my diet with piano practice to make my fingers stronger and more capable? The piece is mainy semi-quavers which is causing the discomfort.

The playing mechanism is very intricate. It's impossible to judge what you are doing without seeing you play. As for diet, I have my own ideas but to most they're farcical.

I'm not sure if this would help out, but I heard MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) supplement helps treating and preventing osteoarthritis, and it also has anti-inflammatory effects. Check Wikipedia for more info, if you are interested. Hope that helps.

Glucosamine supplements help too with joint problems. However, do you have any other trouble with other joints? If not, then this issue may suggest that you have a technique problem that needs addressing, and no matter of how much to treat the symptom, it will still be there. This may mean cutting back temporarily while you rework your technique under the guidance of a teacher who can deal with injury. Please do not ignore the clues your body is giving you.