As every psychiatrist knows, miracle drugs don’t always lead to miracle cures. Sometimes the inevitable side effects of psychiatric drugs – ranging from chronically dry mouth to panic attacks- become too much for a patient.
One practitioner, James S. Gordon, has a radical new approach to depression. Gordon is certainly well-acquainted with the nuances of depression. But for the past 15 years, as founder of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, Gordon has helped patients replace their drug prescriptions with a program of alternative therapies. He’s convinced that holistic medicine can be as effective as antidepressants. Most people with chronic depression, he believes, don’t need drugs to feel good.
Gordon’s approach is quite controversial in psychiatry, where the ability of antidepressants to correct abnormal brain chemistry isn’t questioned, and the idea of asking seriously depressed patients to gamble on unproven alternatives is viewed with alarm. Yet, Gordon has had many successes. Jim Norman, an epidemiologist at the National Institutes of Health suffered from depression. He tried for years to stabilize himself with tranquilizers, and then he tried Gordon’s recommended therapies. Five years later, Norman finally feels he can control his moods without drugs. “The ups and downs still exist,” he says, “but they’ve leveled out.”
Should you try mind-body medicine? Depression is not an illness to fool with. If you are depressed and haven’t consulted a psychiatrist or psychologist, go see one. But if your depression is mild, or if you’re already being treated for it, but find you have other ailments, you can consider the approach of James Gordon. But, be discriminating. Two alternative practitioners rarely have the same training or philosophy, let alone the same track record.
Following are some of the alternative therapies to consider:
Acupuncture – Employs the use of needles inserted at certain points in the body. Some experiments suggest needle treatment spur higher levels of serotonin and endorphins in the brain. These chemicals may be involved in improving mood and lessening pain. However, there’s little evidence that acupuncture mental anguish.
Herbal Remedies – Need to be suited to one’s needs by someone trained in Chinese or botanical remedies. Few herbs have been studied as antidepressants, but a review of research in Germany involving the use of St. John’s Wort showed that it worked against moderate depression as well as synthetic drugs. However, herbal remedies are unregulated in this country, and must be used under the supervision of a physician or pharmacist who has studied herbs.
Exercise – By focusing mind and body on a rhythmic activity, exercise lessens anxiety and other negative emotions. Seriously depressed people, though, have a hard time making the effort to exercise on their own.
Meditation – Regularly taking ten to 20 minutes to focus thoughts on a single phrase or image can lower blood pressure, decrease pain and reduce anxiety. However, there’s no direct evidence that meditating helps seriously depressed people. Yet, it does induce a “relaxation response”, a calm state that turns off the “fight or flight” reaction that is part of many anxious and depressed patients.
Nutrition – Gordon and other alternative medicine physicians believe that certain foods, particularly caffeine and sugar, strain the endocrine system and promote depression. No one should fast without a doctor’s supervision; some people are too run down to stop eating. For most people, the best food therapy may come down to good nutrition.
(Summarized from HEALTH Jan. / Feb. 1997 pp 72-78. Article by: Peter Carlin, Reprinted from HEALTH, Copyright © 1997.)
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Unusual and Promising Approaches to Allergy Prevention and Treatment
As strange as it may seem, early exposure to pets, peanuts, and intestinal worms might actually be good for you. Evidence to support this view has been mounting for more than a decade. But now, for the first time, researchers are beginning to test remedies based on these theories in patients. Other doctors are trying to make use of novel approaches to retrain the immune system once it’s too late and allergies set in.
“What we’ve learned is that it may, in fact, be important to be exposed early on to a sufficient quantity of allergy-causing substances to train the immune system that they are not a threat,” says Andy Saxton of the University of California – Los Angeles. “And in people who already have allergies, we see for the first time where the problems lie, and we have new opportunities to tweak the system.”
If the new approaches work, millions might benefit. More than 50 million people have allergic diseases, which are the sixth-leading cause of chronic illness in the United States, according to the National Intitute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). In fact, allergies cost the health system $18 billion a year.
If educating the immune system is tough, re-educating it after allergies set in appears to be tougher. Allergy shots work, but they’re costly and often must be continued for years. Then the protection fades over time. There are two new strategies being developed that may improve treatment.
