Supplements @ MindSay

 

                                         

 

I have personally tried most of these, what works form me, but not to the extint that they say they will are:

eliminating nightshades, like tomatoes, has no effect on me.

The only diet that helped me was the low carb diet, getting rid of the sugars.The Bromelain worked some. Glucosamine chondroitin& MSM  triple strength helps,and I took a natural pain pill that had this in it turmeric, boswellia, ginger, and aswangandha relieved pain and inflammation , I would still get it but when I first found this it was 12 dollars, now its close to 18 dollars, so I get it now and then from my health food store.

blessings,

Arthritis Diets & Supplements: Do They Work?

By presidential proclamation, we're living in the National Bone and Joint Decade, 2002-2011, and that means we should be seeing a surge in research into causes and treatments of arthritis and other diseases.

Meanwhile, many people with osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) seek relief by buying the latest book or nutritional supplement claiming to relieve or cure arthritis, or they take advice from a neighbor who swore that eating gin-soaked raisins eased her symptoms.

How do you navigate this gray area of unregulated therapies to know if what you're doing can help or harm? WebMD talked with two experts who provided insight into the claims made for arthritis diets and supplements. Hayes Wilson, MD, is a rheumatologist in Atlanta and medical adviser for the Arthritis Foundation. Christine Gerbstadt, RD, MD, practices in Pittsburgh and is a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

Here's a guide to help you sort fact from fiction:

Diets

• Eliminate nightshades. One of the most common diet claims is that eliminating nightshades, which include potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and most peppers, relieves arthritis. This diet probably isn't harmful, but there are no studies to support it.
• Alkaline diet. The alkaline diet presumes both OA and RA are caused by too much acid. Among the foods it excludes are sugar, coffee, red meat, most grains, nuts, and citrus fruits. It's meant to be followed for just one month. It may be that people feel better because they lose weight, reducing stress on joints, which eases pain. There are no studies to support it.
• Dong diet. This restrictive diet relies heavily on vegetables, except tomatoes, and eliminates many of the same foods as the alkaline diet. There's no evidence it affects arthritis.
• Vegetarian diet. Some people report improvement in symptoms, but evidence is mixed. One small study of people with RA showed improvement in four weeks, and follow-up studies of those who stayed on the diet showed continued improvement after one and two years.
• Switching fats. One of the known correlations between food and arthritis is that omega-6 fatty acids increase inflammation, and omega-3 fatty acids reduce it. Limit intake of meat and poultry, and increase your intake of cold-water fish, such as sardines, mackerel, trout, and salmon. For salad dressings and cooking, substitute olive, canola, and flaxseed oils for corn, safflower, and sunflower oils.
• Gin-soaked raisins. Lots of people claim it works, but experts say there's no evidence. Grapes and raisins do contain anti-inflammatory compounds, but not in amounts that would be therapeutic. The gin might dull pain, but drinking to excess sabotages health benefits of nutrients and vitamins, and introduces a whole new set of problems.
• Green tea. Drinking three to four cups of green tea a day could help people with RA. Studies funded by the Arthritis Foundation showed that giving the polyphenolic compounds in green tea to mice significantly decreased the incidence and severity of RA. Human studies have not yet confirmed the results.

(avocado-soybean unsaponifiable). French studies of ASU, derived from avocado and soybean oils, show it can relieve OA pain, stimulate cartilage repair, and lower a patient's need for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to control pain. Jason Theodosakis, MD, author of The Arthritis Cure and champion of glucosamine chondroitin, believes ASU will have a major impact on treatment of OA. Sold in France by prescription under the name Piascledine 300, it's available in the U.S. without a prescription.

Black currant oil. See GLA.

Borage oil. See GLA.

Boron. Population studies show that people who have high-boron diets have a very low incidence of arthritis, and there's evidence that people with OA and RA can benefit. The best sources of boron are fresh fruits and vegetables and, depending on where you live, drinking water.

Bovine cartilage. Taken from the windpipe and trachea of cows, it's supposed to act as an anti-inflammatory agent in the treatment of OA and RA. A few animal and laboratory studies are promising, but there are no human studies to support claims. Researchers also think it may promote regrowth of cartilage.

Bromelain. This substance found in pineapple is supposed to relieve pain and swelling in OA and RA and improve mobility. There are no studies that show it's effective by itself, but one study of a bromelain supplement containing the enzymes rutin and trypsin relieved pain and improved function in 73 people with knee OA. The effect was similar to taking an NSAID.

