Originally published April 27 2011
(Part I) Overcome arthritis naturally
by Richard Stossel
(NaturalNews) Arthritis is a loosely used term that encompasses over 100 different conditions. It is a disease characterized by inflammation of the joints, surrounding tendons, ligaments and cartilage. The disease causes swelling of the joints, stiffness, and pain that can range from slight to crippling. The primary keys for treatment and prevention are proper diet, nutrition, detoxification and stress reduction.
Physical, mental and environmental factors contribute to arthritis, many of which are not easily detectable or traceable to the actual site of the disease itself. For this reason western medicine is woefully ineffective at treating the real causes of this disease since they do not view disease from a systemic point of view.
There are a variety of arthritic conditions, the three most common ones being Rheumatoid, Gout and Osteoarthritis. Of the three, osteoarthritis is by far the most prevalent affecting an estimated 20 million Americans and is three times more prevalent in women than in men over the age of 45.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a breakdown of cartilage. Cartilage is a smooth, gelatinous tissue that helps to protect the ends of the bones at each joint from rubbing together. Without this protective cushioning, the ends of the bones rub causing light to severe pain. Over time the ends of the bones become harder forming spurs and this unnatural hardening of the bones can lead to severe pain, inflammation and fractures.
Arthritis is caused by a wide number of factors including injuries, age, toxins, and microbes, hormonal and even genetic. Other causal factors including environmental, allergen and even dental have been identified as both causes and triggers for the disease. Hormonal factors are seen as the cause in post menopausal women, who make up a large percentage of those afflicted with OA
Under normal healthy conditions, old or damaged cartilage is replaced by new cartilage created by Chondrocytes, which are specialized cells found in cartilage. Chondrocytes are responsible for the production of cartilage known as collagen and proteoglycans. As with all cells in the body, the quality of the replacement cells is dependant on the quality, type and amounts of raw materials (vitamins, minerals, amino acids and GAG [glycosaminoglycans]) available to the Chondrocytes at the time of manufacture.
Collagen is a structural protein that acts like the scaffolding of the body. It has a quality to it similar to that of an elastic band and is both strong and resilient. It is a major part of bones and tissue and helps to literally hold the body together and give it its shape. Collagen is a triple helix molecule and is thus very strong. However when its molecular component and shape is compromised due to age, free radical production and poor nutrition, the triple helix shape begins to unwind. This leads to skin wrinkles and causes the body to become more prone to fractures, sprains and eventually arthritis.
Because the presence of high quality raw materials in their proper amounts are critical for the body to properly regenerate, diet, nutrition and overall lifestyle plays a major part in both preventing and helping to reverse the ravages of this painful condition.
Stress can also be a major factor in the eventual development of arthritis. Stress can greatly disrupt hormonal balance and can interfere with the production of progesterone and thyroid hormones leading to an increase in menopausal problems. Menopause is a time when a great many women develop OA. While OA is generally considered to be an age related disease affecting nearly everyone over the age of 60, there is no doubt that lifestyle factors are increasingly being seen as major cause of the disease.
Sources;
"The Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing" by Daniel Reid
"Alternative Medicine The Definitive Guide" 2nd ed. By Burton Goldberg
"Chinese Natural Cures" by Henry Lu
About the author
Richard is a network engineer and longtime practitioner of Chinese martial arts, medicine and chi-gung for over twenty six years. Having learned many Chinese health and healing arts from old world gung-fu and healing masters and practitioners, he has helped many people to overcome their health issues and achieve their fitness goals. Through diligent study and experience he has taken this knowledge even further over the years including reading scores of books on Chinese medicine, health, chi theory, science, physics, nutrition, supplements, meditation, martial arts, and many other subjects. Utilizing the web, health and fitness videos, newsletters, articles, teachings and lectures, Rich is passionate about spreading the true knowledge of health, healing, fitness and spiritual truths. I'm proud to be writing articles for NaturalNews.com You can read many articles, hear audio interviews, and learn more about the highly praised Chinese Health and Fitness video by visiting Chinese Health and Fitness.com
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