Reduce Rheumatoid Arthritis and Inflammation With Antioxidants From Resveratrol

Rheumatoid arthritis can be cured by a variety of diets created by health experts. Below are diet suggestions one must follow:

1. Tea: Examples of this are green and black teas. Green tea has polyphenols known as epigallocatechin or EGCG. Black tea can stimulate pain reduction. The compounds that are special in teas are fluoride, flavonoids, and phytoestrogens. The antioxidants obtained through resveratrol which can enhance the feeling of people undergoing stress and pain.

2. Grapes: It is high in non-steronoidal compounds and phyto-estrogens which can stop the cells from swelling. Cell inflammation also leads to arthritis and other problems in the joint.

3. Vegetables: A diet with many vegetables can help in the reduction of swelling for most people. It has many leukotrienes and prostaglandins used in avoiding problems with joints.

4. Broccoli: It has glutathione responsible for detoxification processes. It can also enhance the body's supply of vitamins E and C. Other foods rich in glutathione are watermelon, grape fruit, avocados, and peaches.

5. Fishes: They are rich in Omega-3, a fatty acid found in fish that helps ease the feeling of pain. Fish oil plays an important role in the diet for it helps the body get rid of the causes of joint problems. Fishes rich in Omega-3 are bluefish, salmon, white fish, tuna, anchovies, capeline, herring, shad, mackerel, dogfish, and sardines.

6. Pineapple: It has bromelain for healing sports injuries.

7. Olive Oil: It has unsaturated fatty acids that can improve swelling, joint problems, and the like.

Hope this article can give you a guide on this arthritis.

What Causes Arthritis in Older Dogs?

Arthritis is becoming more and more common in older dogs, particularly in larger, heavier breeds. It is a condition that affects the joints which makes it more difficult and painful for him to move around. There is more than one type of arthritis and knowing which condition your dog has will make it easier for you to treat him and ease his pain.

Rheumatoid arthritis is one type. This type of arthritis occurs when the dog's immune system becomes overactive and cannot distinguish between natural proteins produced by the body and foreign proteins. The immune system will start to produce antibodies to fight the proteins and attacks the surface of the cartilage around the joints.

The joints then become severely inflamed and your dog will start to struggle with mobility. This is also an erosive disease; not only does inflammation occur but the cartilage and bone in the joint will start to wear away. This does not just affect one joint unfortunately; several will be attacked at once giving your dog severe pain.

Rheumatoid arthritis is not a common disease in dogs and little is known about what actually causes it. It could be due to sudden infection, disease of the digestive system or even cancer. Sometimes though, it can happen with no other problems being present. IT normally affects small, toy breeds of dogs around the age of 4.

Osteoarthritis is the more common type of the condition that dogs suffer from. This is normally caused by damage to the cartilage and joint by an injury, although age does play its part in this disease as well. The joints and cartilage will start to wear out, causing inflammation in some cases. This is incredibly painful and makes it very difficult for your dog to move around in comfort.

Whilst it is important for your dog to receive a good healthy exercise regime, too much and too often can lead to problems later on in life. Your dog can sustain injuries running around, chasing a ball or jumping in and out of the car. You won't always know about these injuries as some are minor enough not to be a problem at the time.

However, the damage may already have been done and the joints are starting to take a pounding. A good diet is also essential as overweight dogs are more likely to suffer from arthritis as well. The dog's joints can only take so much pressure and increased weight and lack of exercise will lead to the cartilage starting to break down and wear away.

Some breeds are more susceptible than others but all dogs are at risk, especially as they get older. A lifetime of exercise will start to tell on the joints and they will start to wear away, causing an immense amount of discomfort and stiffness to your dog. Treatment is possible, but normally only to ease the pain and allow for a better quality of life. Unfortunately, particularly in older dogs, the damage cannot be repaired; we can only try to stop further damage from occurring.

New Implant Helps Cartilage Grow

Engineers at MIT and researchers at the University of Cambridge designed a new resorbable, porous implant for joint surfaces. Chondromimetic is an implant with a two layer scaffolding that encourages the body's natural healing process. The implant stimulates the repair of damaged joint surfaces caused by degenerative processes, such as osteoarthritis. Chondromimetic contains collagen, glycosaminoglycans and calcium phosphate which are biocompatible materials normally found in cartilage and bone. The implant has a two layer scaffold which provides a framework to allow cells to migrate in and around and start the regeneration process. One layer of the scaffold mimics bone and the other layer mimic cartilage and they can stimulate stem cells in the bone marrow to produce new bone and cartilage. The dual layer scaffold resembles the cartilage and bone layers in a normal joint and this makes it unique and perfect for joint surfaces.

