Rick Levy and Lou Aronica
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 Many years ago, I had the privilege of treating a young man who suffered from disabling rheumatoid arthritis. He was a South American diplomat who, though only in his late thirties, could hardly move his fingers. All his joints were stiff and inflamed, and he lived in constant severe pain. A man of some means, he'd been to several doctors and tried many traditional and alternative treatments for his problem—even experimental gold injections. Nothing helped.
This man endured a very stressful early life due to high levels of political upheaval in his home country. |
Richard Bartlett
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 She had rheumatoid arthritis with swan neck deformities on the fingers of both hands. She also had a positive antibody titer for Lyme disease in the past. She suffered from extremely chronic constipation, had pain throughout her body, and insomnia and depression on top of all of that; she was a real mess. During the first three visits, I pulled out all the stops with my clinical knowledge trying to alleviate her symptoms, fix her allergies, and detoxify her body. |
Bill Sardi
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 Tobacco Control 11:1110-17, 2002]
Cigarette smoking rheumatoid arthritis Yogurt consumption Vegetable consumption
670% increased risk 420% increased risk 310% increased risk 60% reduced risk
A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers
RECENT REPORTS on experiments with mice have given wide publicity to a theory that cigarette smoking is in some way linked with lung cancer in human beings.
Although conducted by doctors of professional standing, these experiments are not regarded as conclusive in the field of cancer research. |
Michael Pollan
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 Inflammation is now believed to play an important role in cardiovascular disease as well as in a range of other disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis and
*Joseph Hibbeln, et al., "Healthy Intakes of n-3 and n-6 Fatty Acids: Estimations Considering Worldwide Diversity," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2006; 83 (suppl): 1483S-93S. tM. L. Daviglus, "Fish Consumption and the 30-Year Risk of Myocardial Infarction," New England Journal of Medicine, 1997; 336: 1046-53. K.W Lee and G.Y. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 These first NSAIDS inhibit the cyclo-oxygenase-1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzymes that are responsible for the synthesis of prostaglandins, which promote inflammation and can exacerbate conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.
Vioxx and Celebrex, also NSAIDS but ones that target the COX-2 enzymes more specifically, were developed for two reasons. The first was to create a new group of (expensive) patented drugs to replace the older NSAIDS that had gone off patent and became available inexpensively and over the counter. |
Michael T. Murray and Michael R. Lyon
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 Used primarily in allergic and inflammatory conditions like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, prednisone is by far the most often prescribed oral corticosteroid. It blocks many key steps in the allergic and inflammatory response, including the production and secretion of compounds that promote inflammation by white blood cells. This disruption of the normal defense functions of the white blood cells is great at stopping the inflammatory response, but it essentially cripples the immune system. |
Tom Bohager
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 A focus on improving joint health early in life through regular exercise and healthy meals to support the body's ability to repair tissues is the best way to avoid the symptoms of osteoarthritis later in life. rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder. It is the most severe type of inflammatory joint disease. The body's immune system acts against and damages the surrounding soft tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments) of joints and eventually damages the joints themselves. As a result, the joints in the hands, feet, and/or arms become extremely painful, stiff, and eventually deformed. |
| The two primary types of arthritis include osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The symptoms can vary from slight discomfort to complete debilitation.
Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) is the most common type of arthritis. It most often results from wear and tear on the joints that causes degeneration of the cartilage around the joint and eventually damage to the bone. It is prevalent in older people. |
| For instance, an antibody known as the rheumatoid factor is common in people with rheumatoid arthritis. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, autoimmune diseases collectively affect 14.7 to 23.5 million people, and the incidence is rising (January 2003).
Though few agree on the causes of autoimmune diseases, there are some popular theories. One has to do with the production of immune complexes when immune responses are trying to overcome a threat. |
| Sometimes it is misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or other (mainly autoimmune and neurological) diseases. Lyme disease is considered one of the fastest growing infectious diseases in the United States.
The first symptom of this condition is generally the appearance of a rash and a red papule on the skin a few days following a tick bite. |
Jack Challem
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 In one study, published in the Journal ofthe American Medical Association, researchers asked patients with asthma or rheumatoid arthritis to write about either their most stressful life experiences or emotionally neutral things they've experienced over the course of several months. People who wrote about stressful experiences had almost a one-fifth reduction in symptoms.Those who wrote about nonstressful experiences had no improvement. Writing about stressful experiences was a way of getting them out of their system.
