The term Arthritis is used a variety of disorders, issues and diseases related mainly to the joints in the body. There are over 100 forms of Arthritis with the two main forms being Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Persons inflicted with Arthritis experience severe pain in the joints. Relief of the pain experienced can be found in many sources such as drugs, yoga, massages, diet and exercise. Although medical advancement is soaring, there is no replacement for natural foods and healthy eating habits which is the easiest and quickest way to prevent and cure the pain suffered with the illness.
There are specific herbs, oils and spices that help to heal inflammation which is suffered with the condition and reduces the pain experienced in the joints. The following is a little knowledge to help you know more about these foods.
Capsaicin
When the body experiences pain, it is doing so because pain impulses are being transmitted to the brain. Substance P is a chemical that is involved in this transmission. Capsaicin helps to deplete or interfere with substance P, helping to relieve the pain that is associated with the condition. Capsaicin is effective with diabetic neuropathy, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis and works by relieving the pain in the nerve, joint or muscle. In a study conducted on 31 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 70 osteoarthritis patients, 80% experienced a decrease in pain after two weeks of capsaicin treatment.
Reishi Gano
Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) is a popular mushroom that is edible and is used in many Asian countries for the promotion of health and longevity. Reishi Gano is used to treat many diseases such as cancer, inflammation, scleroderma, neurasthenia, nephritis, insomnia, liver disease, hypertension, hyperglycemia, ulcer, bronchitis, arthritis and allergy. There are over 200 active elements in Reishi Gano which include Triterpenoids, Adenosine, and Polysaccharide which each having impressive medical benefits.
There are a number of ways in which Reishi Gano helps to resolve arthritis symptoms which include:
• It is a natural source that kills pain (COX2 inhibitor)
• It is a source which produces anti-inflammatory effect, controlling the pain and inflammation of the joints, tissues, and cartilages
• It helps the body to fight against infections and inflammation because it is an immune-modulator and helps to control auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis
• It is rated 7 times more potent than Ginseng making it a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants help to clean the body from free radicals which are responsible for causing many diseases
Tongkat Ali
Tongkat Ali is a root in Malaysia that has several properties including:
• Boost sexual ability
• Helps to fight fatigue (which is experienced with most types of arthritis)
• Boosts energy level
• The root is known to increase androgen hormones levels, which play a integral role in enhancing the immune system and controlling and boosting energy
• Decreases stress and tension
• Improves the blood flow to organs
• Improves cognitive function
• Improves sense of well being
• Increases bone mineral density
• Improves muscle mass and strength
It is essential to include these three plants or herbs when devising an effective and permanent plan to control and cure the many forms of arthritis and the symptoms experienced with the condition.
Obesity is a nationwide epidemic and we hear about the danger from it every day on the news. New research shows that the obese (overweight) individuals are up to four times as likely to develop knee osteoarthritis as they are to develop high blood pressure or type-2 diabetes. The danger to health and quality of life is insidious: at every stage, excess body weight both increases the level of pain and disability and undermines the effectiveness of treatment. Also, whereas high blood pressure and diabetes may be substantially improved on losing weight and are relatively easy to control with therapy, osteoarthritis is irreversible.
Maintaining a recommended weight or losing weight if they are overweight can lessen pain by reducing stress on the affected joints. Weight loss specifically helps ease pressure on weight-bearing joints such as the hips, knees, back and feet.
Increased body weight is a serious factor in the development of osteoarthritis (OA), particularly in the knees, which carry the brunt of weight day in and day out. In fact, for every pound a person gains, add 3 pounds of pressure on the knees and six times the pressure on the hips. Since weight gain gradually increases the stress on joints, the weight gain the decade before a person has OA symptoms, particularly in middle age, plays a big role in determining if they will have OA.
If the patient is overweight, work with them to devise a weight-loss plan that includes eating fewer calories and increasing physical exercise. Make sure they are getting enough nutrients to keep their body healthy and that the activities they choose don’t harm their joints.
