Arthritis

[Fae Oonagh]

Herbal Home Remedies For Arthritis
One authority in the field feels that arthritis is a catchall term that includes rheumatism (inflammation or pain in muscles, joints or fibrous tissue), bursitis (inflammation of shoulder, elbow or knee joint) and gout (joint inflammation caused by an excess of uric acid in the blood). Another specialist believes that arthritis is a form of rheumatism. Still another claims there is no such ailment as rheumatism, that it's a term for several diseases, including arthritis.

No matter what it's called, everyone agrees on two things-the pain... and that all these conditions involve inflammation of connective tissue of one or more joints.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, arthritis is the leading cause of disease in the United States. Approximately 70 million Americans are affected by arthritis-which has over 100 different forms.

Knowledge Is Power!

Check your local library and the Internet for books on arthritis (and there are lots of them). Also contact the Arthritis Foundation in Atlanta for more information. Learn about non-chemical treatments and low-acid diets.

These Veggies Are a Pain

There are foods that have been classified as nightshade foods-white potatoes, eggplants, green peppers and tomatoes are the most common ones-that may contribute to the pain of some arthritis sufferers.

Consider being professionally tested by a nutritionist or allergist for sensitivity to the nightshade foods. Work with a health professional to evaluate your condition and to help you find safe, sensible methods of treatment for relief.

Natural Remedies

Here are remedies that have been said to be successful for many arthritis sufferers-that is, former arthritis sufferers.

NOTE: These remedies are not substitutes for professional medical treatment. Talk to your doctor before trying any natural remedies.

It's the Cherries

Cherries are said to be effective because they seem to help prevent crystallization of uric acid and to reduce levels of uric acid in the blood. It is also said that cherries help the arthritic bumps on knuckles disappear.
Eat any kind-sweet or sour, fresh, canned or frozen, black, Royal Anne or Bing. And drink cherry juice! It is available without preservatives or sugar added, and also in a concentrated form, at health food stores.

One source says to eat cherries and drink the juice throughout the day for four days, then stop for four days and then start all over again. Another source says to eat up to a dozen cherries a day in addition to drinking a glass of cherry juice. Find a happy medium by using your own good judgment. Listen to your body. You'll know soon enough if the cherries seem to be making you feel better.

WARNING: Eating an excess of cherries may cause diarrhea in some individuals.

Take a quart of Gin and soak some golden Rasins. Let soak for up to a week. Take 6 rasins at bed time.
Alfalfa in tea or supplement form and parsley provide many vitamins and minerals helpful with arthritis.
One raw clove of garlic every day is very beneficial. This clove can be fried in ghee (clarified butter) or castor oil.
Go Green
Eat a portion of fresh string beans every day, or juice the string beans and drink a glassful daily. String beans contain vitamins A, B1, B2 and C and supposedly help relieve the excess-acid conditions that contribute to arthritis.
Steep 1 cup of fully packed, washed parsley in 1 quart of boiling water. After 15 minutes, strain the juice and refrigerate.
Dose: Drink 1/2 cup of parsley juice before breakfast, 1/2 cup before dinner and 1/2 cup anytime pain is particularly severe.

Celery contains many nourishing salts and organic sulfur. Some modern herbalists believe that celery has the power to help neutralize uric acid and other excess acids in the body. Eat fresh celery daily (be sure to wash it thoroughly). The leaves on top of celery stalks are also good to eat.
If so much roughage is rough on your digestive system, place the tops and tough parts of the stalk in a non-aluminum pan. Cover with water and slowly bring to a boil. Then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain and pour into a jar.

Dose: Take 8 ounces three times a day, a half-hour before each meal.

You can vary your celery intake by drinking celery seed tea and/or juiced celery stalks, or do as the Romanians do and cook celery in milk. Remember, celery is a diuretic, so plan your day accordingly.

Fishy Solution

According to results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (www.jama.ama-assn.org), based on experiments by a study team at the Brusch Medical Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, cod-liver oil in milk helped to reduce cholesterol levels, improve blood chemistry and complexion, increase energy and correct stomach problems, blood sugar balance, blood pressure and tissue inflammation.
Mix 1 tablespoon of cod-liver oil (emulsified Norwegian cod-liver oil is nonfishy) in 6 ounces of milk.

