Your food shopping list – to ease Arthritis Pain and Inflammation
Sonia Jones ND from the Haven Spa and Health Clinic
A shopping list to simplify things for you -
PROTEIN SECTION
Avoid pork – very acid forming
Free-range or organic if possible
Beef is second to pork, in the acid forming stakes then
Lamb
Chicken
Duck
Venison
Turkey
_________eat less of the protein foods above this line_____________
Fish
Tofu – organic
Eggs
Goat’s cheese
Natural plain yogurt
Beans or lentils mixed with whole grains (for complete protein) – least acid forming
Nuts and seeds
Raw nuts and seeds – good source of ‘essential fatty acids’ and protein
Almonds
Walnuts
Sesame seeds
Flaxseeds (Linseeds)
Hemp seeds
Cashews
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Other raw un-salted nuts
FRESH FRUIT and VEGETABLES
Lots of them, in as big a variety as possible
If you want to get rid of your pain – no oranges and no tomatoes (fresh or canned)
Secondly – cut down drastically on potatoes, eggplants and bell peppers
GRAINS and seeds – only whole grains
Oats
Millet
Quinoa
Brown rice
Spelt
Kamut
Buckwheat
Amaranth
Corn
To a lesser extent Barley,
Avoid wheat and rye (white or wholemeal) these are extremely acid forming.
SWEETNESS – in moderation or better still educate your taste buds so you don’t need these sweeteners
Dried fruit
Honey
Molasses
Stevia
DRINKS
Water
Herbal teas
Smoothies – made with fruit, some protein powder, and a plain yogurt
Green tea (contain low levels of caffeine)
White tea
Rooibos tea (red tea)
Home made vegetable juices
Alcohol in strict moderation
PASTA
Rice noodles occasionally
Soba noodles made from 100% buckwheat
GENERAL
Organic apple cider vinegar
Low-Salt
Black Pepper
All Herbs
All Spices
All Beans
All Lentils
Goat’s Milk
Rice Milk
Oat Milk
Brown Rice
Tamari (soy sauce without wheat)
Tahini (sesame paste/butter)
Butter (no margarine)
Ghee
SPROUTING
Mung beans
Lentils
All whole grains
All beans – except red beans and soy beans
OILS – extra virgin, cold pressed, expelled or first pressed
Olive oil
Sesame oil
Coconut oil
Walnut oil
Hemp oil
Flax seed oil (never heat)
TREATS
70% or more cocoa chocolate bar
Dried fruit
Natural popcorn, made yourself
Natural nut butters, buy in glass jars or make yourself
Fresh fruit
Raw nuts and seeds
Read MoreYuca (Cassava) root can help arthritis
Sonia Jones ND from the Haven Spa and Health Clinic, Boquete, Chiriqui, Panama
Locus eating yuca plant
I love 99.99% of fruits and vegetables, but this one is in the 00.01% for me. However, I do know a lot of people who really enjoy this vegetable, each to their own. It is a good source of B3 (helps to lower cholesterol), plus iron and calcium. Yuca is a root vegetable with a rough hard thick brown covering, a little like bark. The inside is hard, white and dense, it’s quite heavy. Similar to the potato in that it must be cooked before you eat it. It is quite a lot starchier than the potato and a tad sweeter.
This is not to be confused with the yucca plant – yuccas are widely grown as an ornamental plant in gardens or indoor house plants in cooler climates. Some will bear edible parts – like fruits, seeds, and flowers or stems , but not the edible roots we are talking about here. The yucca plant has long blade like leaves growing from a central point from the ground, similar in configuration as the aloe vera plant (but with softer leaves). The yucca plant is like a small tree, with three medium oval shape blades on each small stem.
The yuca root contains high levels of a phyto-compound, called saponins which acts as a natural steroid. When the compound is extracted from the yuca it makes a perfect natural soap or shampoo.
How do these compounds affect our health when we consume them? These saponins are similar to steroids. They help to reduce inflammation of the joints particularly and in the body in general. Yuca is often included in formulas for inflammatory conditions like arthritic and rheumatoid conditions. It has been reported that yuca has the ability to break up mineral and inorganic deposits. What does this mean? It helps to break down or prevent the built up of calcification of kidney stones, gall bladder stones or calcification of joints. And due to its anti-inflammatory properties it can also help conditions like an inflamed prostate. However, no one plant should be seen as the be all and end all – it should be consumed along with a whole host of other plants.