One strategy, pioneered by researchers at Dynavax Technologies in Berkeley California, involves disguising a key ragweed protein with DNA from a bacterium. The goal is to create a short course of allergy shots that tricks the immune system into permanently thinking that ragweed is a bacterium, so it will attack it like a germ and not mount an allergic response. The approach has appeared to work in early trials at John Hopkins University.
A second strategy, now being developed by Saxon and his colleagues at UCLA and licensed to the biotech firm Biogen Idec, involves fusing a cat allergen with a snippet of a powerful antibody call IgG. This IgG snippet turns off cells that make histamine, the chemical that produces allergic symptoms. Researchers hope the combo will turn off histamine-producing cells, and in time, retrain the immune system to accept that cats are harmless.
The new approach to allergy prevention and treatment arises from a paradox. Known as the “hygiene hypothesis,” it suggests that growing up in cities and suburbs, away from fields and animals, leaves people more susceptible to a host of immune disorders, including allergies and asthma.
It has been shown through a study by Dennis Ownby of the Medical College of Georgia that children exposed early in a home with two or more cats or dog, are 45% less likely to test positive for allergies than other kids. The study appeared in the August 28, 2002 Journal of the American Medical Association. One possible explanation is that dogs and cats shed a substance called endotoxin from bacteria. A related study by Andy Liu of National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver reported in 2002 that infants with the most endotoxin exposure were the least likely to have allergies.
Researchers have also found that worms also have potential as allergy-busters. Weinstock, and his collaborator, David Elliott of the University of Iowa found that worm infections appear to regulate the immune system so that it functions normally. Robert Coffman, vice president of the biotech firm Dynavax Technologies says that the immune system developed two sets of responses: one for bacteria and viruses, and one for worms. Called Th1 for germs and Th2 for worms, they work in opposition. When Th1 is active, Th2 takes a break, and vice versa. All of the symptoms people link with allergy are part of the Th2 response.
Weinstock, Elliott, and other researchers believe that a low-grade infection with intestinal worms – pig whipworms because they cannot reproduce in humans - can restore the immune system. In fact, a small-scale study proved that of 29 people with Crohn’s disease who drank a brew of Gatorade and whipworm eggs, 23 responded to the treatment and 21 of those 23 had complete remission.
Whether it is endotoxin or worms, scientists continue to investigate all of the factors that can confer protection against allergy and other immune diseases.
(Summarized from: USA TODAY, March 19, 2006, article by: Steve Sternberg; Copyright© 2006 USA TODAY. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services. March 19, 2006.)
“What we’ve learned is that it may, in fact, be important to be exposed early on to a sufficient quantity of allergy-causing substances to train the immune system that they are not a threat,” says Andy Saxton of the University of California – Los Angeles. “And in people who already have allergies, we see for the first time where the problems lie, and we have new opportunities to tweak the system.”
If the new approaches work, millions might benefit. More than 50 million people have allergic diseases, which are the sixth-leading cause of chronic illness in the United States, according to the National Intitute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). In fact, allergies cost the health system $18 billion a year.
If educating the immune system is tough, re-educating it after allergies set in appears to be tougher. Allergy shots work, but they’re costly and often must be continued for years. Then the protection fades over time. There are two new strategies being developed that may improve treatment.
One strategy, pioneered by researchers at Dynavax Technologies in Berkeley California, involves disguising a key ragweed protein with DNA from a bacterium. The goal is to create a short course of allergy shots that tricks the immune system into permanently thinking that ragweed is a bacterium, so it will attack it like a germ and not mount an allergic response. The approach has appeared to work in early trials at John Hopkins University.
A second strategy, now being developed by Saxon and his colleagues at UCLA and licensed to the biotech firm Biogen Idec, involves fusing a cat allergen with a snippet of a powerful antibody call IgG. This IgG snippet turns off cells that make histamine, the chemical that produces allergic symptoms. Researchers hope the combo will turn off histamine-producing cells, and in time, retrain the immune system to accept that cats are harmless.
The new approach to allergy prevention and treatment arises from a paradox. Known as the “hygiene hypothesis,” it suggests that growing up in cities and suburbs, away from fields and animals, leaves people more susceptible to a host of immune disorders, including allergies and asthma.
