Arthritis Help - By Request. Pain Free is Key to Happiness

Arthritis is an all too common ailment which is once again avoidable and reversible if it has not progressed too far.  How far is too far?  That depends on the person's overall heallth and what you are prepared to do to change it.

Bone health in general and another ailment such as osteoporosis will also benefit from the below comments.

Having said that, as always the nutrition to add to your diet is fairly simple.  It may be the foods I ask you to refrain from which are the challenge.  Nevertheless if you adopt my suggestions you should experience some fast relief.

I will summarise at the end with a supplement regime - with discussion of each along the way.

Avoid pasteurised dairy.  This subject deserves a whole post of its own.  In short for now, the calcium in pasteurised dairy has been altered and will form hard deposits in your body. Can you still have milk or cream in your coffee?  Yes maybe this will be ok, but please do not fall victim to the advertisements which push large glasses of milk and serves of cheese daily.  If you can access raw milk (which the establishment has made illegal for mass sale to people) then drink all you want as it is a live food not a dead food and is very good for you.

Do not take calcium supplements. These may give you a "bonus" of kidney stones as a by product for starters - but also arthritis.  Don't believe me?  Do the research for yourself and see what you find. 

Avoid soy products like the plague - see my other post.  Soy leaches calcium from the bones giving you a weak skeleton.

Avoid processed grains.  These leach calcium from your bones and cause a huge array of digestive issues etc.  This is a hard one since white flour is in almost every processed food.  At least avoid the easy ones to spot like bread, pasta, rices etc.  The only time grains are good for you is when they are prepared in the traditional manner which usually involves sprouting fresh grains etc

Avoid hydrogenated oils such as vegetable oil, canola, etc etc. Use coconut oils and butter for cooking and virgin olive for salads etc.  Processed oils are pro inflammatory and the enemy of arthritis.

Get plenty of vitamin D - some supplemental forms are ok - do your homework. Apart from that try to get 15 - 20 minutes of sun on your torso on a daily basis. This will assist with strong healthy bones.

Omega 3 fats - natures anti-inflammatory.  We are all so, so deficient in this amazing essential fat.  Good for your heart and good for your arthritis.  This time you can believe the advertisements - this stuff works!  One person I assisted in the past was in his late 40's and his fingers were starting to become so riddled with arthritis he could not straighten them and he told me he was unable to play golf anymore since he could not grip the club handle.  I gave him a 3 step strategy - one step was large doses of fish oil tablets. I saw him again 3 months later and he was over the moon - playing golf again and pain free. 

Magnesium - if you are deficient your body will again leach calcium from your bones.  Powdered supplements are best for this - but be sure to add it to your routine. I cycle mine with breaks between containers of magnesium until I buy some more and consume it again. BTW this supplement is great for headache sufferers if it is tension or muscular related.

Boron - This amazing mineral is one of the most important. It is required for proper metabolism and use of calcium in your bones.  Take the time to research Rex Newnham and Boron supplementation.  Incredibly this mineral was so effective at curing arthritis the establishment restricted its availability.  To get some you need to order in from New Zealand (this is legal).  I will include a source below.

There are a range of other minerals important for health when it comes to arthritis.

For quick relief and to make some encouraging progress I recommend the following strategy first of all. The man I spoke of above only did these three things for relief from his arthritis.  Omega 3 and Boron added to diet and grains removed - simple.

• Remove processed grains (breads, pasta, rice) from your diet as much as possible. This will reduce inflammation.
• Obtain a good Omega 3 supplement (fish oil is best if you can handle it), but otherwise use the gel capsules. Take 10 or so per day for the first 200 pills.  Yes 10!  Don't mess around with tiny doses of this superfood. Later reduce your dose to say 5 per day. 
• Obtain a Boron supplement - Takapuna Health Store, Attn: Andrew Jones, Takapuna, New Zealand, NZ Phone/Fax: 64 9 486 1245, Email: nzhealthstore@yahoo.com

 Then, if you are really serious about your health - add the other strategies I discussed above and watch for the improvements in your health.

That is all for now.  If you implement the above and experience relief please let us know!!

Diabetes Reverser - Alpha Lipoic Acid

This one is my favourite anti-oxidant, also known as ALA. Scientifically it is a fat soluble and water soluble antioxidant which means it can get into all parts of your cells to work its magic.  It also means it is one of the few substances which can cross the blood brain barrier.  Benefits for the brain may include providing some protection from stroke.

Most amazingly, it is understood to be able to bring back the liver from the brink of disaster - and we only have one liver for life!

Apart from processing alcohol - the liver has a large part to play in helping our immune system and also digestion of fats. Two very important functions.  In short, it's primary function is an organ of detoxification - this means with today's poor diet and exposure to environmental toxins daily - it has its work cut out for us.

The recent rise to fame of ALA and its use as a natural therapy seems to be aligned with Dr Burt Berkson who had an interesting experience in 1977.  He was asked to take care of a couple who had eaten poisonous mushrooms and were probably going to die due to acute liver damage.  Not being prepared to stand by and watch them die (since modern medicine could not assist them) he made some enquiries with some of his colleagues. He established that ALA had shown promise in the past with improving liver function.

He thus provided some large doses via IV to the two patients.  What happened next?  They made a full recovery and their liver function rapidly returned to normal with no permanent damage.

Anyhow my interest was sparked in ALA when I heard of this story.  This lead me down a path of research and further discovery which pointed towards ALA benefits with neuropathy (nerve damage) and also diabetes for blood sugar control.

What does the science say?  ALA appears to enhance insulin signaling, helping to bind it to its receptors and increasing the ability of the cells to take in glucose — possibly lowering insulin resistance (the signature feature of Metabolic Syndrome).

This action makes ALA a great tool for  managing blood sugar. It’s hardly coincidental that in Germany, ALA is an approved drug for diabetic neuropathy, the painful degeneration of nerves in the arms and legs

I referenced some ALA studies to a very close relative of Kate's, who has type 2 diabetes, insulin controlled.  He was provided with some ALA in capsule form and commenced a daily dosage of 200mg per day.  What happened next was rather astounding.

His blood sugar level typically was around 9 units with spikes up to 12 common after some types of meals.  Immediately after his first day of ALA he experienced a drop in his blood sugar which remained low after meals - when usually it would have spiked. Readings of his sugar levels reduced over following weeks down to as low as 4 which is getting unsafe due to it being too low.

It has now been about 3 weeks and he has had to halve his insulin dose not once, but twice.  He is maintining supervision with his doctor while waiting to see where it all leads.  It looks like the next step may be to cease insulin and go to medication only.  Beyond that - I wonder is a cure possible from one little antioxidant pill in standard sorts of doses??  Time will tell.

If you want to give it a try.  How much? 100 mg should do for a basic protective dose, though some experts recommend anywhere from 100-300 mg. If you’re diabetic, have blood sugar problems or liver disease, a dose of anywhere from 300-1200 mg is likely to kick start your health.

Another failed attempt at a short post - anyhow, until next time.

Cameron