Yuca has a positive affect on encouraging the action of the ‘good guys’ the friendly intestinal bacteria, which in turn aids the proper digestion of food and prevents the ‘bad guys’ from flourishing. In research it has been shown that the high content of saponins in this plant when ingested stay in the intestines and act on the intestinal flora helping to regulate the balance, stimulating the friendly normal flora and inhibiting others.
In the US much research is being carried out on the use of saponins from the yuca on its use in sewage treatment plants to breakdown organic waste faster, also on farm and factory waste.
When we eat foods (beans and lentils) or herbs (alfalfa, fenugreek, garlic or tribulus) that are high in saponins they stimulate better absorption of vitamins and minerals and decrease the amount of toxins we absorb. This helps to put less of a strain on our already over worked detoxification organs. So with more nutrients absorbed, an increased action of anti-inflammation, improved immune system, better functioning organs – conditions like arthritis and other degenerative diseases improve. The saponins provide a more alkaline environment (most people’s systems are too acidic these days) aiding the digestive tract improving digestion, reducing incomplete digestion and decomposition in the colon which causes unpleasant smelling gases.
The common potato has the opposite effect to yuca, the potato is part of the Solanaceae family, and contains plant compounds that encourages pain and inflammation, another main member of this infamous family is the tomato! Many people have found their aches and pains have improved by eliminating tomatoes, a long with eating healthier. The other attribute yuca has, is its rich source of absorb-able manganese, this helps in the process of repairing joints. Researchers have looked closely at this plants action and its affect on joints and cartilage, the amazing steroid like saponins strengthen the bowel flora of the intestines, breaking down organic body wastes like uric acid (which causes pain) and cleansing mineral deposits that might exist in the joints.
Native Americans used the soapy leaves from yuca for numerous conditions. Poultices or baths were used for skin sores and other diseases as well as for sprains. Certainly used in all sorts of inflammatory conditions.
Other uses – it acts as an astringent so will help to reduce bleeding. Some people find it extremely helpful as a mild laxative, encouraging bowel movements.
How to use yuca? Any recipe that calls for potatoes you can be substituted with yucca, just needs more cooking. First, peel of the rough brown skin, cut open and remove the hard core.
Boquete Bash
2lbs fresh yuca
Milk or you can use rice or soy milk
1 garlic clove, minced or crushed
½ cup of chopped cilantro
A squeeze of lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
A little extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil (optional)
Peel the yuca, cut into thick chunks. Cooking time is longer than for potatoes – cover with water and boil until soft. Drain completely (save the boiled water for soups etc) and add milk, garlic, cilantro, the squeeze of lemon, oil (optional), pepper, and salt. Mash and combine all the ingredients, add more milk if you need to, and serve with your favorite meat stew.
Read MoreNatural substances, in natural foods can increase arthritis suffering.
Sonia Jones ND from the Haven Spa and Health Clinic, Boquete, Chiriqui, Panama
We all know the saying there are always exceptions that prove the rule. Here we discuss the general rule that all natural foods are good for you, but there are exceptions to this rule, that might surprise you.
Some natural foods contain compounds that hinder your health. For instance – oxalic acid is found in rhubarb, spinach, parsley, strawberries, cranberries, beets, and Swiss chard. Oxalic acid binds with minerals like calcium, iron and zinc in the digestive tract hindering their absorption. If you are prone to kidney stones I suggest you avoid the above foods, as kidney stones are often made up of oxalates, coming mainly from the diet.
Phytic acid also hinders absorption of minerals, it is especially high in wheat. Grains like brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa, barley, and oats are much better for you. Wheat bran would be super high in phytic acid and causes a mineral deficiency. So remove one grain from your diet and add five more grains.