It has been shown through a study by Dennis Ownby of the Medical College of Georgia that children exposed early in a home with two or more cats or dog, are 45% less likely to test positive for allergies than other kids. The study appeared in the August 28, 2002 Journal of the American Medical Association. One possible explanation is that dogs and cats shed a substance called endotoxin from bacteria. A related study by Andy Liu of National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver reported in 2002 that infants with the most endotoxin exposure were the least likely to have allergies.
Researchers have also found that worms also have potential as allergy-busters. Weinstock, and his collaborator, David Elliott of the University of Iowa found that worm infections appear to regulate the immune system so that it functions normally. Robert Coffman, vice president of the biotech firm Dynavax Technologies says that the immune system developed two sets of responses: one for bacteria and viruses, and one for worms. Called Th1 for germs and Th2 for worms, they work in opposition. When Th1 is active, Th2 takes a break, and vice versa. All of the symptoms people link with allergy are part of the Th2 response.
Weinstock, Elliott, and other researchers believe that a low-grade infection with intestinal worms – pig whipworms because they cannot reproduce in humans - can restore the immune system. In fact, a small-scale study proved that of 29 people with Crohn’s disease who drank a brew of Gatorade and whipworm eggs, 23 responded to the treatment and 21 of those 23 had complete remission.
Whether it is endotoxin or worms, scientists continue to investigate all of the factors that can confer protection against allergy and other immune diseases.
(Summarized from: USA TODAY, March 19, 2006, article by: Steve Sternberg; Copyright© 2006 USA TODAY. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services. March 19, 2006.)
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Studying the Benefits of Massage
As a healing aid, hands-on therapy is being studied to win over skeptics to understand its healing benefits
Longmont United Hospital in Colorado has a massage therapist on staff around the clock for patients who need or request it. At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, 11 massage therapists are on a staff team and work with hundreds of patients. Yet, those who advocate massage therapy say that some hospital administrators are wary of introducing such a “touchy-feely” element to clinical practice.
“Clearly there are medical benefits to massage,” said Dr. Gregory P. Fontana, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In a study of heart patients measuring the effectiveness of nontraditional therapies, such as massage, in helping speed recovery after surgery, ninety-five percent of the 50 massage patients reported that massage was a “very important” part of their recovery, according to Fontana.
However, many doctors remain skeptical of the research suggesting a medical benefit to massage, saying more rigorous studies are needed. There are several new studies underway. Some are being funded by NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, is working on two NIH-funded studies: one measuring the effect of massage on premature babies; the other measuring the effect of massage on pregnant mothers who are depressed. Currently, Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers are undergoing studies that measure how effective massage can be in alleviating the pain of cancer patients.
Advocates of massage therapy hope that the scientific and medical research will continue to support the benefits, safety, and cost-effectiveness of massage treatments. (Summarized from Los Angeles Times, Nov. 22, 2004, pp. F1+; Copyright © 2004 Los Angeles Times, Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
Longmont United Hospital in Colorado has a massage therapist on staff around the clock for patients who need or request it. At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, 11 massage therapists are on a staff team and work with hundreds of patients. Yet, those who advocate massage therapy say that some hospital administrators are wary of introducing such a “touchy-feely” element to clinical practice.
“Clearly there are medical benefits to massage,” said Dr. Gregory P. Fontana, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In a study of heart patients measuring the effectiveness of nontraditional therapies, such as massage, in helping speed recovery after surgery, ninety-five percent of the 50 massage patients reported that massage was a “very important” part of their recovery, according to Fontana.
However, many doctors remain skeptical of the research suggesting a medical benefit to massage, saying more rigorous studies are needed. There are several new studies underway. Some are being funded by NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, is working on two NIH-funded studies: one measuring the effect of massage on premature babies; the other measuring the effect of massage on pregnant mothers who are depressed. Currently, Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers are undergoing studies that measure how effective massage can be in alleviating the pain of cancer patients.
Advocates of massage therapy hope that the scientific and medical research will continue to support the benefits, safety, and cost-effectiveness of massage treatments. (Summarized from Los Angeles Times, Nov. 22, 2004, pp. F1+; Copyright © 2004 Los Angeles Times, Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Music as an Alternative Therapy for Pain
“Pain is a silent epidemic,” said Celeste Johnston, past president of the Canadian Pain Society and associate director for research at the McGill School of Nursing. About 17% of Canadians suffer chronic pain from such ailments as osteoarthritis, lower back pain, fibromyalgia, migraines and menstruation.
