Arthritis

What is arthritis?

Symptoms of arthritis

Causes of arthritis

Remedies for arthritis

References

What is arthritis?

Arthritis means inflammation of joints. There are over 100 forms of arthritis.

The most common is osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease), caused by prior trauma to or infection of the joint (wear and tear). It 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 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 20 million people severely affected. Arthritis can make it difficult for the sufferer to get sufficient exercise, so contributing to an increased risk of obesity, heart and artery disease, and other degenerative diseases. 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 arthritis

• Pain. The major complaint by individuals who have arthritis is pain. Pain is often a constant and daily feature of the disease. The pain may be in the back, neck, hip, or any other joints. The pain is caused by inflammation around the joint, damage to the joint from disease, bone damage and distention, daily wear and tear of the joint, and muscle strain and fatigue from forced movement against stiff, painful joints. Severe pain in joints, particularly toes, may be also 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.
• Fever.
• Weight loss.
• Insomnia.

Causes of arthritis

• Trauma to a joint.
• Infection of a joint.
• Aging.
• Vitamin D deficiency and sun deficiency, particularly as a cause of rheumatoid arthritis.
• Inflammation. Arthritis is an expression of general inflammation in the body.
• Mineral deficiencies, particularly boron and copper.
• Processed food. A diet high in refined and processed foods, deficient in minerals, high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.
• Acid-forming diet, mainly from sugar and processed foods. (Alkaline-forming foods are fresh, raw, and mainly fruit and vegetables).
• 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.

Remedies for arthritis

• Boron is by far the most effective remedy. 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 arthritis, though this depends on the individual and the severity of the disease. Sometimes a decrease in pain and an improvement is enjoyed within days, but often the symptoms worsen before they get better. Those suffering rheumatoid arthritis often experience a Herxheimer reaction, and this is a sign of healing over the next few weeks.
• Vitamin D from sunlight (particularly for rheumatoid arthritis). 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 50-70 ng/ml. If you can't get sufficient sunlight in the winter and take a vitamin D supplement, make sure to also take 500 mg to 1000 mg of magnesium and 150 mcg of vitamin K2 (not 1) per day. They are important cofactors for optimising vitamin D function.
• 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 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.
• Egg shell membrane. Peel the membrane (skin) away from the shell when you boil an egg, and eat the membrane. You can also eat the membrane raw, (but preferably not raw egg white). It tastes a bit like eating paper, but is a great natural food source for re-building your joints.
• Copper
• Alkaline-forming diet
• Avoid genetically modified foods. Consume only certified non-GMO foods which are also organically grown.
• Inclined Bed Therapy (IBT).
• Omega-3 essential fatty acids. These should be obtained through your diet, and NOT by using supplements. (1)
• Apple cider vinegar
• MSM
• Flowers of sulphur
• Cayenne pepper
• Earthing or grounding.
• Turmeric
• Gum turpentine.
• Kerosene.
• DMSO
• Cinnamon
• Molasses

References