GOT Arthritis?

I read something on this issue last week and haven't had time to get it up on Natural Health News or get my comments posted either.

What is of interest to me is the high percentage of people reporting increases in the signs and symptoms of arthritis, 22%.


In the early 90s a rise in arthritis was being reported too.  Back then the concerns were included in the reporting.


Some of the concerns about 20 years ago included water fluoridation; lack of exercise; poor diet and poor nutrition; not eating meat, move to use of PUFAs (polyunsaturated oils); continuing focus on low fat and non fat diet schemes; over use of artificial sweeteners; reliance on drugs that offered more side effects, even death, than relief; over use of NSAIDS leaving many with serious side effects and in some cases kidney and liver failure or death.

I am sure I am leaving some things out, but I do not want to exclude this important item:

As more and more processed and convenience type food, microwave cooking, and anti-nutrition methods began to take over modern food preparation, making broth fell by the wayside.  Making broth from bones is a very easy process and the end product is filled with nutrients that protect joint function.

Eating meat is also fallen by the wayside, and because of this, people take in less natural CLA, cetyl myristoleate, and health promoting saturated fat.  


Changes in this pattern also may be related to increasing fertility problems, as well as obesity concerns and other health problems now not being able to be diagnosed.

This won't be halted by a drug.


from AP

A surprising jump in the number of Americans hobbled by arthritis may be due to obesity, health experts said Thursday.

About 22 percent of U.S. adults have been told by a doctor that they have arthritis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The statistic comes from national telephone polling of tens of thousands of adults in 2007 through 2009.

That translates to nearly 50 million people with the joint disease. It's also roughly the same percentage with arthritis as reported in a 2003-2005 study.

But there was a significant jump in adults who said their joint pain or other arthritis symptoms limited their usual activities, to 9.4 percent from 8.3 percent. That means more than 21 million adults have trouble climbing stairs, dressing, gardening or doing other things, up from less than 19 million only a few years before, the CDC researchers estimated.

That jump was "more than we would have expected," said Dr. John Klippel, president of the Atlanta-based Arthritis Foundation.

Klippel said the increase probably was due mainly to baby boomers, who are at an age when they are more likely to suffer osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. It breaks down cartilage and causes pain and joint stiffness.

He added that a complicating factor is high rates of baby boomers who are overweight and obese. Extra weight puts more pressure on arthritic joints, making the problem worse, he said.

The percentage of people who were hobbled was more than twice as high in obese people as those who were normal weight or were underweight, the CDC researchers found. Obesity can lead to or worsen osteoarthritis in the knees, the researchers wrote.

The study is published in a CDC publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. SOURCE

And in case you do not follow health history, here is a review from 2004 -

February 2004 - Mother was right about cod liver oil
At a press conference held at the Royal College of Surgeons in London on February 12 2004 , researchers from Cardiff University in Wales announced the results of a study which found for the first time in humans that cod liver oil really is effective in slowing the progression of osteoarthritis. The team, led by Professor Bruce Caterson and Professor John Harwood of Cardiff University, and Professor Colin Dent, of the University of Wales College of Medicine, provided two extra strength cod liver oil capsules per day to arthritis patients ten to twelve weeks before knee replacement surgery and found that 86 percent of the participants experienced a partial or complete reduction in the enzymes that cause cartilage damage, compared to 26 percent of a placebo group. Enzymes that cause joint pain were also reduced in the cod liver oil group.
Professor Caterson commented, "This breakthrough is hugely significant because it demonstrates the efficacy of a dietary intake of cod liver oil in patients with osteoarthritis taken prior to their joint replacement surgery. The data suggests that cod liver oil has a dual mode of action, potentially slowing down the cartilage degeneration inherent in osteoarthritis and also reducing factors that cause pain and inflammation. What these findings suggest is that by taking cod liver oil, people are more likely to delay the onset of osteoarthritis and less likely to require multiple joint replacements later in life.”
Professor Dent added, “Patients resort to joint replacement surgery when the symptoms and pain of their arthritis becomes unbearable. Cod liver oil can counteract these symptoms and if you can switch off the cartilage destruction and pain then surgery may not be necessary. We're very excited by this latest trial."

It is nice to recall that I learned in the 60s just how useful cod liver oil is for the "itis" category.  Wouldn't it be nice if this is what you had been reading instead of all about the dangerous drugs prescribed, pushed by Big PhRMA?