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Arthritis
There
are things you can do to help ease pain and even slow arthritis. The
most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis, which is caused by wear and
tear on the protective material - cartilage, between bone joints. When cartilage
wears away, bone grinds against bone, causing pain, stiffness and even
inflammation in the back, hips, knees, shoulders, feet and/or
fingers.
Another painful form of arthritis is rheumatoid
arthritis. The immune system begins attacking the body instead of protecting it.
These attacks effect the body's membranes that line the joints. Rheumatoid
arthritis is the type of arthritis most affected by what you eat or don't
eat.
Nutritional
Triggers
Since rheumatoid arthritis is
related to the body's immune system, and since the body's immune system is
effected by what you eat, certain foods may have an impact on how you feel.
Some people may have food allergies or food intolerances
that cause their
arthritis symptoms to increase. Common food allergies or intolerances may include wheat, dairy,
tomatoes, eggs, citrus, and corn. One way to learn if these foods cause your
symptoms to worsen is to keep track of what you eat and how you feel through a
Symptoms Diary.
You can order a Symptoms Diary on our
Products Page, or create your own version. Just be sure and record what you ate
and how you felt. If you start noticing a pattern, then you may need to change
your diet to avoid that food completely.
Meats
You may benefit from avoiding or reducing your consumption
of meat. The animal proteins found
in meat may impact rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. People in countries that eat a
mostly vegetarian diet have significantly fewer instances of rheumatoid
arthritis than cultures that eat a greater percentage of meat.
Fats
Studies have shown that controlling the amount and types of
fat you eat can also play a role in arthritis. Most nutritional guides will tell
you to avoid diets high in saturated fats. A diet low in saturated fats reduces
production of hormone-like prostaglandins that may contribute to inflammation.
Omega-3 Fatty
Acids
Although you should cut back on
saturated fats, you do need Omega-3 fatty acids. These are the good kinds of
fats you hear about in cold-water fish like white tuna, sole, halibut, pollock,
and salmon.
You can take Omega-3 supplements, like the ones offered
in the Products Page, or you can just add more fish to your diet. Experts
recommend you need at least three servings of fish per week to get the most
benefit. You can also increase your intake of Omega-3 by eating pumpkin seeds,
walnuts, almonds, pecans, and ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil.
Ginger
Ginger has been shown to help people with osteoarthritis and
rheumatoid arthritis. It helps reduce prostaglandins that cause inflammation and
the resulting swelling and aches. You can brew your own ginger tea by adding
three or four quarter-sized pieces of fresh ginger to a cup of boiling water.
Let it steep for three minutes, and then enjoy.
You can also purchase ginger
supplements from our Products Page. A nice little added benefit of ginger is
that it helps significantly with nausea that so often accompanies pain. It's
also good for stomach upsets and motion sickness.
Vitamins
Taking certain vitamins can help in the battle against
arthritis. Researches are looking in particular at Vitamin C as a possible
relief for some of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. They have found that
taking at least 120 milligrams (which is twice the daily recommended allowance)
may protect your joints from free radicals which can cause
inflammation.
Vitamin C is offered on the Products Page, or you can
just increase the amount in your diet by eating more fruits like oranges,
grapefruits, strawberries, guava, cantaloupe, and cranberry juice. Vegetables can also be a
great source of Vitamin C, including broccoli, peppers, potatoes, and
tomatoes.
In addition to nutrition and food choices, you can also
help relieve arthritis pain with pain relief products like those offered on our Products Page.
Arthritis sufferers may also benefit significantly from following the guidelines
in our Exercise, Rest, and Stress Reduction recommendations.
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Burns
& Wounds
In order to heal wounds and
burns, your skin needs nutrients, like protein; minerals, like Zinc; and
vitamins, like Vitamin C.
Nutrients:
Only 10 percent
of the protein in your body goes to your skin. The rest is used for other
purposes, like energy. When you have a burn or wound, you need to take in more
protein than usual to promote your skin's healing. The larger the wound, the
more protein you need.
You can get the extra protein you need from meat, tofu,
nuts, beans, fish and grains. You can also increase the amount of protein you
intake through protein enriched bars and supplements, like those offered on our
Products Page.
Minerals:
Zinc is one of the minerals that help our bodies repair
themselves and grow new tissue. Oysters and wheat germ both have good amounts of
Zinc. To get the maximum absorption of Zinc, make sure you also get plenty of
Vitamin C. It will help your body absorb Zinc. You can order Zinc supplements on
our Products Page.
Vitamins:
Vitamin C is a very helpful antioxidant and immune system
booster that also helps promote healing of wounds and burns. Vitamin C helps
produce connective tissue, and forms and repairs red blood cells, bones, and
tissue. It also assists in your absorption of Zinc. You can take Vitamin C
supplements like those offered on our Products Page, and you can increase the
amount of Vitamin C in your diet by eating oranges, broccoli, strawberries,
cantaloupes, tomatoes, and peppers.