CMO. It's touted as an "arthritis cure," but there's no human clinical evidence to support it.

Chondroitin sulfate. Used for many years in Europe to relieve OA pain, it's been shown to stop joint degeneration, improve function, and ease pain. One study followed patients with OA in finger joints for three years, and showed fewer patients developed further cartilage damage. It can take two months or more to realize the effects of chondroitin.

DMSO. Once widely used to relieve joint and tissue inflammation, it fell out of favor when animal studies showed high doses damaged the lens of the eye. Don't use it without consulting your doctor.

Evening primrose oil. See GLA.

Fish oil. Studies show it relieves the pain of RA.

Flaxseed. There are many good nutritional reasons to add it to your diet, but studies of its effect on arthritis have shown mixed results. Its anti-inflammatory properties work best if other vegetable-based oils are restricted.

GLA. Gamma linolenic acid (GLA) is an omega-6 fatty acid the body uses to make anti-inflammatory agents, unlike other omega-6 fatty acids that actually increase inflammation. It's found in evening primrose oil, black currant oil, and borage oil supplements. Several studies show it relieves the stiffness and pain of RA. In one study, some patients were able to quit taking NSAIDs.

Ginger. It's known to have painkilling and anti-inflammatory agents. Ginger is believed to reduce joint pain and inflammation in people with OA and RA, and protect the stomach from gastrointestinal effects of NSAIDs. A clinical study showed ginger reduced knee OA pain.

Glucosamine. As glucosamine hydrochloride or glucosamine sulfate, this supplement relieves symptoms for many, but not all, people with OA. It helps the body build and repair cartilage. In a double-blind study, glucosamine sulfate was as effective in relieving symptoms in patients with knee OA as ibuprofen and had fewer side effects. It takes about two months to realize the effectiveness of this supplement. And it's derived from crab, lobster, or shrimp shells, so check with your doctor before taking any kind of glucosamine if you are allergic to shellfish.

Glucosamine chondroitin. Many OA patients get relief by taking glucosamine and chondroitin together, but it's not known whether the combination is more effective than taking them alone. That's the subject of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study called GAIT (glucosamine/chondroitin arthritis intervention trial) now under way. The research shows how effective the supplements are in terms of improving functional ability and reducing pain in people with knee OA. Results are expected to be published in 2005.

MSM. It's widely touted for relief of pain and inflammation. Its safety and effectiveness have yet to be determined.

SAM-e. Many European studies over the last 20 years show SAM-e is as effective as anti-inflammatory painkillers in treating OA but with fewer side effects. It works in conjunction with vitamin B-12, B-6, and folate. Claims that SAM-e repairs and rebuilds cartilage lack evidence, as studies have been done only in the lab and in animals.

Shark cartilage. Ground-up cartilage from Pacific Ocean sharks is supposed to relieve the inflammation and pain of arthritis. Animal and lab studies are promising, but there are no human studies to support claims. Researchers also think it may promote regrowth of cartilage.

Stinging nettle. Taken orally or applied to the skin, stinging nettle is supposed to reduce the pain and inflammation of OA. Some studies show that patients can lower their dosages of NSAIDs by taking stinging nettle in extract form. Two small studies showed stinging nettle applied topically reduced pain for people with hip OA and thumb joint pain.

Turmeric. This supplement is used in traditional Chinese and Indian Aruyvedic medicine to relieve pain, stiffness, and inflammation of OA and RA. A small study that combined turmeric, boswellia, and zinc showed decreased pain in OA. Two studies using a combination of turmeric, boswellia, ginger, and aswangandha relieved pain and inflammation in RA. Its effectiveness alone is unknown.

Wild yam. Although it contains natural anti-inflammatory steroids, it is likely they're not in a form the body can use.

Use Caution

Experimenting with foods and supplements is not without risks. "I know people get desperate enough to try anything, but I would not feel comfortable eliminating whole groups of food," says Gerbstadt. "Before you eliminate any foods or modify your diet, check with a nutritionist."

"The best advice is to eat a healthy, well balanced diet and stay close to your ideal body weight so affected joints have less extra weight to carry around," says Wilson. "Also get plenty of rest and exercise and decrease stress."

