Arthritis and the Cholesterol Connection
Sonia Jones ND from The Haven Spa and Health Clinic
Cholesterol is a word most people consider equal to a poison, the very word sends shivers down most people’s back. Yet much closer to the truth is the fact that processed oils and fat are poisons. Cholesterol is so important that if we don’t consume any, our liver will just make more! Yes, our liver makes cholesterol for us. Our hormones depend on cholesterol so much so that it will make its own if we don’t supply enough for its needs.
Every single cell in our body depends on cholesterol for its shape. Most of us do not have a problem with cholesterol as the body has some very good strategies in place for disposing of any excesses of this natural fat. However, the processed oils and fats are so new and foreign to our body’s breakdown mechanisms, it has real difficulties dealing with them. There are a percentage of people, who make too much cholesterol or have a poor functioning breakdown system for removing the excesses.
To put it in a nut shell cholesterol is needed by all cells and many systems in the body. Eat some and/or liver makes it. It is broken down by the liver stored in bile in the gall bladder ready for removal. Bile is released into the bowels where it attaches to fiber (assuming you have eaten enough) ready for removal from the body. Lack of fiber and/or constipation allows cholesterol to be re-absorbed back into the blood stream!
Generally, 30 percent of the cholesterol we need comes from our diet and the rest is made by the liver. It has been found in autopsies that processed oils and fats account for 74 percent of the build-up of plague in our arteries. In our rush to throw out natural fats we have ended up eating plenty of toxic processed fat.
So what does all of this have to do with arthritis? When most people think of cholesterol, they think of heart disease. The condition known as atherosclerosis and aortic calcification has been associated with a poor diet full of processed fats. Atherosclerosis is basically the “furring up” of arteries due to fatty deposits, (it’s like having your arteries stuffed full of congealed fat!) while aortic calcification is when the main artery in the abdomen, the aorta, has calcium deposits.
These conditions greatly restrict the flow of fluids, nutrients and oxygen to certain areas of the body. Abdominal aortic atherosclerosis is believed to cause back pain and disc degeneration through narrowing of the arteries that originate from the aorta that supply the vertebrae in the lower back with oxygen and nutrients. The inter vertebral disc (IVD) is thought to be the initial structure to suffer from decreased blood and therefore nutrients and oxygen supply, making deterioration inevitable. This deterioration results in inflammation and pain. A sudden blockage in the arteries can cause acute scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and severe back pain.
To try and reverse this condition you need to remove all processed fats and oils from your diet. No margarine, no hydrogenated fats, no partially-hydrogenated fats (found in thousands of products, no ordinary oils (unless they are cold pressed, extra virgin, or first pressed and come in glass bottles, preferably dark glass bottles). Lean meat is fine and eggs in moderation are okay. If you are a cheese lover, cut right down and add more things like cottage cheese.
Add loads of fiber rich foods to your diet – from oats, beans, lentils and fresh fruits and vegetables. These foods are also rich in nutrients that will help to bring much needed nutrients to the area of deterioration. Anything the encourages the circulation will encourage regeneration – like chili, ginger, especially ginkgo biloba.
Add lecithin to your diet.
Read MoreBetter breathing better detoxification for arthritis suffers!
If you focus on how you breath for a moment – you might find you breath too shallow, too rapidly or even times when your breathing is irregular. Lungs get squashed due to poor posture, or the diaphragm (a powerful muscle) becomes tight. Like many muscles in the body it can be affected by stress or poor posture or dehydration.
The diaphragm is the main breathing muscle, located around the bottom of the rib cage and lungs. This muscle like any muscle in our body can become tight and hinder breathing properly even if you are not aware. Diaphragm tension can be caused by a number of things like stress, anxiety, poor posture, and pregnancy.
If you have ever suffered from a back problem I wonder if you have ever given your diaphragm a second thought. Tension in the diaphragm could be part of the cause of your back problem and the pain you are suffering.
When you breathe properly the diaphragm moves massaging the abdominal organs (stomach, liver and intestines), a tight diaphragm muscle doesn’t work as efficiently, therefore the organs do not get massaged in the same way. This will slow down the cleansing process.