Dose: Drink it on an empty stomach, a half-hour before breakfast and a half-hour before dinner.

NOTE: Cod-liver oil is a source of vitamins A and D. If you are taking A and D supplements, check the dosages carefully. The daily recommended dosage of vitamin A is 10,000 international units (IU), for vitamin D, 400 IU. Do not exceed these amounts.

Applying cod-liver oil externally is said to help relieve the popping noises of the joints.

Edgar Cayce, renowned psychic, said in one of his readings, "Those who would take a peanut oil rub each week need never fear arthritis. "
Topical Treatments For Relief
Garlic has been used to quiet arthritis pain quickly. Rub a freshly cut clove of garlic on painful areas. Also, take a garlic supplement­after breakfast and after dinner.
Grate 3 tablespoons of horseradish and stir it into 1/2 cup of boiled milk. Pour the mixture onto a piece of cheesecloth, then apply it to the painful area. By the time the poultice cools, you may have some relief.
Dig a Potato

Even if you have a sensitivity to nightshade foods, external potato remedies can be used, as they have been for centuries. Carry a raw potato in your pocket. Don't leave home without it! When it shrivels up after a day or two, replace it with a fresh potato. It supposedly draws out the poisons and acids that might be causing the problem and pain.
For dealing with the affected areas more directly, dice 2 cups of unpeeled potatoes and put them in a non-aluminum saucepan with 5 cups of water. Boil gently until about half the water is left. While the water is hot, but not scalding, dunk a clean cloth in the potato water, wring it out and apply it to the painful parts of the body. Repeat the procedure for as long as your patience holds out, or until the pain subsides-whichever happens first.
Get a Rosy Outlook

When you're feeling twinges in the hinges all over your body, take a bath in rose petals. Take petals from three or four roses that are about to wither and throw them in your bath water. It should give you a rosy outlook.
Temporary Relief-for Women Only

Arthritic pains often disappear when a woman is pregnant. As soon as researchers find the reason for this, they may also find a permanent cure for arthritis.

Bitter Makes It Better

Apple cider vinegar has been used in various ways to help arthritis sufferers. See which of the following remedies is most palatable and convenient for you. Have patience-and give it at least three weeks to work.

Every morning and every evening, take 1 teaspoon of honey mixed with 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.
Or, before each meal (three times a day), drink a glass of water containing 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar.

Or, between lunch and dinner, drink a mixture of 2 ounces of apple cider vinegar added to 6 ounces of water. Drink it down slowly.

Rub Salt on the Wound

Prepare a poultice of coarse (kosher) salt that has been heated in a frying pan. Then apply it to the painful area. To keep the salt comfortably warm, put a hot water bottle on top of it. easy to do, delicious to eat and worth a try. Be consistent-eat the raisins every day. Expect a miracle.. .but have patience!
Grapes Are Good, Too

White grape juice is said to absorb the system's acid. Drink one glass in the morning and one glass before dinner.
Camp Inside

If you have morning stiffness caused by arthritis, try sleeping in a sleeping bag. You can sleep on your bed, but in the zipped-up bag. It's much more effective than an electric blanket because your body heat is evenly distributed and retained. Come morning, there's less pain, making it easier to get going.
Corn-silk tea has been known to reduce acid in the system and lessen pain. Steep a handful of the silky strings that grow beneath the husk of corn in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes.
If it's not fresh-corn season, buy corn-silk extract in a health food store. Add 10 to 15 drops in 1 cup of water and drink. Dried corn silk can also be used. Prepare it as you would prepare an herbal tea. You can get dried corn silk at most places that sell dried herbs and spices.

