57. ATTACK ARTHRITIS WITH LIFESTYLE

DEAR GRANDMA DONNA: Arthritis seems to be our number one cause of disability. One out of every seven people in America suffers from it, and almost everyone over 50 gets it, starting with mild symptoms, which grow worse every year. Modern medicine hasn’t done much toward finding a cure for arthritis, but what about A NATURAL WAY? Can arthritis be treated with a natural lifestyle? LOVE, SAVANA

DEAR SAVANA: It’s encouraging to know that many doctors have had success in helping patients overcome arthritis with A NATURAL WAY lifestyle. Before we look at lifestyle, let’s define arthritis.

There are two forms of arthritis, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is related to the wear and tear of aging, and involves deterioration of the cartilage at the ends of the bones.

In rheumatoid arthritis the cartilage and tissues around the joints are destroyed, and the body replaces the damaged tissue with scar tissue, causing the spaces between the joints to fuse together. The entire body is affected instead of just one joint as in osteoarthritis.

Dr. Gunther Paulien in his book, The Divine Prescription, states that most authorities agree that arthritis has developed because the food eaten has been over-refined and devitalized. There is a vitamin and mineral deficiency in the diet, with a preponderance of starches, sugars and fats, and a deficiency of B-vitamins.

This faulty diet brings a highly acid blood condition, which causes destruction of the cartilage and bones. Destruction takes place because the process of neutralizing the acid blood condition causes the body to produce calcium carbonate, which precipitates into the tissues, muscles, blood vessels, and the joints, causing the conditions of rheumatism and arthritis, also arteriosclerosis.

The Quiet Hour Echoes names five steps to beat arthritis:   

Step One: Go Vegetarian. Studies show that animal products, especially milk, aggravate arthritis symptoms. Eliminating all animal products enables many arthritis sufferers to completely stop taking pain medications.

Step Two: Go Natural. Grocery stores stock tons of highly processed foods that are low in nutrition and high in price. By eating fresh whole foods, you give your body the phytochemicals and antioxidants that fight disease and keep your joints healthy.

Step Three: Go Low Fat. All fats aggravate arthritis. Most people know to avoid animal fats and hydrogenated oils, but all vegetable and fish oils should be omitted also.

Step Four: Stop Eating Allergenic Foods. After following an all-natural, low-fat vegetarian diet for two weeks with no improvement, food allergies may be causing your arthritis symptoms. Start by eliminating wheat and corn. If you still have not improved within two weeks, pare down your diet to sweet potatoes, brown rice, non-citrus fruits, and green and yellow vegetables. Drink only water. If you see improvement within two weeks, add back one food at a time to see if it causes problems.

Step Five: Stop Taking Harmful Drugs. Arthritis sufferers often take drugs to fight pain. These are called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Although they may temporarily reduce pain, they aggravate the causes of arthritis and should be avoided.

In addition to the suggestions of the Quiet Hour, Dr.Paulien makes several suggestions for eating to heal arthritis. He recommends a low-protein diet with emphasis on raw, fresh vegetables and fruits. Raw foods contain enzymes, which are destroyed by cooking, therefore it is vital to eat much food as grown.

One of the best fruits to treat arthritis is cherries and cherry juice, about one-half pound a day. Other very beneficial fruits are bananas, pineapples, and sour apples. Potatoes, watercress, celery, garlic, comfrey, and endive help to neutralize the acid condition brought on by arthritis.

One of the most curative measures in the treatment of arthritis is fasting on vegetable juices. Carrots are inexpensive and make delicious juice, especially with an apple added for flavor. Other vegetables, such as celery, cabbage, broccoli, etc. can be added to the carrot juice to make a powerful drink for healing. The alkaline action of raw juices dissolves the accumulation of deposits around the joints. Fasting frees the body of its accumulated toxic load.

Beans are also important because of their high sulfur-bearing amino acids that work toward strengthening the connective tissue in the joints.

Often the patient also has overall physical malfunction—lack of exercise, general fatigue, physical and emotional stress, worry and mental strain, and sometimes overweight, which puts extra pressure on the joints. Dr. Paulien suggests five more steps:

  1. Plan a period of rest for the recuperation of the power to function.
  2. Adopt a lifestyle to make for less stress and worry.
  3. Schedule at least 20 to 30 minutes of daily sunshine.
  4. Begin an exercise program as soon as joints have been freed from inflammation. Good general exercises are walking, hiking, swimming, and bicycling. Thirty minutes of daily exercise boosts resistance to arthritis and speeds healing.

One more rule—omit all sodas, which are deadly in producing an acid condition in the body. Drink water, at least eight to ten glasses daily. KILL THE CRIPPLER! Love, Grandma Donna

EGGPLANT CASSEROLE
4 cloves garlic minced
1 onion chopped
1 medium eggplant diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced
1 medium zucchini diced
1 tomato diced
16 oz spaghetti sauce
1/2 c whole-wheat bread crumbs
Saute all vegetables in water until tender. Add spaghetti
sauce. Place in a baking dish and top with bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes until top is brown.