So breathing better and being aware of your poor posture is vital to encouraging better detoxification. Part of the arthritis problem is the build up of toxins in the joint and or muscles. Anything you can do to reduce the load and get organs working better will be helpful in treating your arthritic condition.
The Alexandra technique is excellent for teaching posture and breathing, as is yoga and tai qi, or qi gong.
The way you breathe can affect your whole demeanour for instance; breathe fast – excited, and maybe tense, slow gentle breathing – calm and relaxed. So deep, slow, conscious regular breathing a)is the key to more oxygen to the lungs, bloodstream, heart, brain in fact to every cell in the body b)will support better removal of carbon dioxide (toxic gasses) from the lungs c)allows for better massage of the organs of the abdominal area. Helping to prevent constipation, improving digestion and encouraging the liver function d)with an improved posture – sitting correctly when eating, driving watching TV, working on the computer etc will allow your lungs and diaphragm to expand more freely e)imagine releasing – toxins, muscle tensions, worries, and stress.
As a arthritis suffer anything you do to lighten your toxic load will help to your reduce pain and inflammation. Few people are lucky enough to find one thing has made a huge difference to their condition BUT a lot of people have found a huge improvement to their arthritis by regularly doing a number of things. For instance changing their foods and drinks, taking supplements, taking tai qi or walking, improving posture and breathing correctly, using some detox techniques at home like Epsom salts, maybe having regular treatments like acupuncture, or reflexology.
Arthritis simple free questionnaire – are you in need of a detox?
Sonia Jones ND from The haven Spa and Health Clinic
Answer yes to half or more of these questions, its time to detox -
1) Do you lack energy a lot of the time?
2) Do you feel dull-headed?
3) Do you have general aches and pains?
4) Feel a little hung-over or feel a little poisoned?
5) Is you skin a little dull and lifeless?
6) Do you have an oily, blemished skin?
7) Do you have bad breath?
8) Do you have foot odor?
9) Do you drink tea, coffee, sodas and not enough water?
10) Do you eat less than 5 fruits and vegetables every single day?
11) Do you get headachy?
12) Are you often irritable?
13) Do you go to the bathroom less than once a day?
14) Do you eat enough fiber every day?
15) Do you perspire too much?
There are tips on detoxing on this site and over the coming weeks we will discuss more tips, methods and various levels of detoxing. Simple and inexpensive ways that will help to relief your arthritis.
Epsom Salts Bath
Skin Brushing
Juicing
Smoothies
Raw Foods
Aromatherapy
Hydrating
Sea Salt
Deep breathing
Movement
More over the coming days and weeks
Read MoreArthritis – don’t allow yourself to seize up
Self-help – at work or at home – The 5 Minute Mini-Breaks
Most of us sit at our desks or in front of our computers for far too long, or drive for long stretches at a time, without a break, without getting up, for hours on end. Our neck and shoulders tense up and soon the muscles begin to ache, you become so engrossed forgetting to drink something hydrating, and as time goes on you get eye strain, and a headache begins to develop or a pain in the neck and shoulders. Whether you whether you have arthritis or not you should follow this advice each day
a)Get up and stretch
b)Take a short walk around
c)Go and get some water, or make a herbal tea (without milk or sugar).
Read MoreBack Degeneration
We all know about furring up of the arteries and how that can have a detrimental affect on the heart and blood pressure. Did you that furring up of the arteries can cause back degeneration and pain?
Smoking and/or poor diet has been linked with the condition known as atherosclerosis and aortic calcification. Atherosclerosis is basically the “furring up” of arteries due to fatty deposits, (it’s like having your arteries stuffed full of congealed fat!) while aortic calcification is when the main artery in the abdomen, the aorta, has calcium deposits.
These conditions greatly restrict the flow of fluids, nutrients and oxygen to certain areas. Abdominal aortic atherosclerosis is believed to cause back pain and disc degeneration through narrowing of the arteries that originate from the aorta that supply the vertebrae in the lower back with oxygen and nutrients. The intra vertebral disc (IVD) is thought to be the initial structure to suffer from decreased blood- and therefore, nutrient -supply making deterioration inevitable. A sudden blockage in the arteries can cause acute scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and severe back pain. This condition, atherosclerosis is due to nutritional deficiencies.
