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Use Nature’s Way To Tame Dreaded Arthritis Pain
By Dr. Michael Cutler on 07/03/2010
Dear Dr. Cutler,
My wife suffers terribly from joint pain caused by arthritis and must take strong pain medications to be able to function. But she and I both know that continuously taking pain meds could eventually cause serious health consequences and we would love to find some natural solutions to control the problem. Could you give us some ideas that might help?
—Benny K.
Dear Benny,
My advice to my arthritis patients is to embrace a healthier lifestyle including…
- A whole foods diet filled with plenty of fruits and vegetables with more than half in their natural state
- Plenty of fresh, pure water—eight to nine 8-ounce glasses—each day
- A moderate and consistent exercise regimen
- A concentrated effort to reduce stress
These patients experience a dramatic reduction in their arthritis pain, their mobility increases and their reliance on painkilling drugs is minimized. But you and your wife must also delve into what may be causing the arthritis pain in the first place, and there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that refined sugar triggers harmful inflammation throughout your body, including your joints.
As a matter of fact, a well-known study published in The Lancet proves that sugar can be the original cause of arthritis. And research has shown that sugar increases your risk of gout, weakens your joint integrity and leaches away the protective materials in your bones and synovial joint fluid.
What can you do? Begin by eliminating refined sugar and any products that contain them such as white sugar, white flour, sweetened drinks and even grains if you feel worse after eating them. Replace these with natural sweeteners like stevia, agave nectar, yacon syrup or better yet, real fruits like dates, raisins and kiwis.
Plus, if your wife includes natural herbs in her daily diet she may be able to get rid of her pain relievers for good. Natural herbs that can help her fight her pain and rebuild her joints include S-Adenosyl-Methionine (SAMe), bromelain, alfalfa, boswellia extract, curcumin, capsicum, devil’s claw root and ginger extract.
Printer-friendly versionAbout the author
Michael Cutler, M.D. is a board-certified family physician with 18 years experience specializing in chronic degenerative diseases, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
A graduate of Brigham Young University, Tulane Medical School and Natividad Medical Center Family Practice Residency in Salinas, Calif., he serves as a medical liaison to alternative and traditional practicing physicians. His practice focuses on an integrative solution to health problems.
Dr. Cutler is a sought-after speaker and lecturer on experiencing optimum health through natural medicines and the Founder and Editor of Easy Health Options™ newsletter—a leading health advisory service on natural healing therapies and nutrients and is Medical Advisor for True Health™—America's #1 source for doctor-formulated nutrients that heal.
For more information visit www.truehealth.com.
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Comments
Anonymous
Why didn't you just answer the guys question? Do all of you so called health guru's type your answers from the same book? It sure sounds like it. Did YOU ever try to exercise with pain on a consistent basis? Without even knowing the person who wrote in, how do you know that he isn't eating as healthy as he can? I'm really fed up with all you guy's stock answers. If you can't be oringinal or don't know the answer, say so. For your information there are a lot of good, natural pain supplements on the market, and they don,t require painful excercise or a vegetarian diet either. Tom
Miriam Jones
I went to an Asian grocery and bought some yucca root. I peeled it and ate it raw. It tasted nice, but was tough chewing, so I microwaved it and it became softer. Naturally, it lost a lot of its flavor. I had eaten so much of it that day that the next day I sprang out of bed very limber and wondered what happened. I get the pill form, but one daily is not nearly enough although it does help with the mobility problem.
Anonymous
Anonymous whatever do you mean? How did Dr. C. not answer this gentleman's question?
And he did not say he should eat a vegetarian diet either. He simply said lots of fresh fruits and veggies. The more ingredients in a food the more exposure you have to dangerous additives like refined sugars and flour.
He is clearly looking from a cause perspective not simply a quick fix perspective. He's goal is to uncover what might be leading to the issue to rid the person of the problem not cover it up for a bit.
And mild exercise is a very well backed up approach to fighting arthritic pain. Many people tend to stop moving with arthritis and unfortunately it's one of the worst things they can do compounding their problem.
Although I didn’t see Dr. C. calling himself a health guru anywhere in this post I think after 18 years of experience with chronic degenerative diseases it probably wouldn’t be a far off thing to call him. I suspect he MIGHT have more knowledge on the subject than you do.
Marshall
In 1991, I read a letter from Dr. Julian Whitaker to his readers of Health and Healing magazine. He related how an elderly woman, that he was treating for something else, was being seen by another doctor for her arthritis. She had been prescribed nine different meds (all of which had the side effects of a mugging) and she still was in pain most of the time and could barely twist off a loose-fitting jar lid. A family friend bought her some Barley Grass. Taking it every day, in four weeks she was pain-free and drug-free. Her doctor pooh-poohed it, saying it was the "placebo effect". She challenged him to use it on his worst patient. He tried it on a 50 year-old man who had rheumatoid arthritis, with markedly deformed joints, in pain all the time. Between five and six weeks this man was pain-free and drug-free. After reading that I bought some for myself (I had a tendonitis/bursitis situation in my elbow that wouldn't go away with prescription meds, OTC meds, or taking months off of work. After one week, I was completely relieved of it (while still taking it). When I would run out, and didn't get more, it would return. That happened about four times, so I kept taking it for a very long run. Eventually, it did not rear its ugly head when I no longer was taking the barley grass. Chlorophyll is a powerful anti-inflammatory and, with the spray-drying process used, one rounded teaspoon is equal to 16 - 22 ounces of green vegetable matter. Its nutritional spectrum is such that it fosters the body's ability to heal itself. It helped me, it helped my father (who had trouble walking up and down the stairs at work and was able to run up and down the stairs after using it for a short while), and I would urge anyone who needs relief from arthritis to use it for help. Also, grape seed extract increase blood circulation in the joints, stops collagenase and elastase (that create a chronic inflammatory response in adjacent tissue). rejuvenates collagen and is 50 times more powerful than Vitamins C and E as an anti-oxidant. It also has done wonders for me, as well.
Anonymous
Boswellia and Turmeric supplements will help for sure.
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