Sulphur rich foods cause some people digestive problems like wind and discomfort or even pain, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, and onions. If your digestive system blows up with these foods, never eat them raw, cook them with seeds like dill, caraway, fennel these seeds help the digestive system to cope better. Sulphur is an important part of our body’s make-up and has long been used as part of a healing program for arthritis. Sulphur has been prized since ancient times for healing throughout history by bathing in sulphur springs – often recommended for rheumatic or skin problems, high blood pressure, neuralgia or digestive disorders and so much more. So if you have problem with its digestion, no problem. There is an answer, soak your feet in Epsom salts (sal de Epsom) it is magnesium sulphate and the feet (being highly absorbent) will allow the body to soak up what it needs, by-passing your digestive system.
The deadly nightshade family they contain traces of a poison known as Solanaceae. The foods most people eat that are from this family are tomatoes, potatoes, aubergine or also known as eggplant, and any colour peppers. The alkaloids in these vegetables can and do acidify the blood. Alkaloids have been known to subtly remove calcium from the bones and deposit it in soft tissue and for some it a contributory factor to kidney stones, osteoporosis, arthritis, aches and pains in general etc.
Then there are foods that contain goitrogens, these compounds block the body from using iodine, this could negatively affect the thyroid function, if the function is already weak. Found in foods like soy and products made from soy, mustard, and cabbage. If you suspect your thyroid is struggling – cut down on soy products. The little you might have in the way of mustard is not worth worrying about.
Tannins also hinders the absorption of minerals like iron, calcium etc. Where would you find substantial amounts of tannins? Substantial amounts are found in black tea. If you are going to drink black tea – then cut down the amount you have and don’t drink tea with your meal.
So what does this all mean? If you have a problem like osteoporosis, you should think about the amount of foods mentioned above that you are consuming. Give your body the best chance possible to absorb and utilize minerals. So if you are eating loads of wheat and wheat bran consider cutting down or giving up wheat altogether and add the other grains to your diet. If you suspect you have a thyroid problem avoid all soy and soy products. If you are someone who is full of aches and pain, it would be worth asking yourself if you eating too many foods from the dead nightshade family? If you have a propensity to form kidney stones you need to write down everything you eat, to see if you are eating too many of the above mentioned foods.
If you don’t have any of the above problems, just make sure you are not eating these foods too often, moderate the amount you eat by varying your diet with other natural foods. One of our biggest problems these days is that most people in reality eat few foods, when you think of the various foods there are to choose from these days. There are no longer seasons in the supermarkets, generally foods are available all year round. Some people consider that pasta one day, pizza the next, and a cheese and tomato sandwich is eating a variety of foods. When in reality they are all variants of wheat, tomato and cheese.
The key – eat more variety of natural foods, eat the above mentioned foods less often. Many people have said to me in the past if they cut down or remove these foods from their diet they will have nothing left to eat!! This is the point – their diet has become very limited. There’s a whole world of food out there, a vast variety – for instance most people eat one or maybe two grains, when in fact there are loads of grains to choose from. We know from statistics that most people eat very few fruit and vegetables except potatoes and tomatoes, yet there is an exciting variety of fruit and vegetable to choose from.
Read MoreArthritis sufferers strategies for sleeping better
Is is so depressing not being able to sleep properly for anyone, but much much worse if your pain is preventing you from sleep properly. Many arthritis sufferers send hours lying awake at night and its hard not to focus on the pain. How much worse everything looks and feels when you are tired and in many cases exhausted. Lets look at all strategies that can help you get a better night’s sleep. I doubt one thing will make much difference, but take a collection of strategies (not necessarily every one) and I guarantee you a better quality of sleep.
1) All stimulants should go from your diet completely even for breakfast, get into the habit of taking herbal teas, you will soon find one you like.
2) Essential oils can really help a
a) use relaxing essential in a oil warmer in your bedroom – use lavender essential oil
b) take a bath in the evening with 8 drops of essential oils – lavender 4 drops, basil 3 drops, and clove 1 drop, stay in the bath and soak away the day for at least 20 minutes to allow the therapeutic oils to take effect.
3) Is your mattress comfortable – today various mattresses are available – like pillow top or memory foam, feels like you are sleeping on a cloud almost. They will alleviate pressure points. What if you can’t afford a new bed?
a) Memory tops are available separately – you just place it on the top of your existing mattress. They come in various thicknesses.
b) Can’t afford a memory form topper – buy a piece of ordinary foam 2 to 3 inches thick to fit your mattress that will help.
c) Do you have any quilts you are not using – if a) and b) are not possible then sleep on a quilt, it is better than nothing.