Arthritis is the inflammation and swelling of the joint tissues and associated deterioration of the cartilage and osteoarthritis is the breakdown of the cartilage within the joint. Healthy joint cartilage helps with shock absorption and allows the bones to glide smoothly over each other. When the cartilage deteriorates, the underlying bone is exposed which causes painful and limited joint movement.

There is no current treatment for osteoarthritis that will replace the cartilage. There are conservative therapies for managing the pain and accommodating the joint. There are medications, such as ibuprofen, which can manage the pain and discomfort. Surgical procedures are limited. Some current procedures involve drilling the deteriorated joint surface to encourage new cartilage growth. There are some cartilage implants which can be placed within the joint and have some success. When the arthritis becomes severe and the pain is limiting, many joints are replaced. In the foot, the great toe joint is the most commonly affected by osteoarthritis. Joint fusion, placing two bones together with screws and removing the remaining cartilage, is a common procedure for severe osteoarthritis.

The Chondromimetic implant is an novel approach and current research is encouraging, but further evidence is needed to establish the safety and effectiveness.

Rheumatoid Arthritis - What It Is

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory, chronic disease that affects multiple joints. Some of the common characteristics includes periods of inflammation/exacerbation then remission. Usually the small joints are affected first, with a symmetrical joint involvement e.g. right and left fingers simultaneously etc.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Process

Synovial membrane thickens, becoming increasingly vascularised and filled with inflammatory cells. This build up of tissue is very aggressive, and can cause:
- erosion of cartilage and subchondral bone
- infiltrates tendon sheaths and disrupts its mechanisms, limiting gliding effect, and can lead to tendon rupture
- goes into the space of connective tissues
- nerve compressions of the sensory or motor nerve especially in tight compartments

This results in pain, joint instability, contractures, weakness of the muscles and even deformity or subluxation. There is usually a varying degrees and levels of damage, pain and functional levels. The perception and actual damage can determine the ultimate function and mobility of each individual. Patients with better pain tolerance and education and hope usually end up with better results and function.

Phases Of Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease

There are three phases of rheumatoid arthritis: acute, sub-acute and chronic. Their characteristics are:

Acute: lots of inflammation, swelling, pain in joints, elevated temperature
Sub-acute: lesser activity and easier to be controlled by medication, more stable but demonstrates that disease is progressing
Chronic: during this stage, the disease is no longer active, but at this point there will be residual biomechanical problems in the joint will cause pain, instability or stiffness

Does Glucosamine Work For Osteoarthritis? The Truth Revealed!

Do Supplements Work?

There are a number of supplements that claim to be beneficial for the treatment of Osteoarthritis. However, there is very little medical evidence to support most of the claims with the exception of vitamins as a part of a healthy diet and Glucosamine Sulphate. Many of the companies are free to make any claims they choose with marketing etc. because in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not review products listed as "supplements". The two most common supplements for Osteoarthritis which do have some evidence to support their use to relieve pain are Glucosamine and Chondroitin.

What Is Glucosamine and Chondroitin? Glucosamine and Chondroitin are substances naturally found in healthy cartilage in joints and have been shown to be effective in relieving pain in some studies. Glucosamine is available in three different preparations:

• Glucosamine Sulphate


• Glucosamine Hydrochloride


• Glucosamine NAS

Only Glucosamine Sulphate along with Chondroitin has been shown to be effective in reducing pain and symptoms. However, people who have an allergy to shellfish should not use either product. They may need to be taken for several weeks to a number of months before any pain and symptomatic relief is apparent. During this period it is important to continue taking the product to maximize benefits. The particular brand is very important in providing benefit to patients.

Recently, Consumer Reports did a review on Glucosamine Sulphate/Chondroitin. The review warned that many brands did not accurately list the amount of Glucosamine in the product and also rated numerous brands on cost/value. In the review only one brand was rated by Consumer Reports as one of the best brands because of its purity and accuracy in listing the amount of Glucosamine in the product. In addition, the brand was also rated as one of the top values based on price. It is important to remember that a company can make any claim it chooses on how much Glucosamine is in the bottle etc. so use a reputable brand.

Other Supplements-Commonly used but with little evidence to support their use to treat OA:

• Omega-3 fatty acid-unsaturated fat fatty acids commonly found in fish


• Selenium


• Vitamin B9 (folate) and B12


• Vitamin D


• Antioxidants-including vitamins C and E


• Ginger extract


• Bone Morphogenetic Protein 6 (BMP-6)


• Avocado/soybean extract


• Frankincense-derived from specific trees in India


• Bromelain-enzymes found in the Bromeliaceae family of plants


• Hydrolyzed collagen (hydrolysate) (a gelatin product)

Treatment Options for Thumb CMC Arthritis

Thumb CMC arthritis is a common condition that affects millions of people worldwide. The "opposable thumb" that has allowed us to develop fine motor coordination is made possible by the CMC joint, located at the base of the thumb. Also known as the basal joint, it's the most important joint in your hand, allowing you to pinch, manipulate objects, and to grasp items of various sizes. When this joint is painful, tasks that seem so simple, such as writing, turning keys, or buttoning, can become burdensome.