Some health care professionals
also recommend honey to help burns and wounds. You can
take the honey orally, by using it on foods you eat
like oatmeal or in tea. And you can also apply honey
directly to a wound. Honey should not be given to children
under the age of one however, because of potentially
serious intestinal disturbances.
Topical products have also helped many people with the
pain associated with burns and wounds. Look for topical products that contain healing aloe, oleic acid which acts as a local
anti-inflammatory on dermal tissue, and herbal concentrates containing MSM.
These types of products are available on our Products Page.
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Carpal Tunnel
Pain
Carpal Tunnel Pain is usually
caused by inflammation of the nerves in the wrist. This inflammation occurs when
you repeat the same types of motion - over and over. Typing or sewing are two
common types of this repetitive motion.
One way to reduce the pain is to discontinue the
repetitive motions. If that's not a viable option, you can treat the pain with
topical pain relief products like those offered on our Products Page, and take extra
nutrients like antioxidants to help reduce the inflammation.
The antioxidants Vitamin C and Vitamin E help reduce
prostaglandins in your body that contribute to inflammation. One way to
get these anti-inflammatory effects is by taking ground flaxseed or flaxseed
oil. These products are also available on our Products Page.
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Earaches
Food
allergies are now recognized as a likely suspect in causing recurring earaches,
especially in children. Common food allergens include peanuts, shellfish, dairy,
wheat, and/or nightshade plants like tomatoes or eggplant. It may be helpful to
test whether or not these items cause flare-ups by using a Symptoms Diary. A Symptoms Diary is offered on our Products Page, or you can create your own. If you notice
a pattern between the foods eaten and earache flare-ups, you may need to
consider eliminating the offending foods.
Studies have shown garlic to be highly effective against
stubborn ear infections and otomycosis - swimmer's ear. Doctors and scientists
are studying garlic as a way to combat bacteria and drug resistant
germs.
You can take garlic supplements, like the ones offered on
our Products Page, or by adding more garlic to your diet. You can eat it raw or
lightly cooked - just don't overcook it or you'll kill off some of its benefits.
Another great way to help ease of the pain of earaches is by
applying topical pain relief products on the skin surrounding
the ear. These type of products are available on our Products
Page.
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Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a complicated
condition with as yet unknown causes or cures. However, if you suffer from
fibromyalgia, you may find many of our Arthritis and Muscle Pain strategies
helpful.
Some experts feel fibromyalgia flare-ups are related to
food allergies or intolerances, so we encourage you to keep a Symptoms Diary like the one offered on
our Products Page. You may also benefit from topical relief products containing MSM, herbal concentrates, and
whole-leaf aloe which help penetrate the skin and deliver pain relief. Linoleic acid helps ease joint pain, and oleic acid has a local
anti-inflammatory effect on dermal tissues.
Health Care professionals also recommend a comprehensive
treatment approach, so please review our sections on Exercise, Relaxation,
and Rest. While Fibromyalgia is a relatively newly-diagnosed
condition, several good books contain information you may find helpful. Those
publications are available through our Amazon.com links on the Products
Page.
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Hand,
Hip, Knee, Lower Back, and Shoulder Pain
Hand, Hip, Knee, Lower Back
and Shoulder Pain can be caused by a variety of illnesses,
injuries and conditions. Please see our sections on
Arthritis, Burns and Wounds, Fibromyalgia, and/or Muscle
Pain if applicable.
If your hand, hip, knee, lower
back and/or shoulder pain originates from another root
cause, you may still have other options - other choices,
on how to reduce the pain.
Applying topical pain-relief
product can
help many sufferers reduce or eliminate pain surrounding
joints, bones, tendons, and muscles. These products
are available on our Products
Page.
Another option in reducing
pain is to promote healing with supplements. Vitamin C helps
form red blood cells, bones, and
connective tissue. You can take Vitamin C
supplements like those offered on our Products Page, and you can increase the
amount of Vitamin C in your diet by eating oranges, broccoli, strawberries,
cantaloupes, and peppers.
You may also benefit from reviewing our sections on
Nutrition, Exercise, Stress Reduction, and Rest.
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Headache & Migraine
Pain
If you suffer from frequent
headaches and/or migraines, you may benefit from using a Symptoms Diary
to help you identify whether certain foods trigger your attacks. Common
culprits can include chocolate, cheese, MSG (Monosodium Glutamate), preserved
meats like hot dogs or luncheon meats, and red wine.
The Symptoms Diary, offered on our Products
Page, helps you identify possible trigger foods in relation to the onset of your
pain. If you see a pattern develop between specific foods and your attacks, you
may benefit from eliminiting that particular food from your diet.
