A Dose of Health

That’s a loaded question and I don’t have the answer.  All I have are theories.  Indulge me for a moment and explore the inner workings of my brain (it ain’t pretty so be prepared).

The Problem

We have already established in an earlier post that osteoarthritis is the degeneration of cartilage in the joints caused either by trauma or wear and tear.  As I mentioned earlier, I believe that regular chiropractic adjustments might slow down or prevent the onslaught of osteoarthritis.  I say this because I believe regular adjustments keeps everything lined up properly so the joints operate in a normal range of motion thus reducing abnormal rubbing and degeneration of the cartilage (assuming that the cartilage is not breaking down as a result of a chemical or genetic defect).

The Animals are Out of the Barn

My theory for how to prevent osteoarthritis may or may not be valid, but that doesn’t help anyone who is currently suffering with the condition.  After all the animals are out of the barn, why close the barn door?  Time to figure out how to fix the problem.

Repair the Underlying Condition

Ahh, but this is how my brain works.  If I were diagnosed with osteoarthritis, I would immediately go to my chiropractor to begin a program of regular chiropractic are to properly realign my body and keep it in proper alignment.   In the meanwhile I would eat, drink or pill pop any natural ingredient that purportedly helps to rebuild cartilage and reduce the pain of osteoarthritis.  I think it’s a one, two, three punch (repair, replenish and maintain)

Replenish with Food, Drink and Supplements

I’m a strong believer that the body is forgiving and can do much to repair itself, provided we give it the right nutritional building blocks.  In addition to a transition from eating salt, sugars, processed foods, trans fats , high fructose corn syrup (the list can go on ad nauseum), I would begin eating whole grains, plenty of fruits, veggies, lean meats, Omega 3’s etc.  There’s no need for me to list which foods are healthy and which are not.  If you’re old enough to read this, you know what you should do.

As far as drinking, I would drink plenty of water (1/2 my body weight in oucnes) and begin a fruits and veggie juicing regimen of at least two to three times a day.  I’ve found that juicing heals a variety of ails.  Since the body is already in a state of discomfort (extreme discomfort depending on how advanced the osteoarthritis), I would step up my juicing to more than once a day.

On the supplement front, I’d pop glucosamine and chondroitin.  However, before popping glucosamine and chondroitin, quite a bit of homework needs to be done (dosage, manufacturer, system reaction, etc).  According to the information gathered from the Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT)  study glucosamine/chondroitin works better than over the counter NSAIDs for individuals with moderate to severe pain.  It was less effective for individuals with minor pain. The European study Glucosamine Unum In Die Efficacy (GUIDE) study, found similar results.

The key ingredients in glucosamine are found in sea creature shells.  Therefore, be careful about taking it with shell fish allergies.  There is a synthetic alternative (so much for natural treatment for osteoarthritis).

Shed Weight

The solution to so many ailments is to get rid of the excess weight; less weight and pressure on the osteoarthritic joint means less pain.  According to a Swedish study, excess weight contributes to knee and hip osteoarthritis in men (I’m sure women don’t get away scot free in this area).  Imagine, how happy osteoarthritic knees would feel if you shed an additional 40 pounds of unnecessary weight.  Purportedly for every pound you gain you put three pounds of pressure on your knees. That additional pressure can affect healthy knees, never mind knees plagued with osteoarthritis.

Exercise

According to the WebMD website, folks with osteoarthritis should engage in exercises such as swimming, walking and biking.  Depending on the level of pain and severity of degeneration, it may be tough to exercise, but it is recommended. Range of motion and limbering exercise are also important.

Consult with a Rheumatologist

Now that we took a walk through my mind, take a walk through your doctor’s mind.  Find a Rheumatologist as they’re the folks who specialize in treating arthritis.  Hopefully, you can find one who understands your desire for treating the condition as holistically as possible.

Unnecessary Disclaimer

You have just taken a stroll through my brain.  It is in no way meant to be construed as professional medical advice. It’s just the way I might approach the condition if I were diagnosed with osteoarthritis.

Butter gets a bad rap, but in my book I’ll pick butter over margarine any day.

I used to buy into the ‘margarine is better than butter’ hype, but no more.  Trans fat free and low in cholesterol spreads such as Promise and I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter, Country Crock and a host of others have a long list of ingredients.  Have you ever checked it out?

Here’s the list for Smart Balance Buttery Spread:

Ingredients

NATURAL OIL BLEND (PALM FRUIT, SOYBEAN, CANOLA, AND OLIVE OILS), WATER, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SALT, WHEY (FROM MILK), VEGETABLE MONOGLYCERIDES AND SORBITAN ESTER OF FATTY ACIDS (EMULSIFIERS), SOYBEAN LECITHIN, POTASSIUM SORBATE, LACTIC ACID (TO PROTECT FRESHNESS), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN B6, VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN D, VITAMIN E (DL-?-TOCOPHEROL ACETATE), BETA-CAROTENE COLOR

You can find this listing on the Smart Balance website.

Butter:

Now, I’ll go to my refrigerator and pull out a stick of butter and read the ingredients as follows:

Cream, Salt, Milk

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take the stuff I can pronounce over what I can’t any day.

Not only does butter taste better and makes things it interacts with taste better, but the ingredients are common every day ingredients.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a spare jar of VEGETABLE MONOGLYCERIDES AND SORBITAN ESTER OF FATTY ACIDS sitting around on my pantry shelf.

The Healthy Goal

I know, I know, butter is full of saturated fats and its ‘bad’ for us.  Well, since the goal is to make healthy choices one choice at a time, if given the option between margarine and butter, I choose butter (olive oil would be better, but that option is not on the table at this time).

So, if eating butter means that I have to make one extra lap around the block or vacuum with a little more vigor, so be it.  I’d rather have cream, salt and milk in my system than the host of ingredients that are listed on the margarine label.

Additional Reading

While doing a little research on butter, I came across this document entitled Ingredients for Margarines and Spreads.  Not quite sure what it all means, but I know after skimming through the document, I’m even more adamant about choosing butter over margarine.

My daughter decided that she wanted to have a sleep over birthday party. It was a last minute thing so the preparations were done quickly. We decorated downstairs, came up with a theme and invitations went out the week of the party (it really was a last minute thing).

I ordered pizza and picked up a cake and ice cream from the local store.

It wasn’t until after the party was over that I happened to read the ingredients in the cake that I realized that I was killing my daughter and her guests. I almost called each of the parents to have them take their daughters to the local hospital to have their stomachs pumped, but I realized that was overkill.

Here are the first three ingredients listed on the cake container:

• Sugar
• Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
• Enriched Wheat Flour (it wouldn’t need enriching if the manufacturers used whole grain flour instead)

YIKES! The total trans fat grams per serving: 3 grams. That’s right, 3 grams of trans fat per serving. The 10” round white cake was supposed to squeeze out 26 servings (according to the nutrition label).. That means that each piece of cake should have been cut .38 of an inch thick to get away with consuming only 3 grams of trans fat (ONLY 3 Grams!) per serving.

I probably should have given the girls a plastic bag to eat as it had the same nutritional value as the cake.

Lesson learned, no more last minute parties. It’s detrimental to the health.