4) If your partners snores this is a problem to the quality of your sleep.
a) gets some ear plugs
b) get them help
c) they say sewing a hard object into the back of a top they sleep in will help, as it prevents them from sleeping on their back? I have not needed to put this to the test.
5) Having curtains that truly black out the light helps a lot. Either add a blind behind the curtains or add much thicker lining or change them.
6) If you sleep in a noisy area – have a double grazed window fitted or a secondary glazing is cheaper and really cuts out the noise.
7) Keep all the electrical items as far away as possible – clocks, radios, TV, DVD etc
8) Avoid all DVDs or films that contain chases, danger, speed, murder, or violence for an hour before you go to bed. In the last hour wind down – also no heated discussions last thing at night. Instead watch comedies or read a book – preferably a boring book.
9) Don’t eat late at night – eat as early as you can 6 or 7 would be good, I know this is not always possible. Don’t eat too much at night.
10) Avoid drinking alcohol on a regular basis in the evening. At first you will feel tired and then later the brain gets a burst of energy.
11) Avoid exercise in the evening.
12) Don’t skip meals during the day – keep your blood sugar levels even throughout the day by eating regularly.
13) Try (easier said than done) to resolve unresolved issues that day, try not to leave then for the next day or the next week.
14) Avoid foods that are stimulants like sugar and all foods and drinks that have sugar in them like sodas. Besides they are acid forming and will increase inflammation and pain.
15) If you work from home there is a great temptation to continue working until late never giving your brain a chance to switch off. Take a couple of hour off before you go to bed.
16) Herbs that help – passiflora, and valerian – follow the instructions on the packaging.
17) If you take a B complex or any B vitamin only take them in the morning – they can be energizing.
18) Take magnesium 400mg to 500mg – helps encourage repair, relaxes the brain, and eases muscles tension and a whole lot more.
19) If you are taking ginsing, stop taking it. It is a energizing tonic.
20) Foods that help the brain relax due to tryptophan when these foods are ingested they are used by the brain (so to speak). The brain turns tryptophan into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that controls our feelings such as depression, it encourages sleep, and enhances our mood.
Bananas
Beans
Cottage Cheese
Eggs
Fish
Hazelnuts
Lentils
Meat Nuts
Brown Rice
Pumpkin Seeds
Sesame Seeds
Shellfish
Sunflower Seeds
Tofu
Tuna
Turkey
Yogurt
Read MoreBeans, making them easier to digest
As an arthritis sufferer you may have read how cutting down on meat will help to relieve inflammation by cutting down on foods that encourage the production of arachidonic acids, certain prostaglandins, and hence inflammation and pain. I am not suggesting you need to become vegetarian but cutting down on meat and adding beans to your diet can be a positive move. However, some people find beans too difficult to digest. Here are some suggestions that you might find helps your situation.
Legume family - includes beans, peas, lentils and peanuts. They are also known as pulses, they are the mature seeds that grow inside a pod. Legumes are nutritious containing certain amino acids, vitamins and minerals plus plenty of fibre. They are a very important part of a healthy program.
Peanuts are also part of the legume family (but not recommended for regular consumption).
Beans in general can help prevent cancer because they are high in fibre and low in fat and calories. Half a cup serving contains more than 6 grams of fibre plus potassium, zinc, iron and B vitamins. Beans are a good source of protein though they do lack some essential amino acids. However adding grains to the meal will provide the essential amino acids that are missing. Studies have shown that the fibre in beans can lower blood cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of diabetes, heart attack and stroke. The phyto-chemicals in legumes protect us from all sorts of cancer. Their fibre helps to feed the ‘the friendly bacteria’ encouraging the correct bowel flora.
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There are more than 70 different varieties of legumes. Beans are an important part of every known cuisine. They have been used for 10,000 years. In comparison grains are the new kids on the block. |
As we get older our digestive system doesn’t work quite as well as it once did. If you are avoiding beans and lentils, you could be missing out on some very nutritious foods and their health giving properties because you are put of by ingestion, bloating and gas.
