Osteo-Arthritis
We know mainly two forms of arthritis- osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. This is about osteoarthritis.
What exactly is it?
Arthritis is an inflammatory deterioration in the joints, mostly in the knees or hip joints. The cartilage that protects the bony ends at the joint are slowly being worn down, the joint becomes narrower and eventually the cartilage disappears altogether. You'll end up with a grinding of bone on bone. This is very painful, you will have difficulties walking and bending your legs properly and you can even hear the clicking and cracking inside the joint.
When this condition has got to a certain point, all you can do is to replace the joint with one made from titanium or porcelain. But that means major surgery and potentially limitations for sport/movement etc permanently. In some cases these joint prothesis would need to be replaced again... so avoiding them or pushing it out as far as possible is a good idea.
What are the causes?
The general medical consensus is that it's caused by overuse of the joints. However, not everyone will get arthritis and according to some research tribal people that live away from modern industrial life-style don't seem to get arthritis. We believe your nutrition plays a big part in getting or not getting arthritis, specifically wheat and sugar are contributors.
Can I do something and if so what?
Yes, you can certainly do something to avoid getting a joint replacement, or at least push it out a few more years into the future.
Regular Massages help to relax the muscles and surrounding tissues, helping with pain and flexibility from a muscular point of view.
Then definitely eliminate wheat and sugar from your diet and (if overweight) reduce weight, to take some pressure off your
joints. Eat very nutritious food with mostly non-starch vegetables, some oily fish to get plenty of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. You can also supplement your food with anti-inflammatory spices such as turmeric, cinnamon, coriander seeds, cumin and nut meg (small amount daily improve joint circulation and reduce pain) and add rose hip to an oatmeal breakfast (rose hip is an anti-inflammatory rocket), or try rose hip tea.
It is also a good idea to incorporate intermittent fasting (eating only in a window of 8hrs and then fast for 16 hrs)- this will help rest the intestines which will help the healing process by strengthening the immune system and it will help with losing weight.
Also it's very important to do moderate regular exercise with continuous movement, such as gentle cycling or water aerobics.