Be aware that many supplements interfere with or enhance effects of medications you're already taking. For example, a number of supplements increase the effects of blood-thinning medication. Check with your doctor.

Note from blogmaster:  I have my own feelings about the way the FDA will pass drugs right and left that end up killing hundreds of people and then go on a rampage to remove an herb that has "possibly" killed one, due to massive overdose or contamination of product.  There is a vast imbalance existing between what the FDA approves and does not approve and the difference is money.  Hope you enjoy this lively discussion on the safety of health supplements, courtesy of Ira Marxe over at Good Health Supplements. Does he have an axe to grind?  Well, it could be said so since he's in the supplement business.  It could also be said that the axe is worth grinding.   I happen to agree that, given the staggering number of deaths due to prescription drugs each year, herbs and vitamins are much safer overall.   Are vitamins safe?  Should you be afraid to take your health supplements?   Health Care Article Written by Ira Marxe

It never ceases to amaze me how successfully fear is used to run our daily lives. We are bombarded with fear generating advertisements on radio, television, the newspapers and magazines.

 

If you don’t buy it in the next 12 hours, you will lose it forever. If you don’t buy this food or that food, you get a heart attack.

 

Pictures are painted for your imagination of what will happen to you if you don’t get your doctor to prescribe this drug or that drug and then there are books written by so called experts with book titles designed to frighten you into buying their book because if you don’t, the knowledge you will miss could cost you your life!

 

One such book was recently written by Dan Hurley who is the health and medical writer for the New York Times. When you read his book, you have to ask yourself, is Mr. Hurley more interested in making big bucks from the sale of his books then he is in providing us with honest information about nutritional supplements?

 

Can those who believe what he writes bring big trouble upon themselves because giving up or shying away from nutritional supplements can negatively impact their health and lives?

 

The title of Dan Hurley’s book is “Natural Causes: Death, Lies and Politics in America’s Vitamin and Herbal Supplement Industry” (Broadway Books). In the book he accuses the industry of just about everything short of causing the black plaque.

 

He states on the cover that the industry sells products that are “untested, unproven, and often tragically unsafe.” The book is intended to be disturbing (that’s what makes it sell), and creates concerns especially for people who take supplements regularly.

 

But should we really be worried based on the information in Mr. Hurley’s book? I think not.

Hurley’s vitriol is mostly aimed at the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994.

Here is what Hurley says about this act, "Breathtaking in its dimension, DSHEA would end forever the simple legal dichotomy between 'food' and 'drug' to create a third, hermaphroditic category that was both yet neither: the dietary supplement. And beyond the usual suspects -- vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids -- the law would permit the manufacturers to define a product as a 'dietary supplement' merely by saying so, no matter if it were artificially derived."

 

This statement, however, in far from correct.

 

Here, for example, is an excerpt taken straight from the FDA Web site: "The provisions of DSHEA define dietary supplements and dietary ingredients; establish a new framework for assuring safety; outline guidelines for literature displayed where supplements are sold; provide for use of claims and nutritional support statements; require ingredient and nutrition labeling; and grant FDA the authority to establish good manufacturing practice (GMP) regulations."

 

Funny, but this appears to be the exact opposite of what Dan Hurley is saying.

 

Hurley goes on to say that DSHEA turned the clock back 100 years when it comes to regulation of these products, which he also refers to as remedies "redolent of the snake oil era."

 

He picks the act apart, suggesting it lets anyone sell anything, regardless of how ineffective or even dangerous it might be, and says the industry doesn't have to answer to potential side effects or dangers (called "adverse events") experienced by consumers because the industry is not required to report these events to the government.

 

I don’t believe this! Where did he get this information from or did he just invent it to sell books?

Far from deregulating the industry, DSHEA elevates FDA industry regulations to nearly match the heavily regulated food industry.

 

The FDA now has new controls which include its ability to ban supplements, oversee good manufacturing practices, review health claims and hold manufacturers responsible for mislabeled or unsafe products.

 

The DSHEA also requires manufacturers to supply the FDA with adequate safety information at least 75 days before introducing any “new dietary ingredient” that was not in the food supply before the passage of the DSHEA, and yet another government agency, the Federal Trade Commission, regulates all dietary supplement advertising.

 

Given these regulations, does this sound like the DSHEA has weakened the laws governing nutritional supplements? I think not.

