Holistic Health Notebook
Funny how you don’t think about certain parts of your body until they hurt or stop functioning like they should. Knees, for example. Who thinks about their knees when they can bounce out of bed in the morning or when they can jog up and down stairs without flinching? But when you need assistance getting up out of a low-seating couch or you take one stair at a time because your knees hurt, you pay attention. Is this what “getting old” means?
A recent study found that within six months of receiving a diagnosis of osteoarthritis in the knees, people made several lifestyle interventions, often without the advice of their physician, and saw improvements in their pain and function. Part of their “home treatment” involved using dietary supplements, some of which really work.
One of the most popular supplements for joint health is glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin, two nutrients that aid in rebuilding the cushioning tissue between joints. When the studies about GS starting appearing in the literature a couple decades ago, they looked promising in the treatment of an incurable condition. People were getting about the same benefits they were getting from well-known drug therapies. Studies are still being published that compare these natural products with drugs, both from a cost-to-benefit ratio and flat results, and the conclusions are about the same, even after 20 years.
But GS doesn’t work for everyone. I find that about 50 percent of people benefit from GS and chondroitin. Why such low numbers? I don’t know for sure but part of the reason may be that they are allergic to shellfish. Almost all the GS products on the market are taken from shrimp and other crustaceans. Make sure you get a shellfish-free product, even if you don’t think that shrimp gives you problems.
Are your knees still inflamed? The “fires” burning in the knees continue to erode bone.
We have many, many options for reducing inflammation including the MSM that I talked about last week, ginger, boswellia, curcumin, bromelain, high doses of vitamin C, and so on. Creative companies have put many of these herbals/nutrients into combinations that are really effective in decreasing inflammation.
Other lifestyle considerations would be moderate amounts of low-impact exercise including strength-building exercises, plenty of sleep, stress management, and (hugely important) diet considerations.
My clinical experience has been that many people would rather pop a pill than make lifestyle changes. Is that your experience? If so, you will benefit but give it time. It takes time to resolve chronic inflammation, especially if you are still stuffing pro-inflammatory foods into your body or if you still insist that you get along just fine on six hours of sleep per night.
My weak area is exercise. I really hate it but my doctor keeps asking me if I have started and I know I need to build strength into the muscles supporting my weak knees. Want to help me out? Every time you see me, ask me if I have started exercising yet. Perhaps you can embarrass me into doing what I know I need to do.
Carol is a certified lifestyle educator. She owns the Island Nutrition Center on Sanibel. She can be reached at 472-4499 or via her website at www.carolsimontacchionline.com.
Holistic Health Notebook
For the past few years, I have had the pleasure/privilege of working closely with a local holistic doctor who specializes in auto accidents but also treats conditions relating to the endocrine system. We talk about nutrition all the time. He flatters me by saying I have taught him a lot about nutrition but that isn’t really true. He has taught me, showing me special nutrients that I only skated over in nutrition school. I’m the richer for it.
One of these nutrients is MSM, also known as methylsulfonylmethane. He prescribed 10 grams/day for me, and the benefits have been enormous. What is MSM? How does the body use it? I am going to borrow freely from the synopsis of a scientific journal because it states, more clearly than I could, the benefits of this essential mineral, sulfur.
We associate sulfur with a bad smell. Cooking eggs, for example. Or overcooked cabbage. My dad used to tell me that back in “the days,” college students used a sulfur compound for some type of skin condition that escapes me now, and fellow students laughed., because they could always tell who had the condition by the aroma that traveled with them.
Bad smell or no, sulfur is the third most abundant mineral in the human body, following closely after calcium and phosphorus. It doubles the body’s production of glutathione, an important antioxidant peptide. High levels of liver glutathione reduces liver damage from exposure to toxic chemicals like acetaminophen and alcohol.
Low body stores of MSM are linked to fatigue and depression, sensitivity to stress, and certain degenerative conditions. MSM readily releases its sulfur to form collagen and keratin. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and a major component of connective tissue. Collagen works with elastin to give skin elasticity, and cartilage to improve structure and flexibility.
The concentration of MSM in the body diminishes with age, consistent with changes characteristic of aging like stiffening of muscles and joints, wrinkling of the skin, and decreased elasticity of lung tissue and arterial blood vessels.
It helps reduce chronic inflammation and the pain of arthritis, bursities, and tendonitis. It may help reduce the discomfort of tension and migraine headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and recurrent cramps. It may help relieve airborne and food allergies, asthma, and other mucosal inflammatory conditions. It supports healthy liver function and may help reduce gastrointestinal stress including hyperaciddity, nausea, diarrhea, and constipation.
I started taking MSM when I was suffering from a bad knee and within just a few weeks, virtually all the pain in my knee was gone. It is still a little swollen but it doesn’t hurt anymore. MSM saved me from surgery.
Carol is a certified lifestyle educator. She owns the Island Nutrition Center on Sanibel. She can be reached at 472-4499 or online at www.carolsimontacchionline.com.