Arthritis (Osteoarthritis, OA)

What is osteoarthritis?

Symptoms of osteoarthritis

Causes of osteoarthritis

Remedies for osteoarthritis

References

What is osteoarthritis?

There are over 100 forms of arthritis. Arthritis is the swelling, inflammation and degradation of one or more joints. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. OA is a degenerative joint disease that affects the entire joint, including bone, cartilage, ligaments and the tissues lining the joint (the synovium). Osteoarthritis can degrade cartilage, change bone shape and cause inflammation. OA occurs most frequently in the hands, hips and knees. Doctors say it is caused by prior trauma to or infection of the joint (wear and tear), but ignore the underlying causes. OA usually occurs in older people.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that can affect anyone at any age. It affects not only the joints of the fingers, wrists, hips, knees and feet, but also the muscles, tendons and other tissues of the body. Other forms of arthritis include psoriatic arthritis, and various autoimmune diseases in which the body attacks itself. Septic arthritis is caused by joint infection.

Arthritis is the most common form of disability in the USA, with over 33 million people affected, 20 million of them severely. Arthritis is a leading cause of work disability, crimping people's lifestyles and activities, and increasing the risk of falls and fall injuries. Arthritis can make it difficult for the sufferer to get sufficient exercise and sleep, so contributing to an increased risk of other degenerative diseases like obesity, heart and artery disease, and insomnia. People with arthritis are also at increased risk of depression, probably because of a fear of worsening symptoms and decreasing ability to work and contribute. More than three quarters of people over the age of 50 in rich countries like the USA experience arthritis in some form, to some degree.

Symptoms of osteoarthritis

• Pain. The major complaint by individuals who have OA is pain, often a grating feeling from rough and spurred joints. Pain is often a constant and daily feature of the disease, in the back, neck, hip, knee, hand or any other joints. The pain is caused by inflammation around the joint, damage to the joint from disease, bone damage and distention, wear and tear of the joint, and muscle strain and fatigue from forced movement against stiff, painful joints.
  Note: severe pain in joints, particularly toes, may also be caused by gout.
• Stiffness (especially early in the morning.)
• Restricted movement.
• Swelling, redness, tenderness and warmth.
• Inability to use the hands or to walk.
• Tiredness, lack of energy, not feeling well.

Causes of osteoarthritis

• Boron deficiency is the primary cause.
• Trauma to a joint, sometimes years earlier.
• Infection of a joint.
• Aging.
• Vitamin D and sun deficiency.
• Processed food. A diet high in refined and processed foods, high in sugar and refined carbohydrates and deficient in minerals.
• Inflammation.
• Calcium deposits, hypercalcemia.
• Trigger foods. Allergies and intolerances to foods will vary depending upon the individual, but they may include oranges and other citrus, strawberries, nightshade vegetables (eggplant/aubergine, peppers, chili, tomatoes, potato, tobacco).
• Pharmaceutical drugs and medications including Tylenol, Prednizone and Cortisone.
• Magnesium deficiency.
• Copper deficiency.

Remedies for osteoarthritis

• Borax is by far the most effective remedy for osteoarthritis. If you have osteoarthritis or osteoporosis the chances are near 100% that you have a boron deficiency in your diet (we all need boron every day). Borax typically takes 1 - 4 months to cure osteoarthritis, though this depends on the individual and the severity of the disease. Sometimes a decrease in pain and an improvement is enjoyed within days. However in other cases the symptoms worsen before they get better.
• Vitamin D. Supplement vitamin D or get out in the sunshine - the advice to avoid sun is one of the greatest public health mistakes of the century. Your health care provider should monitor your vitamin D level and ensure that it is in the range of 50-99 ng/ml. If you can't get sufficient sunlight then take a vitamin D3 supplement, make sure to also take 500 mg to 1000 mg of magnesium (on the skin) and 150 mcg of vitamin K2 (not K1) per day. They are important cofactors for optimising vitamin D supplementation.
• Cartilage. Eat the cartilage (gristle) in meat and poultry. Don't throw it away. It is a valuable part of the whole animal and our bodies need it. Our ancestors used to eat it, people on traditional diets use it and eat it, and carnivorous animals eat it. To make tough animal gristle easier to eat you can pound it with a hammer, cut it with a sharp knife, or blend it. But by far the best way is cooking it for a long time (hours), which makes it softer, and eventually turns it into a tasty jelly. You can buy ready-made powders in health food stores, but once again they are a processed food and not the same as the real thing that you can make in your own kitchen.
• Gelatine. The best gelatine comes from bones, and is made by simmering a stock with cheap bones and connective joints/gristle for many hours or even days. Bone stocks are absolutely delicious, and are the secret yummy health ingredient in many sources and dishes. Details on how to extract the gelatine from bones in my Grow Youthful Recipe Book.
• Magnesium
• Copper
• Alkaline-forming diet
• Ginger to relieve arthritis pain.
• Avoid genetically modified foods. Consume only certified non-GMO foods which are organically grown.
• Omega-3 essential fatty acids. These should be obtained through your diet (fatty fish, seafood), and NOT by using supplements. (1)
• Sulphur, with the best and most absorbable sources being DMSO, MSM or Flowers of sulphur.
• Apple cider vinegar
• Cayenne pepper
• Hyaluronic acid.
• Methylene blue.
• Vitamin B3 (niacin). Fish, red meat (especially liver), chicken, turkey, spirulina and nutritional yeast are the best food sources of niacin. If you take nutritional yeast, use unfortified nutritional yeast that has undergone minimal processing. Niacin can be purchased as a supplement, and may be useful at 500 mg per day in an extended-release form.
• Inclined Bed Therapy (IBT).
• Earthing or grounding.
• Cinnamon
• Turmeric (2)
• Gum turpentine.
• Kerosene.

References