 | ||||
| ||||
Arthritis
Q.
I have used glucosamine sulphate for many years, as a preventative for arthritis. However, I have recently noticed that my joints are sore in the mornings when I wake. The pain does dissipate once I begin to move, but I don’t want this to worsen. What can I do to ease the pain and ensure I look after my joints.
J. Dexter YORK
A.
Many factors can contribute to arthritis, but the good news is that it can generally be helped through dietary and lifestyle changes. Arthritis appears to be a symptom of our Western lifestyle. With the combination of refined foods, high meat intake and low intake of whole foods, creating a very acid diet, that is not beneficial to joint health.
Make your diet less acidic
Reduce the acid content of your diet by lessening your intake of white flour, white sugar, fizzy drinks, dairy, coffee, alcohol and meat. At the same time increase your diets alkaline content. Alkaline foods are fruit, vegetables and millet. Green vegetables are particularly alkalizing, so a green juice a day would be particularly beneficial. Be careful with citrus fruits as some people find they make their arthritis worse.
The Nightshade family
The nightshade family of vegetables can aggravate arthritis in some individuals, so it always worth eliminating these from your diet for a time to establish if they are allergy triggers for you. Foods from the nightshade family include tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and aubergines. Start eliminating tomatoes alone, as they contain an alkaloid which can cause inflammation within the joints.
Increase the anti-inflammatory foods
Many foods contain natural anti-inflammatory compounds which can be extremely beneficial when taken on a regular basis. These foods include:
- Oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel and sardines
- Ginger can be used in ginger tea or included in foods
- Pineapple contains a compound called bromelain which can aid digestion and is highly anti-inflammatory.
- Nuts and seeds - almonds, walnuts, brazil, pumpkin, sesame
To summarize
- Consider a vegetarian diet
- Increase the fruit and vegetable content in your diet
- Have a green juice daily
- Substitute whole grains for refined grains (brown rice instead of white)
- Use nettle tea instead of coffee
- Increase the anti–inflammatory foods
SUPPLEMENTS
Rosehip powder (Litozin) - which has been was shown in in recent studies in Sweden to be beneficial in arthritic pain relief. As it reduces the white cell attack (immune attack) around damaged joints, which causes the pain and inflammation.
Hyaluronic acid - is the fluid within the joints. As we get older HA reduces and as a consequence joints have more potential to experience damaged. Supplementation of HA has been shown to reduce pain and increase mobility.
MSM Methylsulfonylmethane, or organic sulphur is used as a structural nutrient within the body. The action of glucosamine can be enhanced when combined with MSM. Take 1000-3000mg per day. Start at 1000 and increase as you may find you don’t need to take the full 3000mg.
You deserve the very best of health
SERVICES
Q & A
SEARCH THIS SITE
your opportunity to ask me
Patricia Niland Dip.ION, MBANT
your health questions
ask! YOUR HEALTH QUESTION
Copyright Patricia Niland 2007