In addition to watching certain foods, you can also
take control of your headache and migraine pain by supplementing with certain
minerals. Calcium, Iron, and Magnesium can help ease or even prevent tension and
migraine headaches. You can order these supplements on our Products Page, and
you can also get them from foods. Dairy products like yogurt and milk are good
sources of Calcium. Iron can be found in green-leafy vegetables, potatoes and
red meat. And foods that contain Magnesium include nuts, tofu, seeds, green-leafy
vegetables and cereals.
Topical pain-relief products like those offered on our Products Page can also be very helpful in easing
headache and migraine pain. You may also benefit from reviewing our sections on
Nutrition, Exercise, Relaxation, and Rest.
Many health care professionals
also recommend Ginger to help fight headache and migraine
pain. Ginger helps block prostaglandins that cause inflammation
in blood vessels in the neck and brain. You can consume
more ginger by using it in foods you prepare, like stir
frys, or by drinking it as tea. Brew your own ginger tea by adding
three or four quarter-sized pieces of fresh ginger to a cup of boiling water.
and let it steep for three minutes.
You can also purchase ginger
supplements from our Products Page.
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Muscle Pain &
Soreness
The muscles
in your body move constantly - contracting and relaxing.
Because they are so active, they need constant nourishment,
especially minerals, to function correctly. Minerals
like Magnesium, Potassium, and Calcium all play a role
in helping your muscles contract and relax.
You can get Magnesium from
foods like spinach or tofu, and you also find Magnesium
supplements on our Products Page.
Common sources of Potassium
include bananas and potatoes. Potassium is also offered
on our Products Page.
Calcium is found in
dairy products like cheese, yogurt and milk, and is
now added in several orange juice brands. You may also
benefit from the Calcium supplements included on our
Products Page.
In addition to key minerals,
your muscles also need a lot of water to function properly.
Water helps regulate electrolytes your muscles need,
especially during exercise. Also please review our sections
on Exercise because strength, mobility, and fitness
can be instrumental in reducing chronic pain.
Another good way to deal with
muscle soreness and pain is by increasing your consumption
of antioxidants. Not only are antioxidants
helpful in the fight against cancers and heart disease, they are also effective
with muscle soreness and pain. Vitamin E is particularly helpful.
You can
purchase Vitamin E supplement products on our Products Page, and you can also
increase your intake by eating almonds, wheat germ, pumpkin and sunflower seeds,
leafy green vegetables and a variety of nuts. The only drawback to getting
enough Vitamin E through the foods you eat is that the best food sources are
also high in fats, like sunflower and safflower oils, margarine, and salad
dressings.
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Shingles
Shingles
is caused by a re-activation of the same virus that produces chicken pox. In
fact, you can only get Shingles if you previously had chicken pox. The pain
associated with shingles can occur in different stages. You may experience pain
before the shingles appear as welts or scabs. You may experience pain while the
welts or scabs are present, and you may experience pain even after the welts or
scabs disappear.
If you suspect you are experiencing an attack of
shingles, see your doctor or health care provider immediately, since early
detection and diagnosis offer the best chance of combating the pain head-on with
prescription drugs.
If you have already been diagnosed and tried prescription
drugs, but still suffer from shingle pain, there are remedies you can try. Many
adults have found relief through topical pain relief products like those offered on our
Products Page. Topical treatments go directly to
the site of pain and can help calm aggravated nerve endings.
Experts believe stress reduction techniques may prove
beneficial in managing the chronic pain caused by Shingles. These techniques
include Meditation, Deep Breathing, Muscle Relaxation, and Exercise. Please
visit our Products Page for the Amazon.com link to helpful publications on these
treatments.
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Toothaches
A very
common household drink - tea, can help with toothaches. Tea is made up of lots
of different polyphenals that serve as very good antioxidants.
Teas also have tannin and naturally occurring fluorides,
which help fight tooth decay. In addition to tannin, teas contain catechin,
caffeine, and tocopherol that help to increase tooth enamel's
acid-resistance.
To get the most benefit from tea, steep it for three
minutes to release these helpful compounds. Almost every kind of tea - green,
black, hot or iced, can help. Any tea, even decaffeinated, may be beneficial.
In addition to teas, another effective way to deal with
toothache pain is to apply topical pain relief products on the outside of the mouth and jaw where you experience pain. These
products are available on our Products Page.
Certain Vitamins and minerals
also do a lot to help maintain healthy teeth and gums.
Calcium, like in dairy products, helps your teeth and
the bones that support them. You can increase your Calcium
through dairy products and by taking supplements, like
those offered through our Products Page.
You may also want to get take
extra Vitamin C and Vitamin A to help maintain healthy gums and teeth. Both
of these types of Vitamins are available on our Products Page.
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