Digestibility
Soya beans – most difficult*
Other beans in general – fairly easy**
Lentils – easy***
Sprouted beans and lentils – very easy*****
Cooking beans correctly to reduce gas and improve digestibility.
Dry beans must first be soaked over night, 1 part beans to 4 parts water. Afterward the water MUST be thrown away as the gas-causing enzymes are released into the water while soaking them. Put the beans in plenty of fresh water, while cooking add seaweed or cumin seeds or fennel seeds or caraway seeds to make beans even easier to digest. They must be brought to the boil and continue to boil for 20 minutes without the lid on. Then cover with a lid and continue to simmer until soft. Cook large amounts and put the rest into the freezer, for when you are busy.
Lentils like other legumes are a good source of soluble and insoluble fibre. Lentils are a good source of minerals for nearly every organ in the body. They neutralise acids produced in the muscles and provide calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. They are also a rich source of potassium, zinc, folic acid, plus loads of fibre.
Lentils help to lower cholesterol, but this is only one of many benefits derived from eating lentils. However, lentils like most beans are an incomplete protein and for this reason need to be eaten with whole grains to provide all the eight essential amino acids. They can be used in soups, stews or made into vegetarian pates/dips or dahl. Recipes for dahl can be found in Indian cookbooks. The whole lentils can also be sprouted.
Lentils are found in different varieties – brown, green, very dark almost black, however the orange ones have had their skins removed and can not be sprouted.
Like beans they are very cleansing. As you can see form the list are they are easier to digest than beans.
Chickpeas support kidney function. Digestive cleansers and are a good source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, manganese, Vitamins B3, B5, B6 and folic acid. Chickpeas are used a lot in Middle Eastern and Indian cooking. The flour is known as gram flour.
Kidney beans are high in fibre, cleanse the digestive tract. Increase beneficial bacteria, removes excess cholesterol. They are a good source of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and folic acid.
Mung beans are small round and green, a great heart and blood cleanser, excellent for detoxification. They are a good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, vitamin B3, vitamin B5 and folic acid.
Very easy to sprout, look up Sprouting
Peanuts are not nuts but legumes and do not grow on trees or bushes like nuts. Peanuts actually grow on the ground, hence its other name groundnut. They grow like peas in a pod. The Spanish first stumbled across peanuts in South America. Now China and India together produce more than 50 percent of the world’s peanuts. The US accounts for only 5 percent. Peanuts can slow down the metabolism of the liver, avoid if you are overweight. If you are unable to put on weight even though you eat a lot, add raw peanuts with their thin brown skins to your diet. Peanuts are heavily sprayed with agricultural chemicals.
If you still have trouble digesting beans, move to plan B – Sprouting. See article
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Did you know? The Americans eat enough peanut butter in a year to make 10 billion sandwiches!
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Cravings and addictions sabotage your arthritis program
Sonia Jones ND from The Haven Spa and Health Clinic
Don’t skip this article, you may think because you don’t take recreational drugs or don’t smoke cigarettes or drink too much alcohol that addiction doesn’t apply to you. However, I am talking about the everyday substances you find on the supermarket shelves!
Do addictions and cravings keep sabotaging your good intentions? Sabotage your good intentions for getting healthy and helping for arthritis.
Changing your habits of a life time, habits that speed up your aging and degeneration process is extremely difficult for people. Being addicted or having powerful cravings is a real problem for many people, adding to inflammation and pain. You might be one of a vast number of people who are hooked. It’s a viscous circle. You know the situation, you are not really hungry, but eat anyway.
Here are some of the typical foods and drinks you might be addicted to?
Chocolate - some people think the chocolate they eat is good for them, that it is healthy. There is some chocolate on the market that could be classed as healthy, but most people eat the standard chocolate that certainly isn’t going to contribute to their health quite the opposite in fact. The average chocolate on the supermarket shelves is 70% sugar and fat.
White flour – covers a vast amount of different foods, from bread, cookies, crackers, pastry and so on. This substance is destructive and highly addictive for some people.
