"Medical data is for informational purposes only. You should always consult your family physician, or one of our referral physicians prior to treatment -The Arthritis Trust of America.
This article was provided by:
The Arthritis Trust of America
website: www.arthritistrust.org.
7
Little Known Ways to Control & Even Eliminate Arthritis Pain
The Arthritis Trust
United States:
7111 Sweetgum Road, Suite A, Fairview, Tn 37062-9384
Phone/Fax (615) 799-1002
Canada:
Fourth Floor, 300 March Road
Kanata, Ontario K2K 2E2
http://www.arthritistrust.org
If you or someone you know suffers from the aches and pains of arthritis or other rheumatoid diseases, chances are your doctor is telling you "to rest and take aspirin." There are however many things you can do to ease arthritis pain! This booklet discusses some approaches you may wish to try in consultation with your physician. These approaches won't work for everyone. But there are probably several suggestions in this booklet which will ultimately prove useful to you.
1. STRESS
Not only can controlling the stress in your life help prevent contracting arthritis but if you get the disease, controlling stress can help lessen the pain.
Stress puts pressure on your immune system because when adrenaline and cortisol are produced to cope with stress it exhausts portions of your immune system. A healthy immune system is critical for preventing the onset of arthritis and for fighting the symptoms of arthritis.
Be conscious of stress in your life and use the following guidelines to reduce stress.
2. VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS
Vitamins and supplements classified as anti-oxidants can help reduce arthritic inflammation and strengthen the body's immune system to help it fight the symptoms of arthritis. Anti-oxidants neutralize harmful molecules called "free radicals" that damage cartilage joints and other tissues. They are also important where people take large amounts of oil. Some of these vitamins and supplements which are classified as anti-oxidants are:
Vitamin A, Beta Carotene, Vitamins B1, B5, B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Zinc, L-Glutathione, L-Cysteine, food antioxidants BHT, BHA.
Niacinamide has been shown to improve blood flow and assist with certain kinds of arthritis.
Boron, which is often lacking in soils and our food, helps all forms of arthritis. Its supplementation -- from the proper sources -- often brings fast relief to arthritics.
Rheumatoid Athritics need to take more Calcium and Magnesium, as both are often lacking in either the diet or ability to absorb and utilize. Calcium regulates all cellular metabolism and bioelectrical activity, and Vitamin D (along with sunshine) assists in utilization of Calcium.
Magnesium is crucial to the action of the cells. Americans receive less than one-half the necessary magnesium, and its lack is possibly the greatest cause for various heart problems and related deaths. Its lack causes cardiac arrhythmia, chronic back spasms, bladder spasms, asthma, migraine, irritable bowel, PMS, depression, fatigue, insomnia, sudden death, hypertensions, etc.
Supplementing with Lactobacillus acidophilus is important to produce proper vitamins as well as to displace the growth of harmful intestinal bacteria and yeasts.
(Medical data is for informational purposes only. You should always consult your family physician, or one of our referral physcians prior to treatment)
3. DIET
Many arthritics have found relief by radically
changing their diets to compensate for deficiences of various vitamins and minerals. For
example, many arthritics are deficient in free or ionic calcium and magnesium. Many have
body fluids that are too acidic. Other arthritics demonstrate a lack of Vitamin A, Vitamin
D3, and severe deficiences of specific essential fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid (Omega
3) and gamma-linolenic acid (Omega 6). These two fatty acids cannot be obtained from the
diet, and many arthritics are unable to manufacture gamma-linolenic acid in significant
amounts and also need to supplement with Evening Primrose Oil, Borage, or Black Currant
Oil. Non-farmed cold-water fish can be helpful, too. These supplements have
anti-inflammatory effects, and some of these essential fatty acids can also be found in
flaxseed, walnut, soy and hemp oils, and also in beans, whole grains, and other foods.
Avoiding the wrong kind of dietary and cooking oils can be equally important.
Here are some guidelines:
l Avoid all processed and canned foods
l Avoid all white flour foods (crackers, white pasta, white rice, white bread)
l Avoid all fried foods
l Avoid all hydrogenated or processed oils (margarine, peanut butter, potato chips)
l Avoid sugar and caffeine
l Use fresh vegetables and fruits and fresh squeezed vegetable and fruit juices
l Use "cold pressed" vegetable oils such as olive oil (salads and cooking)
l Take 2 teaspoons Norwegian Cod Liver oil each morning
l Eat non-farmed cold-water fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines and tuna
l Eat only whole-grain pasta, flour, rice and breads
l Drink the water used for boiling or steam- ing vegetables. Don't use too much water, and don't add salt when cooking.
4. FOOD ALLERGIES & CHEMICAL SENSITIVITIES
It's been documented that food allergies are responsible for a vast number of mental, emotional and physical problems. Now there is evidence that food allergies may contribute to joint aches and swelling which is often misdiagnosed as arthritis. People who are prone to yeast infections may be particularly at risk for "arthritic food allergies."
Chemical sensitivities, which can result from thousands of industrial chemicals and pollutants, are often confused with food allergies. For example, about one out of three arthritics have a bad reaction to the so-called "nightshade plants" listed below.
white potato - eggplant - tomatoes - peppers - tobacco
These individuals frequently have a sensitivity to the solanine chemicals present in these foods and the tobacco. Solanine sensitivity can also cause arthritic symptoms.
