Arthritis, Natural Treatments

You've previously read some of the definitions of arthritis and what their causes are. You're probably wondering at this time what some of your actual options are other than the medical route?
The scientific research pertaining to alternative or complementary/natural arthritis treatments is truly extensive. For some of the more common arthritis treatments such as glucosamine and chondroitin, there are over 200 separate studies attesting to their effectiveness. No longer do you have to rely on third-party, outdated or unreliable information; many people choose alternative medicine as a result of hearing or reading the uses of botanical medicine/herbs or supplements or as a result of experiences heard from family members, friends or co-workers. Anyone who says that alternative medicine or supplements have not been tested or researched has no idea of what they are speaking of. For example, in the National Library of Congress there are over 300 different scientific papers on the effects of glucosamine on arthritis in humans and animals. It has been my experience the most accurate and useful data bases and compilations of alternative health knowledge have been written for the health professional. The average person has no idea what many of the terms or words mean as science has its own language generally unknown to those outside the field. Of course this is assuming that the average person knows where to begin looking for this specialized knowledge to begin with.
So how do you treat osteoarthritis?
First examine your diet and your hydration levels; how much water do you drink? A simple equation you can use to establish how much water you should drink is half of your body weight in ounces. For example a 200 lb. person should drink 100 ounces of reverse osmosis water per day, on an empty stomach.
If you are not willing to make this one small change the chances of being successful in treating your arthritis using natural and self administered methods are small.
Over 95% of all arthritis patients are dehydrated and have a poor diet, low in essential fatty acids and high in acidic forming foods. Fundamental changes in hydration and diet can have great consequences, dramatically increasing overall health and reducing many of the arthritic symptoms. The great news is that you can also rebuild your damaged joints and reduce overall inflammation throughout the system with the addition of simple supplements designed to speed repair and normalize function of the body.
These supplements include;
• Glucosamine
• Chondroitin
• Omega 3 oils
• Devils claw
• Hydrolyzed gelatine
• Boswellia
• White willow bark extract and numerous others.

Remember that just using the supplements without making fundamental changes in lifestyle will give short lived effects. In fact, in way you're exchanging one set of pills for another, drugs for herbs/supplements; the good news is that herbs and supplements have no side effects.

by Martin Stone