Arthritis Prevention: You Have Natural Choices!
Arthritis prevention is important whether you’re already taking anti-inflammatory prescriptions, over the counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID’s), or natural arthritis supplements. Some of you may simply be researching natural treatments for arthritis pain prevention. Persistent pain is a warning.
Risk factors increase your likelihood of developing arthritis. My husband’s knee osteoarthritis was caused from a combination of sports injuries, overuse and age factors. My neck arthritis was caused following a neck trauma (lateral whiplash).
Ten arthritis risk factors that may counteract arthritis prevention
Theoretically, the more risk factors you have, the higher the risk of developing arthritis. Do you have any of these risk factors associated with arthritis?
- Are you 45 years old or older?
- Are you female (when considering all types of arthritis, women account for 60%)
- Are you more than 10 pounds overweight?
- Do you smoke?
- Do you have occupational and regular physical activities involving bending, lifting, carrying?
- Do you have a family history of arthritis?
- Have you had an episode of infection in any joint?
- Have you ever had an injury to a joint or joints?
- If you are a woman, have you had irregular periods or early menopause?
- Have you had a blood transfusion?
None of the above risk factors are conclusive, and some point to specific types of arthritis that may be less prevalent. Keep in mind there are over 100 types of arthritis, the most common of which are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Self-management can help reduce arthritis symptoms
If you are experiencing pain, early diagnosis by a physician and appropriate arthritis pain management is recommended. This includes self-management arthritis prevention activities such as exercises for arthritis, arthritis diet, arthritis food, arthritis dietary supplements, arthritis weight control and natural weight loss supplements all of which can reduce symptoms.
For arthritis prevention of pain, your doctor will likely prescribe over the counter NSAID’s or anti-inflammatory prescription drugs. Natural dietary supplements have become popular alternative treatments for arthritis and osteoporosis as they decrease pain without side effects, improve function, and lower health care costs. In some cases they promote cartilage regeneration.
People with early symptoms of arthritis often self-treat with over the counter drugs, anti-arthritic natural supplements and topical creams. The Arthritis Foundation recommends seeing a doctor if you have pain from stiff joints or joint swelling which persists for two or more weeks. Only a doctor can accurately diagnose arthritis.
Four arthritis prevention tips
There are self-management steps you can undertake for arthritis prevention or to reduce the symptoms of arthritis. Here are four tips:
- Be active—Research has shown that 30 minutes of moderate physical activity at least three days a week decreases pain, improves function, and delays disability. Exercise for arthritis is the most beneficial self-treatment activity one can engage in to control pain.
- Weight management—The prevalence of arthritis increases as weight increases. A loss of just 11 pounds can decrease the occurrence of knee osteoarthritis. Research suggests that one of the best arthritis prevention tactic is to maintain a healthy weight. Staying slim reduces the risk of developing arthritis and also decreases disease progression.
- A good night’s rest can be an integral part of arthritis treatment, yet many arthritis sufferers have difficulty sleeping because of painful joints. Boswellia and menthol are natural ingredients specifically designed to reduce pain and valerian safely promotes sleep for those struggling with insomnia.
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Protect your joints— Glucosamine and cat's claw are excellent natural sources for promoting new cartilage growth and relieving joint pain. The benefit is they can safely work without the side effects of drugs and there’s clinical proof of effectiveness for moderate to extreme arthritis symptoms.
Are natural dietary supplements for you?
Are these alternative natural remedies for you? Will they really help you with arthritis prevention or symptom treatment? That’s what I try to answer on this site. Natural supplements certainly have done the job for my husband and me. But not until I thoroughly researched which supplements were the safest and best for use. Which ones had the ingredient purity and potency to produce beneficial effects? Which ones gave us our money’s worth?
Isn’t this what you would like to know, too? After all, everywhere you look, you see supplements promising magical pain relief, stronger bones, and sounder sleep. I always wonder how much of the advertisement is hype, and how much is fact?
Here’s the answer: Products formulated with valid scientific research, clinical studies, purity, potency and safety separate fact from hype. If you select a high quality supplement that meets the above criteria, it should do the job for you.
Don't be misled by testimonies
One other caution--don’t be misled by testimonies alone. Because of the placebo effect, a health supplement can make its user feel up to 30% better when starting on a new product even though its ingredients are not helping at the cellular level. That’s why you might feel better when you first start a natural supplement, but later you feel the same as you did originally. Another thing to remember--endorsements touting arthritis prevention or cure can be bought and sold, so take them with a grain of salt. Scientific evidence is the testimony on which you want to base your decision.
By the way, there is no cure for arthritis. There is no recognized scientific cure for most types of arthritis, especially the predominant ones such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
The herbal dietary supplement manufacturer that my husband and I use has been in business for 62-plus years and is known as the number-one natural nutrition company in the United States. It has invested more than $250 million in clinical testing, research and development and has over 100 published studies in peer-reviewed scientific journals—more than any other nutritional company! It has a beyond organic reputation.
There's a wide variance of quality in supplements
If you are considering dietary supplements for arthritis prevention or symptom relief, natural treatments for arthritis comes with this warning: you must be careful when considering natural products. The industry is known for unsubstantiated hype from manufacturers that appear to base their marketing ads around a few testimonials, with little, if any, science concerning their product.