Last year alone, Canadians spent more than $2 billion purchasing prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal medication to alleviate their pain. However, recent reports about the side-effective of COX-2 inhibitors like Vioxx and Celebrex and the addictive potential of Oxycontin have spurred public interest in alternatives.
Researchers are studying alternative therapies, ones that traditionally were thought to be taboo by medical experts, said Dr. Marc Ware of the McGill University Pain Centre. Beyond drug therapy, other alternative treatments can include relaxation techniques, physiotherapy psychotherapy, acupuncture, yoga, massage, and even music therapy.
A University of Montreal study measured the effects of music on pain relief. The results of the study showed that music triggers emotional reactions in listeners, and these feelings can decrease their pain up to15%. In the study, university students were exposed to painful stimuli while listening to different types of music. The degree of pain relief was directly related to the musical tastes of the subjects. When the study subjects listened to music they liked, their pain was eased more than if they listened to music they disliked or to no music at all.
In addition to music therapy, researchers are studying other alternative, non-pharmaceutical ways to reduce pain. SOURCE: SPECTATOR (Hamilton, Canada) Jan. 14, 2005, p.A10 (Original article by Ross Marovits)
Last year alone, Canadians spent more than $2 billion purchasing prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal medication to alleviate their pain. However, recent reports about the side-effective of COX-2 inhibitors like Vioxx and Celebrex and the addictive potential of Oxycontin have spurred public interest in alternatives.
Researchers are studying alternative therapies, ones that traditionally were thought to be taboo by medical experts, said Dr. Marc Ware of the McGill University Pain Centre. Beyond drug therapy, other alternative treatments can include relaxation techniques, physiotherapy psychotherapy, acupuncture, yoga, massage, and even music therapy.
A University of Montreal study measured the effects of music on pain relief. The results of the study showed that music triggers emotional reactions in listeners, and these feelings can decrease their pain up to15%. In the study, university students were exposed to painful stimuli while listening to different types of music. The degree of pain relief was directly related to the musical tastes of the subjects. When the study subjects listened to music they liked, their pain was eased more than if they listened to music they disliked or to no music at all.
In addition to music therapy, researchers are studying other alternative, non-pharmaceutical ways to reduce pain. SOURCE: SPECTATOR (Hamilton, Canada) Jan. 14, 2005, p.A10 (Original article by Ross Marovits)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Alternative Treatments for Heavy Metal Poisoning
Heavy metal poisoning is the toxic accumulation of heavy metals in the soft tissues of the body. The metals that cause poisoning in most individuals can be lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium. People may come in contact with heavy metals in occupations such as industrial type work, manufacturing, or agriculture.
The symptoms of heavy metal poisoning will vary according to the nature and quantity of the metal, as well as how the exposure occurred. Symptoms can range from gastrointestinal symptoms when a heavy metal is ingested, to burns on the skin, when the skin is exposed to mercury, to neurological symptoms. In severe cases of heavy metal poisoning, patients exhibit obvious impairment of cognitive, motor and language skills. The expression “mad as a hatter” comes from the mercury poisoning prevalent in 17th century France, when hatmakers soaked animal hides in a solution of mercuric nitrate to soften the hair.
Heavy metal poisoning is diagnosed through tests that can include, blood, urine, and x-rays, as well as measuring amounts of the metal on things like hair and nails.
Heavy metals such as lead and mercury are readily diagnosed through blood tests, while arsenic is better tested through the urine since arsenic is rapidly removed from the blood. On the other hand, arsenic can remain on hair and nails for months.
Alternative treatments for heavy metal poisoning include chelation, dietary changes, and the use of nutritional supplements and herbs. In addition, homeopathic remedies have been recommended to prompt the body’s detoxification mechanisms. SOURCE: HEAVY METAL POISONING By Douglas Dupler, Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
The symptoms of heavy metal poisoning will vary according to the nature and quantity of the metal, as well as how the exposure occurred. Symptoms can range from gastrointestinal symptoms when a heavy metal is ingested, to burns on the skin, when the skin is exposed to mercury, to neurological symptoms. In severe cases of heavy metal poisoning, patients exhibit obvious impairment of cognitive, motor and language skills. The expression “mad as a hatter” comes from the mercury poisoning prevalent in 17th century France, when hatmakers soaked animal hides in a solution of mercuric nitrate to soften the hair.
