Health & Wellness Issues

7 Conditions That Don’t Need Pills

In the April 2008 issue of the Harvard Health Letter, researchers explained how in many cases, the non-pharmacological approach can accomplish as much, or more, than pills.

In more recent years, a growing body of studies are showing that simple lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise are effective remedies for many ills.

These seven common conditions can be managed without medication:

Arthritis
Cholesterol
Cognitive decline
Depression
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Osteoporosis

Sources: Live Science March 25, 2008

According to Dr Mercola, The seven common health conditions mentioned here can indeed be managed without resorting to pharmaceutical drugs, which oftentimes cause serious side effects and deteriorate your health even further.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Red Meat Causes Gout

Gout is a type of arthritis caused when uric acid in the blood forms tiny, sharp-edged crystals that irritate joints

A newly published 12-year study that sought to pinpoint the dietary causes of gout (a painful joint condition resulting from a build up of uric acid) reached some surprising conclusions: red meat causes gout, and so does seafood. But other foods long suspected of causing gout -- peas, beans, mushrooms and other vegetables -- were exonerated. This appears to be yet one more study supporting the ideas that red meat should be increasingly avoided while vegetables and edible plants should be increasingly consumed.

Personally, I don't eat red meat at all, but not just to avoid gout: red meat is associated with a variety of health problems. Even worse, there's the risk of mad cow disease and the absolutely horrifying treatment of animals by the ranching industry.

This news about red meat has implications for low-carb dieters, no doubt -- especially since seafood was also implicated. What can a follower of the Atkins diet eat for protein that's also healthy? The answer is a supergrain called quinoa: it's very high in protein and contains a complete protein (all eight amino acids).

Most People With Arthritis Don’t Get Enough Exercise

People with arthritis don’t exercise enough, and more than a third of adults with arthritis don’t exercise at all, according to a study in the May issue of American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
“People with arthritis are not meeting physical activity recommendations made at the federal level and by experts in the arthritis field,” said co-author Jennifer Hootman, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “That’s not good, because we know that being more active is beneficial for arthritis.”

While exercise has been shown to decrease their pain, delay disability and improve gait and function, people with arthritis are even more likely to be inactive than adults in the general population.

“These findings are not surprising,” said Kate Lorig, a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who was not involved with the study. “What’s important for people with arthritis to realize is that the most dangerous type of exercise is not to do any.”

Green tea found to ease inflammation, arthritis pain

Monday, December 31, 2007 by: David Gutierrez
A new study has found that a compound in green tea may help people with rheumatoid arthritis avoid inflammation and joint damage. The study, conducted by University of Michigan researchers, was presented April 29 at the Experimental Biology 2007 conference in Washington, D.C.

"Our research is a very promising step in the search for therapies for the joint destruction experienced by people who have rheumatoid arthritis," said Salah-uddin Ahmed, Ph.D., the study's lead researcher. According to the Arthritis Foundation, more than two million Americans have rheumatoid arthritis.

Ahmed and his co-workers isolated cells called synovial fibroblasts, which form a lining of tissue that surrounds the joints. In cases of rheumatoid arthritis, this lining becomes inflamed, resulting in chronic pain and long-term joint damage.

The researchers cultured synovial fibroblasts from rheumatoid arthritis patients and then exposed the cells to epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a naturally occurring compound in green tea. They found that EGCG blocked two potent molecules that cause the bone breakdown in rheumatoid arthritis-affected joints. Ahmed stated that the EGCG "significantly" blocked the harmful molecules. He and his co-workers observed that EGCG also blocked production prostaglandin E2, which causes joint inflammation.

Ahmed said that people might want to try drinking three or four 8-ounce cups of green tea per day. "Drink it continuously throughout the day," he said, to keep blood levels constant.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the article from Newstarget

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Foods to avoid for arthritis sufferers

As the song says, "You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone" -- and motor skills are no exception. Despite the ranking of the opposable thumb as one of the single most important evolutionary advantages of the human race, many people take the use of their hands for granted until something draws their attention to it, such as arthritis. Joseph B. Marion, author of "The Anti-Aging Manual", says that an estimated 41 million Americans suffer from arthritis.

Arthritis is actually a term covering over 100 rheumatic diseases; but basically, the affliction can be defined as an inflammation of the joints. According to http://www.rlrouse.com, the two most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis, which generally is caused by every day wear and tear on the foot or poor choices of shoe design, and rheumatoid arthritis, which occurs when the body's autoimmune system begins attacking its own cells, causing joint deterioration and deformation. Some researchers believe a bacterium or virus causes this body malfunction, and others believe that certain people are more genetically susceptible to the condition. This is not to say that some people are genetically predestined to get arthritis, only that some genetic traits put them at more risk.

Although the exact catalyst that causes the body's immune system to attack its own synovium is unknown, the website, http://solvearthritisnow.com, lists some of the common things that can worsen the symptoms. These include lectins, such as those found in lima beans, lentils, and nightshade vegetables, food allergies, especially sensitivity to wheat and dairy products, and chemical sensitivities, particularly smoking or second-hand smoke.

Arthritis is different from most afflictions in that it isn't always a chronic condition. In a few cases, arthritis will only cause noticeable discomfort during "flare-ups" which are often caused by changes in barometric pressure and cold weather. Rheumatoid arthritis usually attacks the joints of individuals between 20 and 60, but it has been known to plague some younger joints as well in a condition known as juvenile arthritis. After age 70, new instances of the disease seem to decline. The condition affects women three times more than men.

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