Research has shown that losing extra weight can help people who already have osteoarthritis. Moreover, overweight or obese people who do not have osteoarthritis may reduce their risk of developing the disease by losing weight.
In short, weight control is important to people who have arthritis because extra weight puts extra pressure on some joints and can aggravate many types of arthritis. Achieving a healthy weight reduces the risk of developing the disease in the first place, relieves existing symptoms and helps to prevent further deterioration.
Arthritis is not a single disease. Arthritis refers to any disorder that causes “inflammation” of the joints. The term “arthritis” covers more than a hundred diseases and conditions affecting joints, the surrounding tissues, and other connective tissues.
Arthritis includes:
• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Gout
• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• Juvenile (children) rheumatoid arthritis
• Bursitis
• Lyme arthritis,
• Carpal tunnel disease and other disorders
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and the most frequent joint disorder especially in seniors. Arthritis is a common disease. As the population ages, arthritis is expected to affect an estimated 67 million adults in the United States, alone, by 2030.
What causes arthritis?
Arthritis is due to the wearing down of cartilage, which is the material that cushions the ends of the bones. Some researchers believe that when the joints are unable to react properly to stress, the cartilage is damaged. This leads to the development of arthritis.
Who is at risk of arthritis?
Race: arthritis is less prevalent among African Americans and Hispanics than among non-Hispanic whites.
Gender: Arthritis prevalence is higher in women, 24.4%, than in men, 18.1%.
Family: Some very specific types of arthritis can result from hereditary factors. Some families may pass on the tendency for defective cartilage;
Obesity: Arthritis co-exists with other conditions such as overweight or obese individuals. Additionally, physical inactivity has been found to be higher in those with arthritis.
Diabetes: In 2005 and 2007 over half of those with diabetes had arthritis.
People at risk of injuries: Sports injuries, occupation-related injuries and repetitive use joint injuries can increase the risk of arthritis.
Signs & symptoms of arthritis - How would you know if you have arthritis?
While many people with arthritis do not experience any symptoms in the initial stages of the disease, following warning signs are mostly observed:
• Pain in or around a joint
• Stiffness or problems moving a joint
• Swelling (sometimes) in a joint
Complications (What arthritis can lead to?)
Disability: Arthritis (being mainly a disease of bones and joints) is the leading cause of disability worldwide.
Immobility: Arthritis limits everyday activities such as walking and dressing. Of working age adults (18 to 64 years), 1 in 20 reports that arthritis affects their ability to work whereas over one-third of those with arthritis reports that their work is affected by their condition.
Infection: Persistent presence of inflammation for long term increases the risk of buildup of bacteria and bacteria, leading to infections.
What is the treatment of arthritis?
Medications for some types of arthritis, particularly rheumatoid arthritis, can limit disease progression, control symptoms and prevent serious complications. However, there are a number of limitations and drawbacks associated with the use of medications in arthritis:
• Not all medications are considered equally effective for every kind of arthritis.
• Like any other medical drugs, medicines used in the treatment of arthritis are not free of side effects especially if used for long term.
• Medicines only target the effects (signs and symptoms) and often not the cause.
While we are unable to change some of the factors which make one susceptible to arthritis, such as age, sex and heredity, it is possible to reduce the likelihood of developing this disease by adopting a healthy lifestyle that includes ding exercise, practicing weight loss & taking a natural (herbal) safe supplement.
1. Losing weight
Many people become less active when they develop arthritis because of pain and the fear of causing damage. This can lead to muscles becoming weaker and wasted. It also leads to increased weight gain and obesity. Weight loss can help build-up muscles, stabilize joints, and alleviate pain and stiffness in joints.
Weight loss has been shown to have significant benefits for people with arthritis, including reductions in pain and improvements in physical function, mental health, and quality of life. Excess weight puts extra stress on weight-bearing joints, especially the knees. According to a recent study, weight loss of an average of 11 pounds can reduce the risk of knee osteoarthritis by as much as 50%. Weight control can also help reduce stress on the joints and spine.