Heavy metal poisoning is diagnosed through tests that can include, blood, urine, and x-rays, as well as measuring amounts of the metal on things like hair and nails.
Heavy metals such as lead and mercury are readily diagnosed through blood tests, while arsenic is better tested through the urine since arsenic is rapidly removed from the blood. On the other hand, arsenic can remain on hair and nails for months.
Alternative treatments for heavy metal poisoning include chelation, dietary changes, and the use of nutritional supplements and herbs. In addition, homeopathic remedies have been recommended to prompt the body’s detoxification mechanisms. SOURCE: HEAVY METAL POISONING By Douglas Dupler, Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Theory of Magnetic Therapy
Magnetic Therapy utilizes the power of magnets as a treatment to alleviate pain throughout the body. With a long history, magnets are believed to possess healing powers, especially effective in treating muscle pain and stiffness. “Lodestones” or stones that were recognized to have magnetic properties have been used by the ancient Egyptians, the ancient Chinese, and their use has been mentioned in the treatment of diseases in the Vedas, ancient Hindu scriptures.
In the 17th century, Sir William Gilbert was purported to utilize magnets to relieve Queen Elizabeth I’s arthritic pain. In modern times, American interest grew in magnetic therapy starting in the 1990s when professional athletes attested to the power magnetic devices had in alleviating pain.
Advocates of Magnetic Therapy attribute many benefits to the use of Magnets: pain relief; reduction of swelling; restful sleep; increased tissue and cellular oxygenation; improved blood circulation; improved tissue alkinalization; and relief of stress.
Fundamentally, magnetic therapy operates under two sets of theories. One theory asserts that magnets create a small electrical current, which stimulates the body’s natural painkillers at the site of application. The second theory argues that magnets cause the area’s cells to boost blood circulation, oxygen flow, and ion exchange to the painful area. The boost in oxygen present in the tissues and bloodstreams is purported to increase how quickly the body heals.
SOURCE: Magnetic Therapy - Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine by Kim Sharp
In the 17th century, Sir William Gilbert was purported to utilize magnets to relieve Queen Elizabeth I’s arthritic pain. In modern times, American interest grew in magnetic therapy starting in the 1990s when professional athletes attested to the power magnetic devices had in alleviating pain.
Advocates of Magnetic Therapy attribute many benefits to the use of Magnets: pain relief; reduction of swelling; restful sleep; increased tissue and cellular oxygenation; improved blood circulation; improved tissue alkinalization; and relief of stress.
Fundamentally, magnetic therapy operates under two sets of theories. One theory asserts that magnets create a small electrical current, which stimulates the body’s natural painkillers at the site of application. The second theory argues that magnets cause the area’s cells to boost blood circulation, oxygen flow, and ion exchange to the painful area. The boost in oxygen present in the tissues and bloodstreams is purported to increase how quickly the body heals.
SOURCE: Magnetic Therapy - Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine by Kim Sharp
Monday, April 13, 2009
Environmental Nutrition Offers Primer on Alternative Arthritis Remedies, but All Need to be Proven
With no cure in sight for over 43 million Arthritis sufferers, and limited medical options for alleviating symptoms, it’s not surprising that two-thirds of sufferers have tried diet, vitamins and herbs as alternative treatments.
Those therapies that have shown the most promise in recent studies are the following:
The Glucosamine/Chondroitin Combo was touted in the 1997 book, The Arthritis Cure, and in the 1998 book, Maximizing The Arthritis Cure, by Jason Theodosakis, M.D. who speculates that these two substances have a synergistic effect. While evidence supports Glucosamine’s role in the relief of pain, swelling and tenderness of OA, evidence also suggests that it may also halt the breakdown of cartilage. On the other hand, Chondroitin draws fluid into the cartilage making it spongy and protecting it from destructive enzymes.
An analysis of 15 studies from the past 30 years that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association found evidence to support some degree of effectiveness of both compounds. However, an editorial warned of varying purity and strengths of supplements on the market.
