Posts tagged: arthritis

Can You Beat Arthritis By Taking Vitamin D?

Can You Beat Arthritis By Taking Vitamin D
Graphic © herbshealthhappiness.com. Image source © shutterstock.com (under license)

The global burden of arthritis was published previously in 2015 in the BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders Journal. The study called the Global Burden of Disease Study involved 187 countries and 21 regions all around the world and the prevalence of all musculoskeletal disorders: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, low back pain, and neck pain, among others. The burden was quite high, according to the data gathered; all musculoskeletal disorders combined affected 21 percent of a person’s lifespan called “years lived with disability”. The numbers are quite similar in the United States, with an estimated 54.4 million adults in the US living with some form of arthritis; that’s roughly 22 percent of the total population. [1][2]

With such a prevalent condition affecting the older generation, what exactly do we know about Arthritis?

Not much, I’m afraid. According to the Arthritis Foundation, there over 100 types of joint diseases that affect both children and adults in the United States. The statistics for children are much lower, with an estimated 300,000 children in the US living with arthritis. The symptoms are general and quite vague, but arthritis is basically the inflammation of the joint, which causes pain, swelling, stiffness, and reduced motion. People with inflamed joints, especially in the hands and legs have trouble going about their activities of daily living, having a big impact in their day-to-day productivity, which leads to a drastic reduction in their quality of life. Because the symptoms can range from mild to severe and often come and go, getting diagnosed with arthritis often happens late in life or worse, not at all. [3]

Here are few common types of arthritis: [3]

1. Degenerative arthritis. This is by far the most common type. It comes with age, as the bones and joints in our body experience wear and tear from daily use. The delicate tissue that surrounds our joints (called the cartilage) becomes thinner and thinner, causing the bones to rub or bump against each other during movement. This causes swelling and pain.

2. Inflammatory arthritis is an immune system problem. While all forms of arthritis manifest with inflammation, inflammatory arthritis is caused by the body’s immune system attacking the joints, causing the inflammation directly. Autoimmunity still needs to be further researched in order to find out why it happens, but researchers think it may be due to two factors: genes and the environment.

Unlike degenerative arthritis whose diagnoses comes at a later age, inflammatory arthritis can happen at any age and early diagnosis is a must in order to prevent permanent damage to the joints.

3. Infectious arthritis is pretty self-explanatory. When an infection from bacteria, viruses, or fungi hits the joints, they can cause severe inflammation. Salmonella, shigella, gonorrhea, and even hepatitis C can cause infectious arthritis.

4. Metabolic arthritis is caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood. When you have too much purine in your diet, this gets broken down into uric acid in the body and gets deposited in the joints, thereby causing joint inflammation. People affected by this kind of arthritis typically feel the symptoms as an “attack”, triggered by eating certain food.

Vitamin D And Arthritis

The most obvious methods are an adjustment to your physical activities and a controlled diet. These two things can help reduce the symptoms and improve your quality of life. However, researchers from the University of Birmingham and University College London found that vitamin D supplementation can be an innovative way to manage arthritis. [4]

The researchers focused on the results of previous studies on vitamin D, citing its potent anti-inflammatory capabilities on top of its ability to mediate the immune system response active in cases of rheumatoid arthritis. They focused specifically on the effects of vitamin D on inflamed joints and found positive results.

By isolating immune cell types from inflamed joints or active sites of arthritis, the researchers were able to see that they were sensitive to vitamin D and its anti-inflammatory effects. They took synovial fluid from 15 people aged 40 to 85 affected with rheumatoid arthritis and tested the vitamin D against their samples. While the sensitivity of the cells in the synovial fluid was less responsive than cells taken from circulating blood, the results suggest that vitamin D in the right dosage and the right route (not just oral supplementation) could indeed provide positive outcomes in the management of arthritis, especially if the vitamin D is administered directly to the affected area.

In a world where there are so many bad side effects associated with pain medication for inflamed joints, supplementing with vitamin D may be a better, healthier alternative to regular treatments.