Angina is another example, where ‘furring up’ of the arteries cause a reduction in blood flow, this time to the heart, which mean less oxygen, and less nutrients causing much pain in the chest area, making it very difficult to lead an energetic life. It is debilitating and directly affects quality of life, to say nothing about how frightening it is to suffer such pain knowing your heart is struggling and your chest is tightening up. Just about any exertion can bring on pain, walking up one flight of stairs can be a daunting prospect.
This problem can be caused by pressure on the nerve as a result of a prolapsed vertebral disc, the degeneration of a disc from conditions like atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis – lifestyle and diet have a huge impact on these types of conditions. There will be a lot of inflammation in the area of pain and in the body in general, most problems show up in our weak areas.
Protaglandins and Arthritis
What are prostaglandins?
They are hormone-like substances that can promote or quell inflammation depending on the type of food you choose to eat. You have a direct control of the type of prostaglandins your body produces by the foods and drinks you choose.
We eat far too many refined processed oils, margarine, and shortenings, causing an imbalance in the type of prostaglandins produced and ultimately this means inflammation. These refined fats need to be metabolized like everything else we consume. This creates an ‘essential fatty acid’ shortage.
There are two classes of essential fatty acids we need in our diets, omega-3 and omega-6. Omega 6 is converted into two types of these hormones-like substances. One type has an anti-inflammatory effect called series-1 prostaglandin, then the second type is involved in inflammation and thickening the blood called series-2 prostaglandin. The other type is series-3 prostaglandin, also has an anti-inflammatory effect. These three need to be in balance, between inflammation and anti-inflammation, between thickening the blood and keeping it thinner.
The ratio between omega-6 to omega-3 should be 2:1 in reality these days its 20:1, this is not a good situation.
These days the balance is tipped in favour of inflammation and more often than not – pain. Nations eat too many processed oils/fats, too much saturated animal fats, too much sugar and far too little in the way of fish, wild game, raw nuts and seeds or vegetables and fruits the plants rich in essential fatty acids.
If we don’t eat fish or wild game, which provides EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), we do have a mechanism in place that will convert alpha-linolenic acid into EPA. However, to enable the body to convert alpha-linolenic acid to EPA, it is reliant on enough nutrients like vitamin B6, vitamin C, magnesium, and zinc. Most people on an average diet do not get enough of these nutrients. The conversion can also be blocked by an excess consumption of processed oils, margarine and shortenings.
Fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds and whole grains are rich in Vitamins C and B6, magnesium and zinc. Look to the farms and orchards not the factories for your food.
Inflammatory conditions are common these days, is it any wonder. Our diets are blocking our natural pathways for the production of the correct amounts of series-1 and series-3 prostaglandins that help to balance inflammatory processes and pain.
Some thing patients ask me all the time “but other people eat like I do and they don’t have arthritis, so it can’t be the diet”. Your weakness is in the joints and muscles, for others their weakness is in the heart and circulation. We are all born with areas of strengths and areas of weakness, you may know some one who smoked 40 a day all their lives, died at 95 and their lungs where fine. Another 40 a day smoker could die at 50 with lung problems.
5 Simple Effective Arthritis Detox Tips
The more you help the organs of elimination work at optimum the more toxins your body will remove, the better your system will cope, the less pain you will suffer.
There are 5 major organs of elimination busy working every second of the day, come what may. Give them more than they can handle and they begin to struggle, toxins begin to affect every cell in the body.
1) Liver – drinking water with 1/2 the juice of a fresh lemon first thing in the morning will help activate the liver.
2) Lungs – take a brisk walk of 30 minutes each day will help the lungs function better and remove accumulated acids in the blood.
3) Skin – brushing the skin with a natural bristle brush while the skin is dry. Just before a shower, will encourage the lymphatic system and the skin (which is our largest detoxing organ) to function better.
4) Bowels- add ground flaxseeds (linseeds) to your daily diet, they are anti-inflammatory and extremely high in fiber, helping to cleanse the bowels in a natural way.
5) Kidneys – drink enough water so the kidney are able to do its job efficiently. Drinks like cola and coffee put a strain on the kidneys.
Fruit and vegetables in general help all the organs of elimination.
Read MoreArthritis & Pain Program at The Haven