You don't have to be a writer to benefit from keeping a journal. |
Joerg Gruenwald, Ph.D.
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 In folk medicine, it is used for dyspepsia, painful menstruation, rheumatoid arthritis, scrofulous, urinary tract disorders, and as a diaphoretic.
PRECAUTIONS AND ADVERSE REACTIONS
No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction with the proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages.
DOSAGE
Mode of Administration: Oregano is used internally and externally.
Preparation: For internal use, pour 250 ml boiling water over 1 heaped teaspoonful and strain after 10 minutes; the tea can be sweetened with honey. The unsweetened infusion is used as gargle and a mouthwash. |
Bill Sardi
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| British Medical Journal 330:1366, 2005]
Before these drugs were taken off the market temporarily by the FDA, Celebrex and Vioxx generated $5 billion in annual sales to treat rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. A daily dose of Celebrex or Vioxx costs about $2.50 a day. Other non-steroidals like ibuprofen (Advil) and aspirin cost only about 10 cents per pill.
The next step in snuffing out inflammation
Pharmaceutical companies think they have come up with a master anti-inflammatory mechanism that may be useful in preventing cancer as well as treating inflammation and pain. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 Other studies have shown that it reduces the risk for rheumatoid arthritis as well (by 41 percent in one study). It also appears to have strong antioxidant properties.
There are about fifty varieties of papayas, many of which are inedible and not sold commercially, and they can range from 8 ounces tobelieve it or not—20 pounds. Most common commercial varieties, such as the Hawaiian Solo, are on the small side. Papayas with reddish flesh have a taste that differs from that of the orange-fleshed types, which are sweeter. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 It has been used effectively in combination with ginger, turmeric, and ash-wagandha and proved beneficial for inflammation and pain associated with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Turmeric: 400 mg in capsules, taken three times a day.
SAMe: It should be taken with folic acid at 800 mg and vitamin B12 at 1,000 meg.
*Glucosamine: 1,500 mg per day for three months, at which point you should see improvement. Then reduce to 500-1,000 mg per day.
*See also glucosamine for arthritis on page 96.
Note: The above dosages are daily dosages and in pill or capsule form, unless otherwise noted. |
Joerg Gruenwald, Ph.D.
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| INDICATIONS AND USAGE
Veronica herb preparations are used for diseases and discomfort of the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidney and lower urinary tract, for gout, rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatic complaints.
In folk medicine, Speedwell is used internally to promote the metabolism ("blood-purifying") and for nervous agitation. Externally, the herb is used as a gargle for inflammation of the oral and pharyngeal mucosa, promotion of wound healing, for chronic skin complaints, itching, and sweating of the feet. |
Ray D. Strand
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 These include coronary artery disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, macular degeneration, cataracts, Alzheimer's dementia, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.2 The list goes on and on.
Even though the average life expectancy in the United States has increased dramatically during this past century, our quality of life due to these chronic degenerative diseases has taken a major hit. We are essentially "living too short and dying too long," as I heard expressed in a speech by Dr. Myron Wentz, a prominent immunologist and microbiologist. Dr. |
| Traditional Treatment of Arthritis
The basic traditional treatment of both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) and aspirin. While these drugs reduce inflammation in joints, they are also responsible for the frequent adverse side effects of stomach ulcers and upper-gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. In fact more than one hundred thousand admissions to hospitals in the U.S. per year and more than sixteen thousand deaths each year are the result of upper-GI bleeding caused by the use of NSAIDS. |
| Patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis are also being treated with more potent antiinflammatory drugs like prednisone and gold or chemotherapeutic drugs like methotrexate or Imuran.