There’s a wide variance in the quality of natural anti-inflammatory products on the market. The last thing you want to do is waste your money.
Natural arthritis products and dietary supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) for proof that they work for arthritis symptom treatment. This is in spite of the current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs), the FDA's current rules, which still do not require product efficacy, nor standardized testing methods.
Arthritis prevention: not all dietary supplements are equal
Unlike the drug industry where FDA regulations make the playing field equal, dietary supplement companies are not equal. Nor are their products.
It wasn't always this way. Prior to 1990, all dietary supplements were tightly regulated by the FDA, the same as pharmaceuticals. Dietary supplements, like pharmaceutical drugs, could not be marketed without FDA approval.
However, in 1994, a landmark Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) was passed that classified dietary supplements as foods, not drugs, and therefore no longer had to have pre-market approval. This included arthritis and pain relief supplements and the law drastically changed the dietary supplement landscape.
Between 1994 and the present, the lack of FDA control over dietary supplements is decried from many quarters. In the minds of health officials, physicians and others, the DSHEA law created what is considered a virtually unregulated industry for product efficacy.
In most instances, there haven’t been clinical studies performed by the manufacturer on new dietary supplements placed into the market. Products are being sold with no proof that they actually work.
Can you imagine what would happen if the FDA allowed pharmaceutical drugs to be treated so lightly? Yet drugs and dietary supplements are both used by consumers to treat the same disease symptoms—arthritis pain, for example.
After the DSHEA passed, it opened a wide door to the dietary supplement industry by opportunistic entrepreneurs. The market has been flooded by a dizzying array of dietary supplements of all kinds, each claiming to be better than the rest. And almost all have no scientific foundation on which to base their claim. Many are produced with untested ingredients the manufacturer does not test ingredients either.
Who can you trust as an herbal dietary supplement company?
So when you’re considering the latest dietary supplement wonder product for “arthritis cures”, for example, or simply for arthritis prevention of pain, how do you find out whether what’s in the bottle is safe to take? How do you find out whether science has proven that the product does what it claims? The government isn't going to help you on this one.
These are legitimate questions. They’re the same questions my husband and I tried finding answers 28 years ago when we started using natural nutritional supplements. I devised 30 questions (revised somewhat over the years) regarding standards of excellence to find the best dietary supplement maker.
The answers to these questions led me to discover one natural health company that stood out compared to its competitors when the determining factor is solid science and double-blind placebo-controlled clinical studies of its nutritional and personal care products. click this portfolio of clinical studies link for an eye opening experience.
Only one dietary supplement company has a 20-year landmark study
When investing in dietary supplements for arthritis prevention, consider it first as an investment in your health. This way, you won't want to waste your money on poorly formulated or synthetic supplements containing artificial colors, sweeteners, binders, and fillers that will not be readily absorbed into your bloodstream.
Instead, you'll want a high quality dietary supplement for with ingredient purity, potency, and guaranteed efficacy that the body's cells will happily absorb.
There's only one natural supplement company that can claim a 20-year clinical dietary supplement landmark study on its consumers that verifies from blood samples that its supplement users retained normal levels of blood pressure, HDL, cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein and homocysteine.
The 2006 study was conducted in collaboration with researchers from the U.C. Berkeley School of Public Health, comparing one company's supplement users to people who took either no supplements or other brands of multivitamins from different companies. For details go to:
www.landmarkstudy.com target="_blank"Featured arthritis prevention supplements!
Since 2003, my husband and I have successfully used three natural pain products from the above company. Over time, these treatments have markedly improved our flexibility of motion and reduced or eliminated pain and swollen joints.
They’ve worked wonders for us—we’re now completely free of any prescription or non-prescription drug use whatsoever. These products contain all of the natural nutrients, including glucosamine and other special ingredients to help reduce inflammation, swelling and stiffness as well as protect joints and provide long lasting pain relief.
I highly recommend this wonderful trio of natural pain products.
Another product I recommend as a sleep aid for arthritis-caused natural insomnia complex
Disclaimer: Health statements on this arthritis prevention page have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Arthritis Symptoms. Joint pain, tenderness, stiffness, inflammation, aching, swelling and sleep problems are all linked to arthritis symptoms that natural remedies can relieve. Click here to find out more
Chronic Pain Relief Naturally. Natural treatments not only relieve chronic pain, they can help the body rebuild. An estimated 50 million Americans are aggravated by the frustration of chronic pain. Click here for more information
Joint Pain ReliefDoctors are aware that high quality dietary supplements can relieve pain from degenerative joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Their concern is that natural and herbal joint pain remedies are virtually unregulated on the market. Your doctor doesn't want you to waste your money by using those that don't have science and don't work. Click here to find out more
Arthritis Statistics. Arthritis affects 46 million Americans and will spike to 67 million by 2030 because of baby boomers. There’s no cure but natural treatments can control symptoms and slow progression. Click here for additional arthritis facts
Arthritis Types. What is arthritis? It’s not just a single disease as I once thought.. Arthritis is a complex disorder that can affect people at any stage of life, including children, with over 100 types that symptoms can be relieved naturally. Click here for details
No Arthritis Cure. One of the facts of arthritis is that there’s no cure. This may surprise you. Don’t believe the hype of some products on the market. There is no scientific evidence that any treatment can cure most arthritis. Click here for more information
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