Coping with Arthritis and Improving your Quality of Life

Arthritis is an auto-immunde disorder, and is a condition characterized by inflammation and pain in the joints. There are several types of arthritis, each with different causes:

1. Osteoarthritis (OA): This is the most common type and is caused by the wear and tear of joint cartilage over time. Factors like aging, joint injuries, and obesity can contribute to its development¹².

2. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): This is an autoimmune disorder where the immune system mistakenly attacks the joints, causing inflammation. The exact cause is unknown, but genetic and environmental factors play a role¹³.

3. Gout: This type of arthritis is caused by the buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints, leading to sudden and severe pain¹³.

4. Psoriatic Arthritis: This occurs in some people with psoriasis, an autoimmune skin condition. The immune system attacks the joints as well as the skin¹.

5. Lupus: Another autoimmune disease that can cause arthritis by attacking various body tissues, including the joints³.

Other factors that can contribute to arthritis include genetics, infections, and lifestyle factors such as smoking and lack of physical activity⁴.

So how can we support our immune systems from flare-ups?

Lifestyle Eating : AIP, Blood Type and Mediterranean diets

Personally, I don't like the word "diet" - it has the word "die" in it and that's how people feel when they are changing the way they are eating... so let's call them "plans"!  When you are changing over, you don't have to do it immediately... use up what is in your pantry and replace with the recommended foods for the option you want to try.

The AIP plan is nightshade, gluten and dairy free, and is designed to reduce inflammation within the body over a 6 week period and afterwards you reintroduce what has been taken out over the next 4 -6 weeks.  The only issue I have with it is that some recipes are high in coconut oil, and that is not a healthy option for those whose immune systems are under attack.

The Mediterranean plan is naturally high in healthy fats (lots of olive oil and fish) and antioxidants (from vegetables), it can help reduce inflammation and feed your joints, as well as boost your immune system.  This is a great permanent lifestyle diet to move on to after doing the AIP programme.

The Blood Type plan is about returning to your Genome roots - if you know your blood type, and eat the preferred food on the lists, and reduce the not so good options, you can reset your system quite quickly. 

This plan is harder if you have different groups in your household; I'm O- and this is where my eating style gradually navigates to.  Steve is A+ and that's his natural preference - only catch is I'm red meat and he's chicken, so we tend to focus on our own requirements for breakfast and lunch, and make sure our evening meals are a balance between the 2 types.  This is the most difficult combination between the 4 blood types.

Micronutrients

Exercise

Studies have shown that exercise decreases CRP serum levels (C-Reactive Protein which measures inflammation levels in the body), so a gentle walk, a bit of yoga or pilates, or even dancing to music videos can help with this.

So where to from here...?

Bioregulatory Systems Medicine for Biotoxin-Related Illness using a system of healing and cleansing the body that is gentle and effective known as Homotoxicology created by Dr Reckeweg which I have been using since 2000.

Homotoxicology is an extensively researched practice, that studies the influences of toxic substances in the human body, where symptoms and disease are seen as a result of the biological resistance to toxic substances.

It’s broken into 6 Phases which are represent the ability of the body to cope with toxins. These are represented in the Six-Phase Table and I’ll use the Locomotor System and Immune Systems as examples:

• Excretion: In this phase, the body is able to cope adequately with the toxins through excretion. Examples of this phase are Joint Pains and Susceptibility to infections.
• Inflammation: A fever is the best example of the inflammation phase. A fever is the natural attempt of the body to neutralise toxins that it cannot adequately removed by excretion. Examples of this phase are Epicondylitis (inflammation of the tendons) and Weak immune system, acute infection.
• Deposition: The body stores the toxins if they still cannot be removed. Usually asymptomatic, when the proper treatment is administered, however, one of the first signs that it is working is symptoms of disease. This is said to be because these toxins are being eliminated out of the body. Examples of this phase are Exostosis (benign bone growth on top of existing bone) and Weak reactions.
• Impregnation: After a period of time, the toxins build up and the body becomes “impregnated” by this. They become part of the connective tissue itself and may cause tissue damage. During this stage, severe symptoms can occur. Examples of this phase are Chronic rheumatoid arthritis and Autoimmune disease, immunodeficiency, chronic infections.
• Degeneration: During this phase, organ degeneration occurs as the built up toxins start destroying large cellular groups within the organs. Examples of this phase are Spondylosis (degeneration of the spinal column - bone spurs, degenerating discs) and AIDS.
• Differentiation: At this stage, toxic cellular groups start to “differentiate” or distinguish themselves as distinct cell form.s. At the extreme end of this phase, Malignancies such as tumours start to form. Examples of this phase are Sarcoma (malignant tumor) and Slow reactions.

The healing process is based on the 3 pillars of Homotoxicology which are:

• Drainage & Detoxification
• Immune modulation
• Cell & Organ Support

If this sounds like something you would like to explore to work on your chronic inflammation, then please book a consultation or give me a call.

  Remember, if you experience any of these symptoms, seek medical advice promptly.

Bibliography

Arthritis - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic
Arthritis: What it is, Symptoms, Causes, and More
Arthritis | Johns Hopkins Medicine
Arthritis: Causes and Risk Factors
Arthritis pain: Do's and don'ts - Mayo Clinic
Inflammation | Linus Pauling Institute | Oregon State University