Sugar – is found in so many foods these days. A couple of hundred years ago sugar was worth its weight in silver and was kept under lock and key, because it was then recognised for how addictive it was. For many decades sugar has been subsidised making it very cheap, hence why it is found in such abundance. This is another highly addictive and totally destructive substance that will encourage aging and degeneration.
High Fructose Corn Syrup – HFCS is found in so many processed products today, especially sodas. For the food industry is has some advantages over sugar, it is cheaper than sugar and has a quality that gives baked products an extended shelf life. It has been reported that HFCS is more addictive than sugar.
Caffeine – found in tea, coffee, and more soft drinks (sodas) than you may realise, even in soft drinks where you wouldn’t expect to find caffeine, like in orange flavoured soft drinks. Caffeine keeps you wanting more.
Artificial Sweeteners – much research has made it clear that products with artificial sweeteners will encourage a craving for sweet and fatty foods. Besides, these sweeteners are artificial chemical sweeteners. Do not be fooled with the advertising hype about these substances.
Processed, highly refined fats – these are also found on our supermarket shelves in abundance. Found in so many products, it takes studying the labels to uncover them. They can cause deficiencies in essential fatty acids – encouraging cravings.
Alcohol, we already know that alcohol can be addictive. The latest figures from the health department show we are drinking too much and it’s on the increase.
Salt – some people crave salt and salty foods – changing the taste bud and displacing other minerals in the body. The more you have the more you want.
Over the years at the clinic we have seen many people with quite serious chronic conditions who would rather suffer than give up their favourite foods and drinks. However, after the initial panic has subsided – most people want to change, want a better quality of life.
The first step is to write down in a daily journal everything you eat and drink. Plus your symptoms especially related to your arthritis. Most people are surprised when they see it all written down in black and white. It’s the first time some people actually fully appreciate what they are doing, what they are eating and drinking in the course of a week.
Some people have really little idea what they eat and how much they eat, until they see it written down.
We all know some foods are so more-ish – some people open up a packet of chocolate cookies, and some they want another and another, before long two thirds of the packet has gone and they weren’t even hungry.
Most people wouldn’t consider gorging on foods like apples somehow they just don’t have the same appeal or fill the same need. Back to our chocolate cookies, for some people just knowing that a third of a packet is left is enough to drive them crazy, needing to finish the packet, hungry or not. Then the feelings of being bloated, sleepy and guilty set in.
Good intentions sabotaged again. Maybe your situation is not as extreme. Maybe you are one of many people who just need something fatty and starchy with sugar or salty at around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Around this time consciously or subconsciously your concentration begins to fail, maybe you start getting a headache, irritable or maybe just plain tired. You may think this is just stress. You convince yourself you need something to give you energy to get you through the rest of the day. You might also be like this around 11 in the morning too.
By the very things you choose to consume you are messing around with your blood sugar levels. Once again you are on this trend-mill and it really does take a concerted effort to get off it.
These fluctuating blood sugar levels are certainly sabotaging your plans for less inflammation and pain associated with arthritis, and a healthy long life. The though the body has a built-in safety mechanism that protects us to a degree from ourselves, there is only so much it can do before it becomes compromised.
Read MoreMake up your own mind on arthritis and the food connection
Sonia Jones ND from The Haven Spa and Health Clinic
I often read things that orthodox practitioners write about how there is no evidence that natural nutrition can make any difference to conditions like arthritis – yet there are thousands of people who have changed their lifestyles and have reaped the benefits of an almost pain-free life.
Over 20 years of helping people with arthritis with natural alternative treatments we have found people have become – more energetic, much more mobile, massively less pain and in some instances almost pain-free. For this to be achieved – it is important to take a multiple approach.
Of-course – several things you need to bearing mind?
Taking someone through therapeutic nutrition takes effort on the behalf of the practitioner and a monumental effort on behalf of the patient. It is so much easier to take a pill, whether it helps in the long term or not.
The second thing often the treatment program though difficult (from the point of view of giving up certain foods) is cheap compared to a lifetime of medication. We treat people who were spending a fortune each month on medication and are still suffering, whose quality of life was miserable.
Certainly the idea that you can make a few adjusts to your diet and your arthritis will go a way is not realistic.
Generally people who decry clinical nutritional therapy don’t fully understand the depth of it.
