How to Beat Arthritis Without Resorting to Drugs or Surgery
If you suffer from arthritis, you undoubtedly have been to a doctor who has prescribed any number of medications, and/or have taken over-the-counter anti-inflammatories (like Aleve) to get rid of your pain.
You also most likely have experienced limited relief as a result of these medications.
You're also probably concerned about the possible side effects of arthritis drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter (such side effects include cardiovascular problems, gastrointestinal distress and ulcers).
But that's the least of your problems if your arthritis is severe. In this case, your doctor may have suggested surgery. Perhaps a joint replacement, hip replacement, or knee surgery.
Ouch!
Obviously, you would prefer to avoid such drastic measures - otherwise you wouldn't be searching for alternatives to surgery and drugs you are taking to alleviate the misery of arthritis pain.
The Symptoms of Arthritis
Besides the obvious warning signs of arthritis - including stiff, hard-to-move joints - there are several others you must know about.
They include:
- Chronic Fatigue - you always feel tired regardless of how much sleep you get
- Your hands and feet are always cold due to poor circulation
- You have Low levels of hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying power of the blood)
- You have high blood sedimentation rate (sedimentation rate is a common blood test that is used to detect and monitor inflammation in the body)
The latter two symptoms can only be verified by your doctor, so if your achy joints are accompanied by chronic fatigue, that's a warning signal for you to get an official diagnosis (if you haven't already done so).
When you see your doctor, make sure you tell him or her that you're knowledgeable about arthritis and you're willing to take an active roll in your treatment. This is because you want your doctor to know, you know that just taking drugs isn't going to get to the root of your arthritis.
Actually, there is no one thing you can do to get rid of arthritis. But there are several holistic strategies, when applied synergistically that do wonders for eliminating arthritis from your life.
Essentially, there are five things you need to address in order to get permanent relief from arthritis.
They are:
- Detoxification
- A Proper Diet
- Exercise
- Relaxation
- Vitamin/ Mineral Supplementation
What is Arthritis?
The word arthritis comes from the Greek word "arthron," which means joint inflammatory disease. However, it is not only joints that are affected, but connective tissue throughout your body.
In some cases, muscles and the soft tissues of certain organs can also be stricken.
Like many diseases, arthritis is a catchall name that is given to a host of other ailments. All have common symptoms of aches and pains in the joints and connective tissue throughout the body.
While how arthritis inflammation starts is poorly understood, there are several causes that are generally accepted.
They include:
- Injury
- Infection
- Autoimmune diseases (the body produces antibodies against itself)
- Calcium deficiency
- Vitamin D deficiency
Inflammation itself causes further joint and tissue damage, making normal movement difficult. The symptoms and some of the signs of arthritis can be classified under one of the most five common kinds.
The most common form is called degenerative, or osteoarthritis. The cause of the disease is associated with malabsorbtion of calcium and vitamin D.
Although it is more common in older people, young people - even children -are not immune to it.
The most serious forms of arthritis are rheumatoid arthritis and a disease closely related to rheumatoid arthritis, but affecting the organs, systemic lupus erythematosus.
These two forms of arthritis can be debilitating. Conventional treatments consist of damaging drugs like cortisone and others that put you in risk of serious side effect.
Another form of arthritis is gout, which is a purely nutritional disease. It affects genetically predisposed individuals who produce excessive amounts of uric acid. Crystals of the sodium salt of this uric acid deposit themselves in the joints and tissue in the kidneys.
The simplest way to prevent gout attacks is to limit foods that contain purine, such as:
- Sardines
- Bouillon
- Meat extracts
- Organ meats
- Anchovies
- Asparagus
- Spinach
- Artichokes
- Peas
- Beans
- Alcohol
Another type of arthritis is ankylosing spondylitis. While rare, it affects men more than women. Symptoms not only include muscle stiffness, but joints of the spine.
When all of the joints of the spine are affected, a humpback might result. Typical treatments include aspirin and cortisone.
According to John R.J. Sorneson, in "The Journal of International Academy of Metabology, Volume 1, No. 2, page 7, (published in 1978), ankylosing spondylitis and other arthritis diseases have been cured by a special chelate copper preparation.
This and other forms of arthritis also respond quite well to nutritional therapy. But before you change your diet, you should clean out your system.
To Beat Arthritis, Start by Detoxifying Your Body
There are a few simple lifestyle changes you can make that will help you get over arthritis without resorting to drugs or surgery.
Perhaps the most important is diet.
But before you change your diet, you should rid your body of accumulated toxins. The best way to do this is a complete fast under medical supervision. This fast can last up to 10 days.
If you're unable to undertake a complete fast, you don't have the time or money to do so under medical supervision, you can do a modified version of a fast for 5 to 10 days. Do NOT ATTEMPT A COMPLETE FAST ON YOU OWN!