 

Hurley offers many ideas for cleaning up the supplement industry, ideas that are already in place.

For example: Hurley calls for better labeling, but DSHEA already requires dietary supplements to list the name and quantity of each ingredient and to identify the part of the plant used for herbal supplements.

 

Hurley calls for FDA regulation of manufacturing standards. Yet, currently, good manufacturing practice regulations are modeled after current food regulations. Furthermore, the FDA inspects dietary supplement plants.

 

Hurley also states that manufacturers of supplements do not have to report adverse events caused by their products to the FDA.

 

Hurley does not do his homework. In December 2006, a bill was passed amending the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to require manufacturers, distributors and packers of nonprescription drugs and dietary supplements to report serious adverse events to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

 

Here are some interesting statistics for you: In 2005, the FDA received more than 300,000 serious adverse event reports about drugs. In the same year, it received just 500 reports regarding dietary supplements.

 

Compare the relative safety and efficacy of vitamins and herbal supplements to further statistics: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen are responsible for about 16,500 deaths annually.

 

Prescription drugs, in spite of extensive testing, cause more that 106,000 deaths annually. You rarely hear of a death caused by nutritional supplements.

 

Hurley demeans the efficacy of such vitamins as vitamin E, and blatantly omits a Harvard study of over 87,000 nurses in the age range of 34 to 59 that found a 41% reduction in heart disease risk among those who took at least 100 IU of vitamin E supplements for at least 2 years.

 

A study of almost 40,000 male health professionals ages 40 to 75, found a 37% lower risk of heart disease among those who took daily vitamin E supplements of at least 100 IU for more than two years.

 

A National Institute of Aging study of 11,000 elderly people found that those who used vitamins C and E supplements had a 53% reduction in mortality from heart disease and a 42% reduction in death from all causes compared with non-users.

 

There are many other half truths and ignored studies in the book.

 

It is unfortunate that because of the size of his following and the position he holds in the New York Times, so many people will take this to heart and believe what he written.

 

Tragically, creating the fear that will keep people from buying nutritional supplements can cause some people their lives.

 

From my point of view, Dan Hurley’s reports can no longer be trusted regarding health matters. That is most unfortunate as Dan Hurley’s reports reach a wide audience.

 

Ten years ago I had congestive heart failure. Had it not been for nutritional supplements, I might be dead today.

 

We have horrendous health problems in the US today which will not be resolved until our medical profession begins looking for answers in nutritional supplements and not in drugs.

 

My best wishes for you good health and longevity.

Ira Marxe

 

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Men taking multi-vitamin supplements often may increase their risk of death from prostate cancer, according to a new study published in the May 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

 

But experts caution that the study could not establish a causal relation between the risk and use of multivitamins, meaning multivitamin use does not necessarily raise the death risk associated with prostate cancer.

 

The study, a statistical analysis, but not a trial, found that men who used multi-vitamins more than seven times a week were twice as likely to die of prostate cancer as men who never took vitamins.  

 

Those men were also at an increased risk of developing advanced or fatal prostate cancer, compared with men who never used multivitamins, reported Karla A. Lawson, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute and colleagues.

 

But apparently multivitamin use was not associated with increased risk of developing prostate cancer overall, the study found.

 

The study could not lead to any firm conclusion that taking vitamins definitely increases risk of men dying of prostate cancer.   The National Cancer Institute does not change any policy to tell men to stop using multivitamin supplements, according to news media reports.

Usual dosage

White willow bark
1 or 2 pills 3 times a day as needed for pain (follow package directions).
Standardized to contain 15% salicin. May irritate stomach.Bromelain500 mg 3 times a day on an empty stomach.
Eliminate after 2 weeks if ineffective.

Cayenne cream
Apply cream thinly to painful areas several times a day.
Standardized to contain 0.025%-0.075% capsaicin.

Ginger
100 mg 3 times a day.
Look for supplements standardized to contain gingerols. Can use essential oil of ginger as part of a massage blend.

Peppermint oil
Add a few drops oil to 1/2 ounce neutral oil.
Apply to painful areas up to 4 times daily.

St. John's wort
300 mg 3 times a day.
Standardized to contain 0.3% hypericin.

Kava
250 mg 3 times a day.
Standardized to contain at least30% kavalactones.

Valerian
400 mg a day standardized to contain 0,8% valerenic acid.
Don't use during pregnancy or when lactating.