5. DRUGS
Medicines used for the treatment and remission of Rheumatoid Arthritis and related collagen tissue diseases, now called "Rheumatoid Diseases," are the following:
1. Metronidazole 2. Clotrimazole 3. Tinidazole 4. Nimorazole* 5. Ornidazole* 6. Allopurinol 7. Furazolidone 8. Diiodohydroxyquinon 9. Rifampin 10. Potassium Para Amino Benzoate 11. Copper ions
* Not available in the some countries.
These drugs must be taken in the proper dosages, for the proper time period, to be effective.
Not all of the above medicines will work for everyone, and usually one must start with a commonly accepted medicine or combination of medicines, and make a trial.
In the United States, the most frequently used first-trial oral medicine (tablet or capsule), for Rheumatoid Disease (RD) is Metronidazole. It is listed in the Physician's Desk Reference as being FDA approved for marketing and human use. It is easily available by prescription and is relatively well known. Its use has resulted in a large number of remissions/cures. It is taken with allopurinol or furazolidone during the first week to ten days, respectively.
Metronidazole is used intravenously frequently for bacterial infections, especially when the patient has been hospitalized. But there is no evidence that Metronidazole when used intravenously has any effect on halting RD, but it has been reported to temporarily knock out inflammation that shows itself as swelling and heat.
Clotrimazole to some extent is anti-amoebic, viral-static, anti-yeast/fungal, and anti-bacterial.
Clotrimazole, according to our medical school research, inhibits a substance inside the body known as phospholipase A2 which is a precusor (forerunner) to production of prostaglandins (from the arachidonic acid cascade) that helps to create inflammatory responses that produce heat (pyrexia), swelling (edema) and pain. Phospholipase is an enzyme derived from a fatty acid containing phosphorus.
Clotrimazole stimulates the body's own production of cortisol. It acts as an "immuno-modulator" changing some of the out-of-kilter characteristics of the immunological system.
It kills Candida albicans, the yeast-fungus organism that causes so many symptoms that appear to be Rheumatoid Arthritis, and which also creates other major medical problems, called Candidiasis. Candidiasis also causes increasing food allergies which also, through the leaky gut syndrome, also causes the appearance of Rheumatoid Arthritis and other medical problems.
You will want to be sure to consult a physician who is familiar with these drugs to begin some personal testing to see which medicine might be most helpful to your arthritis. In any case, proper nutrition, treatment against Candidiasis (Candida albicans) and food allergies are a must and of first priority.
6. CHELATION THERAPY
Pronounced "Key-lay'-shun," Chelation Therapy is one of the most effective treatments for a wide spectrum of diseases or aging conditions. EDTA (Ethylene Diamine Tetracetic Acid) is a modified amino acid used in Chelation Therapy. EDTA can surround, combine with and flush out many unwanted substances, such as calcium, lead, arsenic, and many positive ions that are undesired.
Besides binding with certain metals, EDTA also chelates (naturally seeks out and binds) calcium that is found in plaques in the arteries.
Because of this build-up of plaque, held together by calcium, there is less food and oxygen delivered to each cell which means less ability to resist disease and stress, and less ability to repair damage already done.
Naturally, with the clogging of arteries, vessels and capillaries, damage is done to tissue and cartilage.
A mixture of EDTA and vitamins and minerals is placed in an intravenous solution and the patient takes an intravenous drip to remove plaque and calcium deposits from the arterial walls, and it is then excreted from the body through the kidneys.
Chelation Therapy will help clear the more than 100,000 miles of capillaries, veins and arteries running through our bodies which will improve the blood flow and allow the cells to get their proper nourishment.
7. HERBS AND HORMONES
Effective herbal medicines often include Turmeric (Curcuma longa), Ginger (Zingiber officinale), bupleurum (Bupleuri falcatum) Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), Ginseng (Panax ginseng), Scute (Scutellaria baicalensis), Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), Devil's Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens), the proantho-cyanidins, blueberries, cherries, hawthorn berries and kelp for the thyroid. There are considerably more.
Herbs operate in many different ways. Some of them simply dampen the inflammation, swelling and pain, without the dangerous side-effects of prescription drugs. Some, acting together with other herbs, will restore the homeostasis, the systems balances of the body, so that the body can better utilize its food and energy.
Hormone medications may also be important, such as thyroid, thymus, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and others. A deficiency in thyroid means a lowered metabolism, which leads to fatigue, inability to fight off diseases, and poor repair ability. The thymus gland is responsible for producing certain "T" cells found in the immunological system so necessary in warding off invading organisms that cause disease. DHEA is a precursor to many important hormones. As we age, we produce less and less DHEA in direct proportion to our aging. Eventually a point is reached where the lack of sufficient DHEA acts as the trigger for many disease states.
Estrogen/progesterone and Testosterone is important for woman, and Testosterone is important for men.
An imblance of the hormonal system can and does lead to many diseases, including arthritis.
All hormone supplementation should be under a doctor's care.
Contributing and reviewing physicians are:
Jack M. Blount, M.D.
Ronald Davis, M.D.
Paul Jaconello, M.D.
Warren Levin, M.D.
Rex E. Newnham, D.O., N.D., Ph.D.
Gus J. Prosch, Jr., M.D.
John Parks Trowbridge, M.D.
For a listing of physicians and publications, send $2 along with a stamped, self-addressed, legal-size envelope to help defray our expenses.
This material is presented for information only and is not a medical opinion to be applied to a specific individual. Consult a physician before beginning any treatment.
The ArthritisTrust of America and The Rheumatoid Disease Foundation are projects of The Roger Wyburn-Mason and Jack M. Blount Foundation for the Eradication of Rheumatoid Disease, Inc.