Jul
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Arthritis General Information
July 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment
ARTHRITIS
• Eat a diet rich in selenium
• Get 1,000 lU of vitamin D daily *****
• Follow a Mediterranean diet
•Take aspirin to relieve pain and control inflammation ****
• Try naproxen for pain relief **
• Ask your doctor about a prescription for Pennsaid
(diclofenic)
• Experiment with fish oil and green-lipped mussels ** *Try gin-drenched raisins
• Consider Certo and grape juice *****
• Drink pomegranate juice ****
• Sip vinegar with apple and grape juices
• Drink cherry juice
*Take turmeric **** *Try boswellia
• Consider acupuncture ***
No one really knows how many people suffer from arthritis and related inflammatory conditions. The folks at the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), who are in charge of tracking such things, put the number at close to 70 million. That includes more than 43 million adults diagnosed by doctors and another 23 million who have symptoms but have not been officially diagnosed .57,58 That means one in three adults is afflicted with some form of arthritis.
If you think that’s a lot of folks, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Aging baby boomers are about to discover up close and personal what it’s like to suffer from chronic inflammation. The CDC estimates that by 2030 we will add another 22 million to the list of people in pain. 59 Arthritis will become the biggest obstacle to enjoyable retirement for the boomer generation.
With so many suffering, it’s hardly any wonder we’re all desperate for relief. Shaking hands, buttoning a shirt, or typing on a computer keyboard can be difficult if your fingers hurt. But who can give up e-mail? We communicate with the world through our fingers.
Everyone tells us that exercise is the most important thing we can do for our overall health. Yet it’s hard to walk, jog, or play tennis or golf if your knees, hips, and shoulders are sore.
No wonder we turn to drugs to relieve our inflammation and ease the pain. A friend who hiked the Appalachian Trail dubbed ibuprofen “vitamin I.” Weekend warriors frequently rely on Advil (ibuprofen) or Aleve (naproxen) before, during, and after tennis matches, basketball games, or karate competitions. We now know that most of the medications used for arthritis can have potentially serious side effects.
We’re caught in a classic double bind. Without something to control inflammation, pain limits our activities, which is not good for our health. Take the medicine, however, and we risk all sorts of complications, from high blood pressure and kidney problems to heart attacks and strokes. Some popular anti-inflammatory drugs may even make our arthritis worse.