Antioxidant Vitamins and Minerals – Some researchers theorize that free radicals – natural but harmful compounds formed when substances in the body react with oxygen – exacerbate the damage and inflammation in arthritic joints. Therefore, antioxidant nutrients such as Vitamin C and E, beta-carotene and selenium may offer some protection. Several small clinical studies show Vitamin E supplements help reduced inflammation and pain in both OA and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).
Vitamin D – has long been known to be important in bone health. In fact, research from the University of California at San Francisco has found older women with low levels of vitamin D in their blood to be at increased risk of OA of the hip. Other research reveals that dietary and supplemental D can slow progress of OA.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids – Americans tend to consume more Omega-6 Fatty acids such as vegetable oils like corn, sunflower, cottonseed and soybean, rather than Omega-3 oils from fish, canola oil, flaxseed and avocado. Omega-6 affects the hormone-like substances called prostaglandins produced in the body by lessening production of them. Omega-3 Fatty Acids then would help foster prostaglandin production which in turn would fight inflammation.
The downside to depending on Omega-3 Fatty Acids for relief of OA is that the benefits may not be seen for at least 12 weeks.
There are other potentially promising therapies to relieve the pain and progression of arthritis, including “Arthritis Diets,” fasting, herbal remedies, and substances called SAM-e and GLA. However, none of these therapies have been proven yet to make a difference.
The bottom line is that people with arthritis need to carefully assess the benefits and risks of alternative therapies. Before you make any changes, or try a new supplement, discuss the options with your doctor so that you can incorporate the appropriate therapies into your treatment plan.
(Summarized from Environmental Nutrition, April, 2000; article by Betsy Keller, M.S., R.D. – Copyright© 2000 by Environmental Nutrition, Inc. and R.L. Polk& Co. All rights reserved)
Those therapies that have shown the most promise in recent studies are the following:
The Glucosamine/Chondroitin Combo was touted in the 1997 book, The Arthritis Cure, and in the 1998 book, Maximizing The Arthritis Cure, by Jason Theodosakis, M.D. who speculates that these two substances have a synergistic effect. While evidence supports Glucosamine’s role in the relief of pain, swelling and tenderness of OA, evidence also suggests that it may also halt the breakdown of cartilage. On the other hand, Chondroitin draws fluid into the cartilage making it spongy and protecting it from destructive enzymes.
An analysis of 15 studies from the past 30 years that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association found evidence to support some degree of effectiveness of both compounds. However, an editorial warned of varying purity and strengths of supplements on the market.
Antioxidant Vitamins and Minerals – Some researchers theorize that free radicals – natural but harmful compounds formed when substances in the body react with oxygen – exacerbate the damage and inflammation in arthritic joints. Therefore, antioxidant nutrients such as Vitamin C and E, beta-carotene and selenium may offer some protection. Several small clinical studies show Vitamin E supplements help reduced inflammation and pain in both OA and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).
Vitamin D – has long been known to be important in bone health. In fact, research from the University of California at San Francisco has found older women with low levels of vitamin D in their blood to be at increased risk of OA of the hip. Other research reveals that dietary and supplemental D can slow progress of OA.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids – Americans tend to consume more Omega-6 Fatty acids such as vegetable oils like corn, sunflower, cottonseed and soybean, rather than Omega-3 oils from fish, canola oil, flaxseed and avocado. Omega-6 affects the hormone-like substances called prostaglandins produced in the body by lessening production of them. Omega-3 Fatty Acids then would help foster prostaglandin production which in turn would fight inflammation.
The downside to depending on Omega-3 Fatty Acids for relief of OA is that the benefits may not be seen for at least 12 weeks.
There are other potentially promising therapies to relieve the pain and progression of arthritis, including “Arthritis Diets,” fasting, herbal remedies, and substances called SAM-e and GLA. However, none of these therapies have been proven yet to make a difference.
The bottom line is that people with arthritis need to carefully assess the benefits and risks of alternative therapies. Before you make any changes, or try a new supplement, discuss the options with your doctor so that you can incorporate the appropriate therapies into your treatment plan.
(Summarized from Environmental Nutrition, April, 2000; article by Betsy Keller, M.S., R.D. – Copyright© 2000 by Environmental Nutrition, Inc. and R.L. Polk& Co. All rights reserved)
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