Also, regular and appropriate weight loss can have enormous benefits for people with arthritis, which include:
• Better joint mobility and range of movement
• Improved pain management
• Stronger muscles and bones
• Decreased disease progression
• Improved energy levels and general well being
• Improved self-esteem and feeling more positive
2. Exercising
Regular and healthy physical activity on daily basis such as walking, cycling and swimming) to strengthen supporting muscles and maintain joint mobility improves symptoms of arthritis and has been found to be greatly helpful for many.
3. Taking an “arthritis” diet
Diet changes may make a big difference for many patients. While losing weight has long been part of arthritis treatment, the focus is now on foods and supplements that can reduce painful inflammation.
Another strategy is to identify and avoid foods that might cause arthritis to flare up. And scientific evidence is beginning to support the use of certain supplements that can relieve pain without many of the side effects of prescription drugs.
Likewise, some early research suggests that foods high in omega-3 fatty acids can reduce inflammation and risk for arthritis pain. Also, taking ginger and glucosamine (as extracted from the shells of shellfish) and chondroitin (as derived from cow cartilage) has been found to exert strong anti-inflammatory effect in arthritis.
Lyme disease is not like any other bacterial infection. With most bacterial infections, you expect to take an antibiotic and be over the infection within a week or 10 days. Despite treatment, however, many people with Lyme disease often end up with more serious, widespread infections.
The thing with Lyme is that it creates a dysfunctional immune system in our bodies and on its own the immune system cannot fight off the Lyme and without the body’s own immune vigilance there is a slow progression to health.
Your immune system is important as it serves to protect you from even the simplest of colds. For this reason it is essential that you try to support your immune system and keep it bolstered against any potential illnesses. This is where taking acai berries can be truly beneficial to your health. Nutrition plays an important part in maintaining immune function.
How does your immune system work?
Using a unique combination of enzymes, good bacteria, proteins, cells and tissues; these mechanisms work together to protect you against the influences of viruses, diseases, parasites and bad bacteria. Without them, the mildest of colds/infections could cause serious damage to your body.
Fortunately 2 and a half centuries worth of scientific research has ensured we are better prepared for taking care of our immune system and ultimately our health. From simply receiving enough sleep to keeping our bodies hydrated, each of these tools has been proven to have a positive influence on our immunity.
However, there are other equally effective measures for protecting your immune system, that many of you are unaware of and in some cases don’t even know about: antioxidants, vitamins and good bacteria.
Each of these ‘invisible nutrients’ is available in a variety of different foods, but are not as potent as in acai berry, as we’ll now explain:
• Antioxidants – through a combination of antioxidants and anthocyanins, these can help your blood to cancel out the effects of ‘free radicals’ (caused by pollutants, smoke and external elements) and ultimately prevent cell damage.
Recent studies by the Linus Pauling Institute have found that by naturally increasing your vegetable and fruit consumption, this antioxidant boost can decrease an individual’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.
In the case of acai berry, this fruit has been found to contain 10-30 times more antioxidants than grapes, making it the ideal choice for boosting your antioxidant intake.
• Vitamin A – your skin is an organ too so it is essential to protect it from the outside world and the easier easy to do this is to ensure you receive enough vitamin A. Not only can it help you fight aging, but vitamin A is the best source for clear, smooth skin.
• Vitamin C – look back over history and you’ll soon realize the importance of vitamin C in your diet. The leading cause of scurvy in sailors over 100 years ago, the complete exclusion of this vital vitamin (for an extended period of time) can result in spots, spongy gums, bleeding from mucous membranes, fatigue and partial immobilization.
Whilst eating sensibly can provide you with the nutrients you need to protect your immune system, incorporating such fruits as acai berry can offer you all 3 elements in one fruit.
Enriched in antioxidants, omega fatty acids, fiber, amino acids and vitamins, Acai Berry has been scientifically proven to boost immunity, prevent cell damage and protect against illness and ailments.
