Arthritis Treatment
According to the latest medical theory, chronic inflammation is the root cause of almost every disease suffered by human beings.
That?s right. Many doctors believe persistent, low-level inflammation paves the way for chronic disease, including those we usually experience late in life, e.g. arthritis, heart and kidney disease, and cancer.
As a part of our immune response system, inflammation occurs when the body is fighting germs that enter the body through a variety of ways, e.g. injury or inhalation. When you experience redness, swelling, heat, infection, and pain from a variety of ailments, it?s a sign of inflammation. Normally, the inflammation goes away when the body has conquered the infection or injury, but if the body fails to shut off the inflammation process, a more serious condition can occur.
It is generally recognized that heart attacks occur when the blood vessels become clogged with ?plaque? (what we usually refer to as the bad LDL cholesterol) that is deposited on the vessel walls. This bad cholesterol also gets embedded inside arteries and our immune system “attacks” it. Persistent inflammation in the arteries can eventually cause plaque to burst. Now many doctors use a simple blood test for inflammation called CRP (short for C-reactive Protein) to help assess a person’s cardiac risk. CRP is an index of inflammation in the arteries and the CRP increases as inflammation increases. For example, test have shown that middle aged men with high CRP levels in their blood were three times more likely to suffer a heart attack in the next 6 years than men with normal levels. Medical experts say that a CRP of 3.0 mg/L or higher triples your heart attack risk. People with CRP less than 0.5 mg/L rarely have heart attacks.
The good news is that we can do something to reduce the risks of persistent inflammation, including losing weight, exercising regularly, and eating the right foods. According to the Center for Human Nutrition at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, some foods can cause inflammation while others can decrease it. Diets that are rich in fruits and vegetables, and foods that offer lots of Omega-3 fatty acids (such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, and walnuts) are best. Further, a diet of such foods has been shown to be instrumental in weight reduction, and lowering CRP and insulin resistance.
You can also take prescription or over-the-counter NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Vioxx, Celebrex, and Bextra), which reduce inflammation but can have dangerous side effects. While these drugs are effective COX-2 inhibitors, the life-threatening side effects from prolonged uninterrupted use (such as gastro-intestinal hemorrhage and kidney and liver failure) make them both dangerous and controversial. One has only to read the literature produced by the companies manufacturing these drugs to know how dangerous they are. In fact, in the United States in the year 2000, more people died from the complications of NSAIDs than died from AIDS! Further, Vioxx was recently withdrawn from the marketplace because it caused heart attacks.
Inflammation is ?one of the bad guys.? You need to get it under control, but don?t jump from the ?frying pan into the fire? by treating your condition with a ?badder guy.? Eat right, exercise regularly, have your blood work done once a year, and listen to your doctor?s advice. May I also suggest you find a natural food supplement to treat your inflammation, rather than just reaching for the pill bottle?
Bruce Bailey, Ph.D.
Ayurvedic healing includes herbs, nutrition, panchakarma cleansing, acupressure massage, Yoga, Sanskrit and other non-invasive forms of therapy. Ayurvedic medicine is said to have originated from the ancient Hindu sacred texts the Vedas, but these actually contain few medical references. Modern scholars believe it evolved, gradually absorbing influences from Buddhism and other traditions along the way.
Swami Ram Dev says he is dedicated to the promotion of yoga and ayurveda. He says, “These ancient sciences are millions of years old. Though people have lost touch with these and moved to allopathy, these ancient sciences help to cure, while allopathy only suppresses the disease”. Substantiating his claim, he narrates cases of his patients who have been cured.
Swami Ram Dev says “this Western science has failed to find cure for joint problems and spinal problems”. “They recommend operations while I say these can be cured with ayurvedic methods. These operations only make the problem dormant for some time,” he claims.
There is no typical Ayurvedic session - even the methods of diagnosis may vary from practitioner to practitioner. The basic diagnosis is known as the three-point diagnosis and involves detailed observation of your appearance, examination by touch, and a detailed questionnaire about your life and health. After diagnosis comes treatment, and the range of treatments is vast, however, you will be given guidelines for healthy living and instructed in the diet, which will soothe and correct imbalances in your body type. You may be prescribed a course of purification to eliminate toxins from the body and to energize the body’s elimination mechanisms. Herbal preparations may be prescribed. A host of other healing techniques including massage, exercise, breathing and meditation may be used.
This understanding that we are all unique individuals enables Ayurveda to address not only specific health concerns but also offers explanation as to why one person responds differently to another.
The sanskrit term ‘Ayurveda’ is composed of two words- Ayus + Veda. Ayus means life and Veda means knowledge. So the literal meaning of Ayurveda is science of life.
Current Studies:
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine tested the effects of guggul lipid on high cholesterol. Over the 6-month period of this study, they did not find that adults with high cholesterol showed any improvement in cholesterol levels. In fact, the levels of low-density lipoproteins (the “bad” cholesterol) increased slightly in some people in the group taking guggul. In addition, some in the guggul lipid group developed a skin rash. This team is conducting further studies on herbal therapies used in Ayurveda for cardiovascular conditions, including curcuminoids (substances found in the root of the plant turmeric).
At the NCCAM-supported Center for Phytomedicine Research at the University of Arizona, scientists are investigating three botanicals (ginger, turmeric, and boswellia) used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat inflammatory disorders. They are seeking to better understand these botanicals and determine whether they might be useful in treating arthritis and asthma.
A compound from a plant called Mucuna pruriens, also known as cowhage, is being studied at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The research team is investigating the compound’s potential to prevent or lessen the severe, often disabling side effects that people with Parkinson’s disease experience from prolonged treatment with conventional drugs.
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