The thumb CMC joint gets most of its stability from ligaments, rather than the bony structure of the joint. These ligaments can stretch after years of use, eventually leading to instability, causing the cartilage of these bones to wear. A form of osteoarthritis, it's a progressive condition caused by wear and tear that can progress to bone on bone pain in the later stages.

In daily life, this joint takes an enormous amount of strain since it's used whenever we hold anything in our hand. It often begins to show signs of wear when a person is in their late 40s to early 50s. Both women and men are affected by thumb CMC arthritis, but it's more common in women since they are more likely to have ligament laxity.

There are several options to treat the pain that occurs with thumb CMC arthritis:

1. Splinting: The purpose of wearing a splint is to provide support to the thumb CMC joint, taking some of the strain off of the joint. A good splint will position the thumb so you can easily touch the tip of your thumb to your index finger. Custom splints can be molded directly to your hand by a local hand or occupational therapist. Premade splints come in a variety of options. Generally, splints can be worn during activities that involve thumb use, and can also be worn at night to keep the thumb in a good resting position.

2. Therapy: A local hand or occupational therapist can teach you ways to decrease your pain, techniques to protect your joints, and exercises to prevent stiffness.

3. Cortisone Injections: Your orthopedic surgeon may recommend a cortisone injection to decrease your pain. It's a steroid that is injected directly into the joint to decrease inflammation. Pain relief can vary from person to person. Some report total relief of symptoms while others don't. Talk to your doctor to learn more.

4. Surgery: People decide to have a joint replacement surgery when pain has progressed to the point that it limits function in daily activities. With this procedure, a bone in your wrist (or at least a portion of it) is removed. A strip of muscle or tendon is taken from your forearm and placed in the open space. There are several different versions of this surgery so if you have questions, talk to your doctor.

Despite which option you choose, pay attention when you experience thumb pain. Try to limit or avoid activities that require pinching whenever possible. Many adaptive devices have been developed to decrease the pinch force used for activities. Using a pencil grip on your pen or a key adapter on your keys can make your life easier and less painful. Remember that the earlier you seek treatment, the more proactive you can be to prevent it from progressing!

The Best Diet For an Arthritis Patient

Now more than ever, doctors are beginning to believe that some of the severity of arthritis can be reduced by eating the right foods and avoiding others. There needs to be a great deal more research done to investigate the right diet for every type of arthritis, but past successes have proven that there is a connection between what we eat and how bad our arthritis symptoms are. For instance, a gout patient who avoids alcohol and eats purine-rich foods can lower the uric acid level in the blood. Less uric acid drastically reduces the chances of having a gout attack.

Watch Your Weight to Lower Arthritis Risk

People who are as little overweight as 20% have shown a far greater risk of developing arthritis and of aggravating existing arthritis conditions. It is easy to understand that extra body weight will add to the stress placed on damaged joints. People who eat more also experience a greater likelihood of eating something that acts like an allergen in triggering flare-ups of arthritis and altering the immune system.

Any diet that is well-balanced and healthy will contribute to the well-being of an arthritis patient. In addition, it's always the smartest practice to avoid fad diets. You can never tell with a fad diet if you're getting the nutrients necessary for overall health and well-being.

Tests on the effects of high cholesterol and high fat foods on arthritis have proven that both contribute to the development of arthritis as well as to the increased pain levels of current patients. To start with, you want to eat a diet low in these items in order to avoid getting arthritis. If you already have arthritis, avoiding these foods will help relieve pain.

Among the foods that all people should avoid, and especially arthritis patients, are:

• Foods from fast food restaurants


• Soda


• Potatoes, pasta, and other starchy foods


• Red or other fatty meats


• Foods that are high in saturated fats

Some foods are beneficial to those suffering from arthritis because they seem to relieve pain. Fruits which contain high vitamin C content include oranges, strawberries, and apples. Oily fish are high in vitamin E, and whole grain wheat products and brown rice also contain beneficial properties.

In the western world, people eat diets that are far too heavy in cholesterol and fat. This diet is detrimental to the health of everyone, but arthritis sufferers may be making their symptoms worse by continuing to eat this way. Everyone should be eating a diet high in nutritious foods that don't contain fats and cholesterol. Not only will this type of diet contribute to overall well-being, but it will also help people maintain their ideal weight. Overweight arthritis patients need to be the first to take up the cry: Fight Fat, Eat Right!