I am not saying with this article that the Acai Berry all alone will heal lyme disease, of course the person with lyme needs treatment. But the Acai Berry will for sure build up your immune system to fight this illness the best way it can and the immune system of each individual must ultimately assume the management of infections like Lyme disease.
1. Lyme disease is contagious.
Lyme disease is not transmitted from an affected person to someone else. Therefore, Lyme disease is not contagious.
2. What is Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is a bacterial illness caused by a bacterium called a "spirochete."
3. You've found a tick on your leg. Now what?
The longer a tick remains attached to someone, the greater the chance it will be able to spread a disease-causing germ. Therefore, any attached tick should be removed as soon as possible using a fine-point tweezers. The tick should not be squeezed or twisted but grasped close to the skin and pulled straight out with steady pressure.
4. Ticks are carriers of the Lyme bacterium...
Ticks are carriers of the Lyme bacterium in their stomachs.
5. Where was Lyme disease first identified?
Lyme disease only became apparent in 1975 when mothers of a group of children who lived near each other in Lyme, Connecticut, made researchers aware that their children had all been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. This unusual grouping of illness that appeared "rheumatoid" eventually led researchers to the identification of the bacterial cause of the children's condition, what was then called "Lyme disease" in 1982.
6. Lyme disease is reported most often in the southeastern U.S.
Lyme disease has been reported most often in the northeastern United States, but it has been reported in all 50 states, as well as China, Europe, Japan, Australia, and parts of the former Soviet Union. In certain areas of New York, where Lyme disease is common, over half of the ticks are infected.
7. What are early symptoms and signs of Lyme disease?
As the bacteria spread in the skin away from the initial tick bite, the infection causes an expanding reddish rash that is often associated with "flu-like" symptoms.
8. The characteristic Lyme disease rash looks like...
In the early phase of the illness, within days to weeks of the tick bite, the skin around the bite develops an expanding ring of unraised redness. There may be an outer ring of brighter redness and a central area of clearing, leading to a "bull's-eye" appearance.
9. Lyme disease rash is called...
This classic initial rash of Lyme disease is called "erythema migrans" (formerly called erythema chronicum migrans).
10. What is one of the effects of late-stage Lyme disease?
The later phases of Lyme disease can affect the heart, causing inflammation of the heart muscle. This can result in abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure. The nervous system can develop facial muscle paralysis (Bell's palsy), abnormal sensation due to disease of peripheral nerves (peripheral neuropathy), meningitis, and confusion. Inflammation in the joints (arthritis) begins with swelling, stiffness, and pain, and particularly affects one knee.
11. How do doctors diagnose Lyme disease?
In early Lyme disease, doctors can sometimes make a diagnosis simply by finding the classic red rash. Currently, the confirmatory test that is most reliable is the Western Blot assay antibody test.
12. Which drug is used to treat early stage Lyme disease?
Early illness is usually treated with medicines taken by mouth, for example, doxycycline (Vibramycin), amoxicillin (Amoxil), or cefuroxime axetil (Ceftin).
13. How can Lyme disease be prevented?
Because Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks attaching to the body, it is important to use tick-bite avoidance techniques when visiting known tick areas. Spraying insect repellant containing DEET onto exposed skin can help. Wearing long pants tucked into boots and long sleeves can protect the skin. Clothing, children, and pets should be examined for ticks. Ticks can be removed gently with tweezers and saved in a jar for later identification. Bathing the skin and scalp and washing clothing upon returning home might prevent the bite and transmission of the disease.
Lyme arthritis can be defined as a painful, swollen joint, that causes a stiffness similar to osteoarthritis, and occurs most commonly in the late stages of Lyme disease, usually several months after the onset of the disease. About 60 percent of patients who are left untreated for Lyme disease in its early stages will develop Lyme arthritis.
Lyme arthritis occurs when the spirochete, the bacteria that causes the disease, invades the joints and causes inflammation to the tissue that lines the joints, If left untreated, this inflammatory response can cause the cartilage within the joints to become damaged.
