Arthritis Page
Arthritis can make the simplest activity a painful struggle. This unique book provides a highly authoritative yet east-to-follow program of complementary medicines and self-care treatments to support the conventional treatment of this condition in all its forms.
In Part 1, find out everything you need to know about the medical aspects of the different types of arthritis and the treatment that your doctor may prescribe.
Part 2 explores the most beneficial natural treatments available, including complementary therapies, nutritional superfoods, pain-relieving supplements and lifestyle approaches.
In Part 3, complete a questionnaire to help choose one of three treatment programs to follow: Gentle, Moderate or Full-Strength. Each is designed to optimise your arthritis care by offering specially formulated eating and exercise plans, plus suggestions to help you benefit from vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements.
As well as suggesting what to eat over a 14 day period, each programme supplies healthy low sugar, low salt recipes, an exercise regime and suggested complementary therapies to try. Each fourteen day program is repeated so the program lasts for 28 days in full
These programs are so effective you may start to notice positive changes in joint pain and stiffness in as little as a week. Use them to make real changes to your health and your life.
Sample pagesIf you have not yet seen the book, click to see pdfs of sample pages from the book
What is arthritis: pages 10-11
Superfoods for arthritis: page 54
Supplements for arthritis: page 58
Moderate program day 1: page 114
Full-strength program day 1: page 146
Recipe: Thai salmon filo parcels with sweet chilli jelly: page 104
Natural Health GuruDr Sarah Brewer
Sarah, experienced GP and Hospital Doctor, trained at Cambridge University. She has a special interest in nutritional health and the safe use of vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements. As well as her medical qualifications (MA, MB, BChir) she is completing a masters degree in Nutritional Medicine. Sarah writes regular health columns for a variety of newspapers and magazines.
The medical treatment of all types of arthritis initially involves pain killers such as paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen. More
DietYour joints thrive on the same healthy diet as your heart and brain, with plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, wholegrains and oily fish (eg salmon, fresh tuna, mackerel, herrings, sardines, pilchards). It is also important to obtain adequate amounts of fluid to maintain joint hydration. More
SupplementsA number of supplements can improve arthritis symptoms. After omega-3 fish oils, the most important is glucosamine sulphate, taken at a dose of 1500mg per day. More
Key nutritional tips from Dr Sarah BrewerClinical trials suggest that losing weight, boosting activity levels and changing your diet can improve arthritis symptoms.
Here are my Top Tips to help improve your arthritis symptoms.
Each of the programs in Natural Health Guru provide a full list of vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements to take, and the optimum doses, whether you are following the Gentle, Moderate or Full-Strength programs.
NB. Always check with your doctor or a pharmacist before taking supplements if you are taking any prescribed medication.
Maintaining a healthy weightCarrying excess fat is a clear risk factor for osteoarthritis, especially in weight-bearing joints such as the knee and hip. In fact, obesity increases the risk of developing knee OA by between four-fold and more than 18-fold compared with those of normal-weight. It also increases the chance that you will need a hip replacement by 70% compared with those of normal-weight. This is partly because carrying excess fat increases the force to which your joints are subjected, and partly because fat cells produce inflammatory chemicals which may provoke joint damage and pain.
Every one pound increase in weight increases the overall force across your knee joints when walking or standing by two to three pounds. So, if you are 10 pounds overweight, the force on your knees increases by up to 30 pounds. Looked at the other way round, losing 10lbs in weight (4.5kg) can reduce the load on your knees by as much as 30 lbs.
This chart helps you work out the optimal healthy weight range for your height, for which you should aim.
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