| Helping Osteoarthritis (Part 1)
I regularly find myself buried in scientific research always looking to improve both my products and the advice I give. Ultimately it is the real benefits people get that is important. If the best research cannot be translated into health benefits then it is of no value.
One of the main differences between orthodox medicine and nutritional medicine is that, for good reasons, medical treatment is generally limited to those medications that are registered treatments using drugs that have gone through many years on testing.
In nutritional medicine we first gain an understanding of the disease processes. This unusually starts with both the causes and faulty processes of the disease. For example, with osteoarthritis we look at the disease processes that actually cause cartilage loss. In most cases these are the processes that either damage or trigger the death of specialised cells called chondrocytes that maintain cartilage.
We then identify natural compounds that help. With osteoarthritis this means adding compounds most importantly quality chondroitin at 800+mg daily with glucosamine to impact the actual disease processes. Chondroitin is so effective that it is now available on prescription in Europe. Chondroitin sulphate is by far the most important compound. Unfortunately this is either omitted or in very small amounts in most joint products. I suspect that this is most likely because good chondroitin is very expensive. These are all in Bettaflex.
Once we have helped correct faulty disease processes we then focus on reducing inflammation, the cause of much of the pain and mobility loss. We identify dietary changes and supplements that can help reduce inflammation within the joint capsule by adding curcumin from turmeric and Omega 3 from fish oils.
The outcome of improving joint function and reducing inflammation is less pain and increased mobility. I spoke with a client I have been helping for six months with knee arthritis. I put him on my nutritional medicine knee osteoarthritis programme and he reported that his knees are less painful, have greater flexibility and do not click as much.
Of course I am delighted for him to be feeling better, but this comes as no surprise as this is a typical response for those I help with knee arthritis. The key to any nutritional therapy is to work to a personalised programme with regular reviews.
John Arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, Adv.Dip.Nut.Med.) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health. If you have questions or need help you can contact John 0800 423559. You can email John at john@abundant.co.nz.
Please note that the health advice given through this column is for general educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any health problem. © John Arts 2021 |
