Arthritis and gout - kissing cousins (opinion)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012 by: Hesh Goldstein
Tags: arthritis, gout, causes

(NaturalNews) Arthritis and gout are so closely related, it's ridiculous. For the most part, each arises from dietary choices where pleasing the senses, through the absurd and continual ingestion of anything and everything that had a face and a mother, and alcohol, takes precedence over intelligence.

Basically, there are two types of arthritis - osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the local or generalized degeneration of the joint inflammation of the bony "lips and spurs" at the edges of the joints. The onset is gradual, with progressive joint enlargement, which may involve single or multiple joints, although not migrating from joint to joint.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease involving the proteins of the muscle and blood (albumin), which involve the lubricating fluid secreted by the membranes of the joint cavities, tendon sheaths, etc., surrounding the joint or joints. Localized wasting away (atrophy) of the muscle and bone are common. The onset is abrupt, the synovial membrane thickens, there is joint swelling with redness and tenderness, symmetrical joint involvement is common, and RA can migrate from joint to joint.

The contributing factors of OA and RA include sulfur deficiency, poor eliminations, enzyme deficiency, poor circulation, toxemia, excess flesh and soda in the diet, raw vegetable deficiency, excess acid-forming foods, excess irritants like coffee, tea, salt, spices and alcohol, vitamin and mineral deficiencies - excess copper coming from copper pipes, which lower iron, gluten intolerance, nightshade food (tomato, potato, eggplant, peppers, tobacco) intolerance, glandular imbalances stemming from low thyroid or adrenals - stress, overly refined diet and corticosteroids -, psychological factors involving long-held resentments, worry, envy, fear, anxiety, depression and/or deep shock, obesity, lack of exercise, and chronic fatigue, for openers.

Of all the diseases that affect humanity, arthritis, in its multitude of forms, is one of the most debilitating and widespread.

Orthodox treatments have proven unsatisfactory and completely unable to cure these disorders.

The reason is simple: due to the complex science of causes and origins (etiology) and unconstitutional nature of most forms of arthritis, only individualized therapy has any hope of removing the cause.
There is no one quick and easy cure, no magic pill (although sulfur will reduce and alleviate the pain naturally), and no magic diets suited for all.

With arthritis, as with most degenerative diseases, there are as many different approaches as there are people suffering from the disease, and each one is unique.

Only when each of the causative factors is recognized and corrected can true healing take place. It always involves lifestyle changes and almost never is the improvement rapid.

What this means is that the arthritis sufferer who can ever hope for real improvement must have a real desire for health and the persistence and patience to obtain it at all cost. The rewards, however, are well worth the effort. The dream of a body free of pain can only be fully understood by one who lives day and night with severe arthritis.

As to the orthodox approach to arthritis, never has there been anyone who received drug therapy who did not become progressively worse. This is the ramification of simply treating a symptom. While aspirin, which is advised in most cases of painful OA or RA, does help relieve immediate pain, it certainly does not effect a cure.

In addition to its other side effects, as well as reactivating or causing ulcers, aspirin lowers vitamin C levels, which are essential in the health of connective tissue, useful as a detoxifying agent, and needed for proper adrenal function. Aspirin depletes the adrenal glands, and in toxic doses will cause a salicylic acid condition (aspirin is prepared from salicin or phenol, causing an increase in uric acid levels, which is a cause of gout), leading to paralysis of the respiratory center as well as central blood vessel paralysis.

If taken over a long period of time, aspirin can mimic other diseases such as Meniere's syndrome and cause severe respiratory distress and mental confusion. Most health authorities now agree that if the present FDA regulations existed when aspirin was first produced, it would now be a prescription drug only.

Self-induced aspirin toxicity is very common. Although no physician, in his right mind (which eliminates most), would ever prescribe aspirin in doses that could become toxic, the fact is that people often take more aspirin than suggested.
This is probably the case with the elderly who suffer from poor memory and cannot honestly remember if they took their medication three or thirteen times in a day. For many with pain, anything that gives some relief three times a day might be better six to ten times a day.

Cortisone is another prescribed drug for arthritis, especially for RA. Compared to cortisone, aspirin is an essential vitamin!

Cortisone has to be one of the most deceptive and dangerous drugs ever produced. Its well-known anti-inflammatory effects hide its insidious side effects.

Cortisone depresses the immunological system so dramatically that even minor infections can become life threatening; it directly depresses the function of the adrenal gland, the gland that is so often the cause of the disorder in the first place.
Cortisone causes calcium depletion, resulting in osteoporosis, another major cause of arthritis. It also aggravates peptic ulcers and in overdose will induce symptoms of obesity, muscle wasting and weakness, poor wound healing, bruising, high blood pressure, diabetes, psychiatric disturbance with balding, excess body hair, and menstrual disorders in women. In short, cortisone sucks!

The common medical opinion that "diet has nothing to do with arthritis", and that "you will have to live with it", are simply not acceptable nor are they true. Only when the individualized concept of disease causation is understood will the true cause and cure of arthritis at long last be recognized.

Diet, as with many other degenerative or autoimmune disorders, stands out as the major detrimental influence. Most sufferers of OA, RA, and gout have dietary patterns that are clearly a problem.

Heavy flesh consumption leads the pack. Flesh contains anywhere from 20 to 50 times more phosphorus than calcium. The phosphorus then stimulates the parathyroid glands, responsible for the mobilization of leaching the calcium from the bones. This extra calcium is then deposited around the joints, explaining the common finding in arthritis of less dense bones with calcium buildup around the joint connections.