Herbal Relief
Each of these herbs is known as a pain reducer-sage, rosemary, nettles and basil. Use anyone, two, three or four of them in the form of tea . Have a couple of cups each day, rotating them until you find the one that makes you feel best.
Coffee Cure

Our friend's grandfather cleared up an arthritic condition (and lived to be 90) after he used a remedy given to him by a woman who brought it here from Puerto Rico. Squeeze the juice of a large lime into a cup of black coffee and drink it hot first thing each morning.
We're not in favor of drinking coffee, but who are we to argue with success?

An old Native American arthritis remedy is a mixture of mashed yucca root and water. Yucca saponin, a steroid derivative of the yucca plant, is a forerunner of cortisone. The adverse effects of cortisone are too numerous and unpleasant to mention. The positive effects of yucca, according to a double-blind study done at a Southern California arthritis clinic, were relief from headaches as well as from gastrointestinal complaints.
In that study, 60% of the patients taking yucca tablets showed dramatic improvements in their arthritic condition. While it doesn't work for everyone, it works for enough people to make it worth a try.

Oceanside Resort

For most people, this remedy is not practical-for many, it's not even possible. Then why take up all this space? The results reported to us were so spectacular that we feel if only one person reads this, follows through and is relieved of their painful, debilitating condition, it will have been well worth the space on the page.
Starting with the first set of directions, you will see why this is usually considered a "last resort" remedy.

Bring a couple of truckloads of ocean sand to your yard. (What did we tell you?) Select a sheltered spot away from the wind. Dig a hole about 12 feet by 12 feet and about 3 feet deep, then dump the sand in it.

You will, obviously, need help in setting up this arrangement. You will also need help in carrying out the treatment. Incidentally; treatment should take place on hot summer days.

Wear a brief bathing suit, lie on your stomach with your face to the side (so you can breathe, of course), and have your body completely covered with sand, except for your head. Have your assistant put sunscreen on your face. Stay in that position for 15 minutes. Next, turn over on your back and have your body completely covered with sand, except for your head and face. Stay that way for 15 minutes.

Then get out of the sand bath, quickly cover yourself with a warm flannel or woolen robe and head for the shower. Take a hot shower, dry off thoroughly and go to bed for several hours (three to four) and relax. During all of this, make sure there's no exposure to the wind or to any drafts.

According to an Asian saying-"Rheumatism goes out from the body only through sweating.".

During the next couple of hours in bed, you may have to change underwear several times because of the profuse sweating. This is good. Be sure to keep re-hydrating yourself by drinking lots of water.

One sand bath a day is sufficient. For some people, one week of treatments has been enough to help heal the condition completely.

NOTE: The sand bath must have dry sand and be in your yard, in an area that's sheltered from the wind. The beach is too wet, too breezy and usually too far from home.

Drink 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a glass of water or fruit juice (cherry juice without sugar or preservatives is best). If the pepper is just too strong for you, buy #1 capsules and fill them with cayenne, or you can buy already-prepared cayenne capsules at the health food store. Take two a day.
There's the Rub

Combine 1/2 teaspoon of eucalyptus oil, available at health food stores, with 1 tablespoon of pure olive oil, and massage the mixture onto your painful areas.
You may want to alternate the massage mixture (above) with this one-grate fresh ginger, then squeeze the juice through a piece of cheesecloth. Mix the ginger juice with an equal amount of sesame oil. Massage it on the painful areas. Ginger can be quite strong. If the burning sensation makes you uncomfortable, then tone down the ginger by adding more sesame oil to the mixture.
Aloe vera gel is now being used for many ailments, including arthritis. You can apply the gel externally to the aching joint and you can take it internally-1 tablespoon in the morning before breakfast and 1 tablespoon before dinner.
Vegetable juices are wonderful for everyone. They can be particularly helpful for arthritis sufferers. Use fresh carrot juice as a sweetener with either celery juice or kale juice. (Invest in a juicer or connect with a nearby juice bar.)
Herbal remedies for arthritis come in many shapes and sizes. One of the most popular one is the health benefits of fish oil and Omega 3 fatty acids. Tf you're intrested in whole foods, healthy diet or weight loss, a bit of online research goes a long way. We've come a long way in our knowledge and understanding of nutrition. Information is truly the key to unlock the doorway to longevity!