There are many versions of this detoxification strategy. Basically, they involve taking a mixture of pure spring water, lemon juice and honey or maple syrup.
To learn more, do a search on "honey lemon water detoxification," or (much better) get Margie Garrison's groundbreaking book on getting rid of arthritis naturally, entitled "I Cured My Arthritis You Can Too."
It's important to note that you'll most likely have intermittent periods of feeling great that are followed by intermittent periods of feeling lousy when you go through a detoxification program.
Keep in mind that this is part of the detoxification process and is quite normal.
The Following Week After the Fast, or Juice Fast
The week following the fast or juice fast, eat only fresh fruits and vegetables. Most of this should be raw, but lightly steamed vegetables are okay (try to eat 3/4 of your fruits and vegetables raw). You should also add some vitamins (more on that shortly).
The following week, add small amounts of lean protein, like fish, poultry, eggs, and nuts.
Stay away from beef until you have a chance to see whether beef brings back an onset of your arthritis. For many people, beef causes arthritis.
Other proteins can also cause arthritis. For example, pasteurized dairy products are often responsible.
What you have to do is test different proteins to see. Keep a food diary and record how you feel after a meal. Pay close attention and notice any adverse symptoms.
Another common food to beware of is flour. This means many types of bread will be off limits. Again, you'll have to play detective to find out.
In short, you want to subsist on a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables and eat these raw or steamed (raw is best). You'll also want complement this diet with clean protein sources that won't cause your arthritis to flare up.
To illustrate the power a proper diet plays in getting rid of arthritis, consider this experiment done at the University of California at Berkeley, conducted by Dr. Francis Pottinger.
Dr. Pottinger fed one group of cats cooked meat and cooked milk. The result? The cats developed arthritis and died. The more the meat and milk were cooked, the quicker they developed arthritis.
Another control group of cats was fed raw food only. The result? None of them developed arthritis.
Then this group was fed cooked meat and milk. The result - they developed arthritis.
What to Do if You Cheat on Your Diet and Cause a Flare-up of Arthritis
If you're like most people, you'll catch yourself cheating from time to time and suffer for it. Or, you may suffer some aches and pains even though you follow your diet and take your supplements.
If this happens, don't despair. In the latter case, most likely you're still detoxifying and the pains you feel are part of the cleansing process.
In the former case, all you have to do is return to your proper diet and your symptoms will subside relatively quickly.
Also - especially if you're a social person - you will find little support for your diet amongst your friends. You can expect them to chide you and try to convince you to eat something you shouldn't, especially at first. If you give in, you will suffer pain.
Remember, it will be your pain, not theirs. Also be mindful that it's your body, not theirs. You're responsible for your health and the way you feel, not them.
Besides, if they're true friends, they'll stay true friends regardless of what you eat.
The Kinds of Foods to Avoid
So, just what is it that you shouldn't eat? Essentially, anything that contains sugar, or can easily be converted to sugar, should be avoided. This includes candy, cake, pastries and anything with white flour.
Generally, it will be best to avoid processed food. Make everything from scratch, as you'll get a lot more vitamins and minerals this way.
However, if you do eat processed food, make sure it doesn't contain corn syrup, fructose and other sugars that will sabotage your health - and quite likely cause a flare-up of arthritis symptoms.
For example, have you ever looked at the ingredients of a typical bar of chocolate? Here's a partial list of one brand (which shall remain nameless) that's commonly available at supermarkets:
- Chocolate
- White Sugar
- Corn Syrup
- Milk Powder
- Condensed Milk
- Cream Powder
- Invert Sugar
- Pectin
- Cocoa Butter
- Dextrose
- Cocoa
- Corn Starch
- Dried Egg Whites
- Salt
- Benzoate of Soda
- Lecithin
- Citric Acid
- Sodium Citrate
- Invertase
- Convetit
- Bicarbonate of Soda
- Vanilla
- Gelatin
- Emulsified Hydrogenated Shortening
- Frozen Egg Whites
- Commercial Imitation Vanilla Extract
This commercial imitation vanilla extract was created out of the following ingredients:
- Vanilla Coumarine
- Glycerin
- White Sugar Alcohol
- Water
- Carmel to Color
Sounds tasty, huh?
If you start looking at cans of prepared food, you'll discover that the list of ingredients is so long they can barely be listed on the can (that's why the print is so tiny). You'll also notice that the fonts are practically microscopic and often printed in a color that is very hard to read (it's hard to believe that this isn't done on purpose so you don't bother reading through it).
Many of these weird ingredients are designed to increase the shelf life of the product. While they may make the food last longer and cost less than fresh food, these preservatives have an adverse effect on your health that is cumulative.