I read on some sites how diet has little affect and you should be looking at a “sensible” or “balanced”or even a “healthy” diet! I have done so many case studies over the last 20 years – noting in great detail what people eat and their symptoms (no matter how small as we work like detectives were all clues can be significant) who have a chronic condition of one type or another, but who thought they were eating a sensible or balanced diet. Yet when I asked these same people to just imagine for one moment they had show dogs that cost them their life’s savings, and this was now a business, their only income, their livelihood. Bearing in mind dogs will eat anything, would you feed these dogs on the same diet as yours. After some thought, they would definitely answer, NO. When asked why? They would say that is wasn’t good enough!!
For you to have show dogs that will come first or second, win prizes and earn you an income – they need to be in seriously tip top condition, in peak health, performance and appearance, which takes a lot of time and effort in many ways. From diet, special foods, supplements for dogs, exercise, rest, grooming, the right living conditions, as an owner you would educate yourself on all aspects of your dog’s health and well-being.
You owe it to yourself and your family to devote as much dedication and education to maintaining your health and vitality.
Maybe you have tried the ‘healthier eating approach’ – believe me what the the mass media report as a healthy diet is not nutritional therapy for your chronic condition.
What are your options for help -
A journal
One of the main things I have noticed over the 20 years – firstly people tell me they eat healthy, my arthritis can’t be due to my diet? So we got through everything they eat step by step and this the first time people have seen it all written down. The first thing people remark – well maybe my diet isn’t that healthy. I can guarantee it isn’t therapeutic enough to solve a chronic condition like arthritis.
Before you make any changes to your diet – start keeping a food, symptom and mood journal for one week write down absolutely everything you eat and drink, your symptoms, did you sleep well? did you get angry? if you smoke how many? how many hours watching TV, anything and everything.
After a week take some time and study closely what you have been eating and drinking – I think you will be surprised with the reality. Don’t be fooled into thinking that a little of this and a little of that doesn’t add up and have a profound affect.
Practitioner
Some people find it easier than others when it comes to self-help and figuring it all out. As we are all different and some people would rather work with a practitioner who deals in therapeutic nutrition – this could be naturopath or a nutritional therapist or a herbalist or an acupuncturist.
IMPORTANT before you make an appointment with who or what ever practitioner find out -
Do they actually look in-depth into your diet and recommend individual nutritional therapy. If they do advice herbs or supplements that it isn’t a bucket load. I have seen people who have seen alternative practitioner who have had very little nutritional advice BUT have come out of their office with a carrier bag full of vitamins, mineral, amino acids, herbs etc and spent a fortune. This not the idea – firstly get the nutrition right – therapeutic nutrition – and then some supplements – just a few. As the name suggests they are supplements.
There is no doubt that supplements help but the most profound affect on your condition is removing the foods and drinks that cause degeneration and replacing them with foods and drinks that help to regenerate. Supplements are a bonus and treatments (like acupuncture or reflexology) are the icing on the cake.
Don’t forget even if you opt to see a practitioner – your journal is still invaluable.
What if you cannot afford to see a practitioner and are some who would rather not go it alone with self-help.
Check out all the collages and universities – they have student clinics that are supervised by fully qualified practitioners – treatments and advice can be free or at a very small charge for over heads. This is worth checking out.
Books, CDs and DVDs
Books, CDs and DVDs are useful tools to learning – good author that use nutritional therapy that don’t just advocate a ‘healthy diet’ with a lot of mis-con-ceptions.
Here are a dozen books I recommend you read?
Patrick Holford – Food is better medicine than drugs
James Braly – Dangerous grains
Hidden food allergies
Sonia Jones ND – End the Food Confusion
Simply Reflexology
Udo Erasmus – Fats that heal and fats that kill
Bernard Jenson – Body chemistry and nutrition
Diet and detoxification
Superior health
Deepak Chopra – Perfect health
Ageless Body Ageless Mind
Creating Health
These can be bought new or often second hand at a very reasonable price.
I have recommended one book ‘Simple Reflexology’ the odd one out. It you do not have arthritis in your hands you can learn reflexology from this book and help to treat your own condition a long with nutritional therapy.
Read More
Arthritis & Pain Program at The Haven