This one factor alone may be the reason why vegetarians and especially vegans have less of an incidence of OA, RA, or gout than those that eat anything that had a face and a mother. A good vegetarian diet will have a much better phosphorus-to-calcium ratio.
Another source of excess phosphorus in the diet is soda. Do an experiment - fill up a glass with Coke or Pepsi, put nail in it, and leave it alone for a about a week. Then look at the nail, or should I say, what's left of it. This is what happens to your bones, joints and organs.

Another aspect of concern in the average diet is an excess of refined carbohydrates and sweets. Not only are these foods robbed of many of their naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, the relative ratios of many minerals are completely altered.

Not only are the absolute values of vitamins and minerals important to human health, but also their ratios and interactions. Vitamin E, magnesium, vitamin B complex, and essential fibers are removed by the refining of whole grains.

These are all very important in the prevention and cure of many degenerative conditions, arthritis and gout included.
Refined carbohydrates, especially sugar, contribute to a generalized acid condition in the body, especially when accompanied by a diet low in fresh vegetables.

Fresh vegetables are a protective factor against arthritic changes, whereas processed vegetables can actually aggravate the condition. Once again, the essential mineral balances are upset in the processing.

One example is the sodium and potassium ratio. Fresh vegetables usually have a higher potassium-to-sodium ration then when canned. The amount of salt in the diet has increased dramatically over the past 100 years.

Coffee is another problem. In fact, so many facets of the average arthritis's diet are negative health factors that all of them cannot be mentioned here. What is needed to eliminate any possible health risks is a complete individual dietary appraisal. Then there's the question of food allergy that needs to be investigated, especially in RA.

Remember, OA, RA, and gout are degenerative disorders and possibly autoimmune diseases that have taken years to develop. If you are thinking subtle changes, do not waste your time. Like I said in the beginning, it will require radical lifestyle changes.

The fastest results will come from raw vegetable juice fasting. Carrot, celery juice with an apple thrown in to sweeten it up is great. Potassium broth - one quarter inch of the outer peelings, including the skin, of potatoes, fresh parsley, unpeeled carrots, beet greens, onions, garlic, and any other organically grown green vegetable, simmered in a large pot of water for 30 to 40 minutes, strained and drunk, discarding the veggies, and storing the excess in a glass jar and refrigerate for up to 2 days - is excellent as well. Also drinking wheatgrass juice is excellent as is alfalfa mint tea and watercress, celery and parsley juice.

This fast can go from 7 to 21 days.

Next is the raw, non-citrus diet lasting two to four weeks and comprised of raw green vegetables with NO animal proteins whatsoever. All stimulants such as coffee, tea, alcohol, nicotine, or sweets are forbidden. The best veggies and grains to eat are all green vegetables, seaweeds, watercress, parsley, celery, okra, carrots, Spirulina, wheatgrass, avocado, bananas, pecans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, alfalfa sprouts, quinoa, millet,, garlic and onions.
And above all, stay away from citrus, dairy, wheat, all flesh, refined carbohydrates, alcohol, salt, fried foods, drinking with your meals, and the nightshade veggies. Some people have a strong adverse reaction to the nightshade veggies, so better to be safe, not sorry.

For supplements, vitamins A, B complex, C, E, calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, selenium, and zinc are beneficial. And see a Naturopath not an MD.

Gout follows the same pattern except that it arises from ingesting great quantities of flesh, along with alcohol. Again, high uric acid in the body plays a strong hand with gout as does excessive amounts of refined carbohydrates and sugar.
One with gout needs to avoid purine diets. Purine equals flesh. Following the same regimen as OA and RA will bring results.

Remember, you took your whole life to get here, so do not expect a reversal overnight.

Aloha!

About the author:
I have been doing a weekly radio show in Honolulu since 1981 called "Health Talk". In 2007 I was "forced" to get a Masters degree in Nutrition because of all the doctors that would call in asking for my credentials. They do not call in anymore. Going to www.healthtalkhawaii.com enables you, among other things, to listen to the shows. I am an activist. In addition to espousing an organic vegan diet for optimum health, I am strongly opposed to GMOs, vaccines, processed foods, MSG, aspartame, fluoridation and everything else that the pimps (Big Pharma, Monsanto and the large food companies) and the hookers (the doctors, the government agencies, the public health officials, and the mainstream media) thrust upon us, the tricks.
After being vaccinated with the DTP vaccine as a child I developed asthma. After taking the organic sulfur crystals (they are harvested from the pine trees in Louisiana) in November of 2008 for 10 days my asthma reversed and has not come back over 4 years later, 18 cases, so far, of autism have been reversed, as has cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, osteoarthritis, joint pain, astigmatism, gum disease, increased sexual activity, heavy metal and radiation elimination, parasite elimination, free radicals elimination, faster athletic recovery time, increased blood circulation, reduced inflammation, resistance to getting the flu, reduction of wrinkles, allergy reduction, reduced PMS and monthly period pain, nausea, migraines and so much more. And it's only possible because of the oxygen it releases that floods the cells of the body. The sulfur, as proven by the University of Southampton in England, enables the body to produce vitamin B12 and the essential amino acids. You can find out more about this incredible nutrient also on my website - www.healthtalkhawaii.com -.
My book, "a Sane Diet For An Insane World", has been published. It can be viewed at
www.asanediet.com.