The bottom line to consider: If the food you buy is perishable (fresh) and has a short shelf life, eating it will help you live longer and be healthier.
If, on the other hand, the food has long shelf life due to additives and preservatives, it will cause you to have a shorter, less healthy - and often disease-ridden - life.
In other words, if it can spoil, eat it. If it can't spoil, don't eat it.
Exercise to Keep Arthritis Away
While diet and vitamin supplementation are important to curing yourself of arthritis, they alone will not do the job. You need to move around on a regular basis.
If you're like most Americans, you probably don't get enough exercise. Chances are you're overweight as well. I guarantee that if you eat a sensible diet and exercise, you'll not only be well on your way to getting your arthritis under control, you'll also lose weight, plus you'll look and feel better.
Exercise works by increasing the amount of oxygen circulating throughout your body. It does this by increasing circulation.
There are lots of ways to get exercise without joining an expensive health club or gym.
You can:
- Jog
- Jump on a Trampoline
- Ride a Bike
- Go Hiking
- Lift Weights
- Swimming
- Walking
This is obviously only a partial list. Its potential length is only limited by your imagination.
Bottom line: It is critical that you start a regular exercise program if you're to get permanent relief from arthritis.
And now, another word of warning:
Just as a good diet alone will not get rid of your arthritis, neither will exercise alone. Your diet must be primarily comprised of fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats.
You must avoid fast and processed foods at all costs. You must also avoid toxic substances.
These include:
To Get Rid of Arthritis, You Must Reprogram Your Inner Self and Learn to Relax
It's important to pay attention how you react to things.
When things go wrong, how do you react? Do you get mad and swear, or seethe under your breath? Or do you roll with the event with a sense of calm?
Whenever you react negatively to an event, you reinforce the idea that things should be different than they actually are. This sets up a pattern of expectancy, which is based on preconceived notions that may not be in line with reality.
Worse, it wears you out physiologically and physiologically. It drains you energy and weakens your immune system. This in turn makes you susceptible to a variety of health problems, including arthritis.
So, if you're honest with yourself and realize you have not been taking events realistically, you'll be aware of the need to do so.
Fortunately, there are some very simple (but not necessarily easy) things you can do to reprogram your inner self.
They include:
- Learning how to relax your body
- Finding quiet time daily, with no interruptions and do not let stressful thoughts interfere
- Taking short vacations, drives in the country, etc.
- Talking to people who will listen (to let off steam - this has been shown to reduce health problems and lower blood pressure)
- Getting involved in a hobby or sport to release stress
- Stretching often
- Taking hot baths
- Not letting minor irritations bother you
Vitamins
To achieve the most from your daily vitamin supplement, it needs to be a balance of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
I prefer a liquid supplement because of the fact that classically designed tablets and pills, are poorly absorbed and poorly used by the body due to their formulation design.
Many of these tablets are not effectively used by the body - containing raw material components that are poor in quality, non-usable fillers, "binders" that inhibit nutrient absorption and the common use of outer waxy coatings that inhibit digestion.
Beware of the liquid supplement also. Most liquid supplements contain artificial ingredients and harsh preservatives that diminish their effectiveness. And, many liquid products are also pasteurized or irradiated to prevent bacterial growth. Those processes actually negatively impact the potency and benefits of the product.
The liquid supplement I use and recommend is delivered to you exactly the way nature intended... fresh with natural ingredients, with no processes that diminish the benefits and potency of nutrients.
Plus:
- Pharmaceutical and food grade ingredients
- Certified ORAC® rated anti-oxidant capacity
- USP purification standards
- Natural fruit & vegetable phytonutrients, including EGCG from Green Tea
- Trade protected mineral/nutrient ionization & bioactivation
- Human Matrix™ nutrient ratios that replicate natural ratios found within the human body
- Blending techniques to safeguard molecular structures
- Safety & efficacy trials; ongoing Clinical Evaluations
- No irradiation, pasteurization, MSG, parabens, or artificial dyes, sweeteners or flavors
- Vegetarian friendly
For complete information about this liquid supplement:
You may want to consider meeting with and Orthomolecular doctor to help you tailor a vitamin regimen based on your unique physiological needs. You can find one by looking up "Orthomolecular doctors" in the phone book or on the Internet.
Orthomolecular is a term that comes from ortho, which is Greek for "correct" or "right," and "molecule," which is the simplest structure that displays the characteristics of a compound. So it literally means the "right molecule."
Two-time Nobel Prize winner, and molecular biologist, Linus Pauling, Ph.D., coined the term "Orthomolecular" in his 1968 article "Orthomolecular Psychiatry" in the journal "Science."
Orthomolecular medicine describes the practice of preventing and treating disease by providing the body with optimal amounts of substances which are natural to the body.