Peggie's Story
Peggie is an attractive lady I've had the pleasure of knowing over the past several years. When I first met Peggie, her lower leg was actually angled to the outside because her knee had degenerated so significantly. She was not only having a lot of discomfort in her knee but also in her right hip because she had to walk at a difficult angle. |
Donna Jackson Nakazawa
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 The rheumatologist ran another ANA panel but could not find a pattern that bespoke any particular autoimmune disease, be it lupus, scleroderma, or rheumatoid arthritis. He was hesitant to start any medications, well aware of the significant health risks and side effects associated with most drugs used to treat autoimmunity. That, in conjunction with the fact that they did not yet know what disease it was they were going to need to treat, made it imprudent to commence with sledgehammer medications. |
| Researchers believe this is why supplementation with probiotics has also shown promising results in treating the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
For Gerry Mullin, a combination of probiotics, antioxidants, omega-3s, a whole-foods diet, and herbal approaches—coupled with "prayer and determination"—proved critical in taming and changing the course of his disease. |
Craig Pepin-Donat
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 Vioxx relieved symptoms of osteoarthritis and acute pain in adults, menstrual pain in women and rheumatoid arthritis pain in adults and children. The drug was approved in May 1999. That means the drug was on the market for a total of five years and four months before being pulled from the market. Consider how many people took the drug during that five-year, four-month period. |
Ray D. Strand
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| If it attacks the joint space, we call it rheumatoid arthritis; if it attacks our bowels, we call it Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis; if it attacks the myelin sheath of our nerves, we call it multiple sclerosis; and when it attacks the connective tissue of our body, we call it lupus or scleroderma.
Why and how does this happen? I learned in medical school that autoimmune diseases were the result of an "overactive" immune system that begins attacking "self" instead of "nonself. |
Anne Harrington
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 In the end, Alexander and his school concluded that the research pointed to the existence of seven kinds of psychosomatic disorders resulting from different kinds of chronic excitation: bronchial asthma, peptic ulcer, ulcerative colitis, thyrotoxicosis, essential hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, and neurodermatitis. Each one of these diseases was associated with its own sad story. Ulcers were said to be caused by unresolved dependency issues and longing for love (and affected the stomach and gut because patients unconsciously associated such feelings with nursing and feeding). |
Ray D. Strand
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| Several studies have shown significant clinical improvements in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, and almost any disease that involves inflammation when they consume these important essential fats in supplementation.10 This is a very important aspect of maintaining your health or redeeming your health if you have already lost it.
We have looked at various aspects of our immune system and how it is supposed to work. We have also looked at the problem when this normal inflammatory response gets carried away. |
Bottom Line Health
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| Adalimumab (Humira) and infliximab (Remicade) are approved by the FDA to treat rheumatoid arthritis but are often prescribed "off-label" to treat psoriasis. Approximately 50% to 80% of patients taking TNF inhibitors experience almost total clearing of their skin.
Drawbacks: TNF inhibitors are given only by injection. Side effects are rare but may include an increased risk of infection, lymphoma, neurological problems and exacerbation of heart failure.
•T-cell inhibitors. Alefacept (Amevive) slows skin cell division by blocking the effects of the T cells. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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| Wright believes that diseases as disparate as rheumatoid arthritis, childhood asthma, osteoporosis, chronic fatigue, and depression all have in common low stomach acid. Childhood asthma is a good case in point: More than 80 percent of children diagnosed with asthma have exhibited low HC1 levels. In fact, according to Wright, hydrochloric acid can be a significant part of the cure for children with asthma. |
| From asthma to high blood pressure, from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis, vitamin C is one of those nutrients that is needed everywhere, and at any given time (and especially on a desert island). This powerhouse vitamin is required for at least 300 metabolic functions in the body. The body not only requires vitamin C, it demands it for proper functioning of virtually every organ system.
As mentioned, one of its primary functions is to produce collagen, which aids in wound healing, gum health, and the making of beautiful skin. |
Bottom Line Health
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| The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved three TNF blockers to treat rheumatoid arthritis. They appear to be equally effective. Your doctor can help you decide which is best for you.
•Etanercept (Enbrel) is taken by self-injection, usually twice a week. It is not yet determined if a new once-a-week formula is as effective.
•Adalimumab (Humira) is also taken by self-injection, usually once every two weeks.
• Infliximab (Remicade) is given by intravenous infusion, usually in a doctor's office, once every six to eight weeks. |
| Example: One of my patients had severe rheumatoid arthritis. She failed to improve even with the latest, most powerful drugs. None of her doctors thought to ask about her diet, which was triggering the release of inflammatory chemicals that exacerbated her symptoms.
I ask my patients to complete a 20-page questionnaire before their initial visit. In many cases, their answers give important clues to an accurate diagnosis.
Even if your doctor doesn't ask the questions listed below, you should bring up these issues with him/her during your appointment. |
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