References:

[1] Woolf, A. (2015). Global burden of osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal diseases. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4674868/

[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Arthritis-Related Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics/arthritis-related-stats.htm

[3] Arthritis Foundation. What is Arthritis? https://www.arthritis.org/about-arthritis/understanding-arthritis/what-is-arthritis.php

[4] Jeffery, L., et. al. (2018). Decreased sensitivity to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in T cells from the rheumatoid joint. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896841117304201?via%3Dihub

16 Home Remedies For Arthritis

16 Home Remedies For ArthritisImage – CommonSenseHome.com (with permission)

We discovered a fantastic tutorial listing 16 home remedies for arthritis, courtesy of our friends over at Common Sense Home! The link follows after our introduction to the topic.

Arthritis is a common condition that affects many people, typically as they get older. Causing pain, swelling, stiffness and loss of mobility, it can be debilitating, not to mention very painful. Arthritis can also be aggravated or triggered by obesity, injury or overuse. However it is widely regarded that exercise, done properly, is vital for joint health.

Some of the remedies listed in the tutorial are pretty interesting and unexpected – for example Tart Cherries. Consuming at least 10 tart cherries per day is claimed to provide pain relief benefits to arthritis sufferers [1] and several studies have been published with these findings . However not all studies are in agreement (are they ever?) and a 2013 study found that although there were benefits, these were only slightly better than placebo. [2]

Another one of the remedies that caught my eye was that of eliminating nightshades (Solanaceae) from the diet. The nightshade family of plants is an interesting one and contains not only the tomato, bell pepper, aubergine and potato plants, but also dangerous plants such as deadly nightshade! Solanaceae are known for having a diverse range of alkaloids – a range of compounds that includes both some considered beneficial, and some that are notorious poisons. Some of these substances are present in the edible plants in this family and it’s said that some people may not get along so well with them. Another interesting tidbit is that according to Zen macrobiotic cookery, tomato and potato are considered yin and avoided. Some have said that the atropine in these plants is less than ideal. There might be something in it.

Another one of the remedies in the list is Glucosamine / Chondritin. This is a well known supplementation for people with joint troubles. I personally take a glucosamine / chondritin / MSM supplement and I do think that it has helped my back pain significantly.

Ok here’s the link to the full tutorial: https://commonsensehome.com/home-remedies-arthritis/

More: We also have a few other posts that relate to arthritis and joint pain, be sure to check these out:

How To Make Hot Pepper Cream For Arthritis And Joint Pain

Top 10 Herbs For Arthritis

Top 10 Home Remedies For Arthritis

14 Home Remedies For Arthritis And Joint Pain

14 Home Remedies For Arthritis And Joint Pain
14 Home Remedies For Arthritis And Joint Pain. Graphic © herbshealthhappiness.com. Background image © AdobeStock 63578152 (under license)

We discovered a great page all about arthritis and joint pain, courtesy of our friends over at Everyday Roots. The link is after our introduction.

Arthritis can cause great pain and stiffness – and is something that a lot of people experience, especially later in life. Fortunately, there are many things that can be done to address symptoms – and a wide array of natural / home remedies have been discovered.

The page of natural remedies for arthritis and joint pain that we discovered contains all manner of remedies including dietary additions (dandelion leaves, blackstrap molasses), lifestyle changes (exercise routines), foot baths & soaks, herbal supplements, essential oils, teas and even a curious recipe that includes gin! There’s so much good stuff that it seems you can launch a real “multi-pronged attack” on arthritis pain…

One theme that seems prevalent through several of these remedies is the presence of magnesium.

As many people are aware, magnesium is essential to all living cells but is often in short supply in the western diet – and so natural sources of magnesium
It’s a wonderful page and here is the link: https://everydayroots.com/arthritis-remedies

Further resources:

We also have a few other pages that will be of interest to arthritis sufferers…

https://herbshealthhappiness.com/top-10-home-remedies-for-arthritis/ (our own page)

https://www.herbs-info.com/herbs-for-arthritis.html (our page)

https://herbshealthhappiness.com/how-to-make-your-own-magnesium-oil-to-improve-sleep-and-reduce-stress/