Dealing with this pain while keeping up with the demands of a busy lifestyle can be difficult. Normal activities like taking a walk during a lunch break or carrying a briefcase can cause excruciating pain. There are ways to decrease arthritis pain and other joint ailments without using traditional medicines that may cause further health problems.
Exercise is a great way to loosen stiff joints. People with extreme cases of arthritis should first start with light stretching movements and slowly progress to other exercises. This does not have to be strenuous, but just enough to get the joints engaged and active.
Sometimes joint and arthritis pain can be so bad that exercise is simply not an option. This is when a natural supplement like Provailen could be taken. Provailen works internally to relieve inflammation caused by your autoimmune system. This is what is causing your arthritis; the autoimmune system is attacking your joints and by balancing this, Provailen stops the majority of arthritis symptoms quickly, naturally, and effectively.
Relief from joint pain can also come through the help of an occupational therapist. They will be able to assist you with daily living activities, and help you devise a plan to deal with your pain that may include accommodations in your workplace. If needed, the therapist may recommend that you wear a supportive orthotic device for a certain period of time. This helps to ensure that you maintain the active lifestyle that you want.
Lyme arthritis does not discriminate with age or race, or any other factor. Children, young adults and seniors can all be plagued with this debilitating disease. The best way to deal with this is to first be properly diagnosed, and then begin to do your research on treatments that will best fit your lifestyle. You may be prescribed traditional medicines, but there are other natural remedies available for you. By taking the time to understand this disease and research different treatment methods, you will be more prepared and empowered to continue a young, healthy, active lifestyle.
The term "chronic Lyme disease" or "post-Lyme disease syndrome" is often applied to several different sets of patients. One usage refers to people suffering from the symptoms of untreated and disseminated late-stage Lyme disease: arthritis, peripheral neuropathy and /or encephalomyelitis. The term is also applied to people who have had the disease in the past and some symptoms remain after antibiotic treatment, which is also called post-Lyme disease syndrome. A third and controversial use of the term applies to patients with nonspecific symptoms, such as fatigue, who show no objective evidence they have been infected with Lyme disease in the past, since the standard diagnostic tests for infection are negative.
Up to one third of Lyme disease patients who have completed a course of antibiotic treatment continue to have symptoms, such as severe fatigue, sleep disturbance, unconsciousness, and cognitive difficulties, with these symptoms being severe in about 2% of cases.
The symptoms may represent "for all intents and purposes" fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. A few doctors attribute these symptoms to persistent infection with Borrelia, or coinfections with other tick-borne infections, such as Ehrlichia and Babesia. Other doctors believe that the initial infection may cause an autoimmune reaction that continues to cause serious symptoms even after the bacteria have been eliminated by antibiotics.
An advocacy group called the International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) argues the persistence of B. burgdorferi may be responsible for manifestations of late Lyme disease symptoms.
Antibiotic treatment is the central pillar in the management of Lyme disease. However, in the late stages of borreliosis, symptoms may persist despite extensive and repeated antibiotic treatment. Although these chronic symptoms are possibly due to either autoimmunity or residual bacteria (see immunological studies below), no Borrelia DNA can usually be detected in the joints after antibiotic treatment, which suggests the arthritis may continue, even after the bacteria have been killed. Lyme arthritis that persists after antibiotic treatment may be treated with hydroxychloroquine or methotrexate. Corticosteroid injections into the affected joint are not recommended for any stage of Lyme arthritis.
Patients with chronic neuropathic pain responded well to gabapentin monotherapy with residual pain after intravenous ceftriaxone treatment in a pilot study. Some antibiotics may have a dual effect on Lyme disease, since minocycline and doxycycline have anti-inflammatory effects in addition to their antibiotic actions, including anti-inflammatory effects specific to the inflammation caused by Lyme disease. Indeed, minocycline is used in other neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and ALS.
