Thread: Arthritis

Arthritis isn't just painful, it's expensive. Nearly one in three adults suffer from it -- a number that has nearly doubled in the last 20 years. What's more, the cost to the U.S. economy is between $86.2 to $124 billion a year. While it is often referred to as a single disease, it is actually a blanket term for about 100 medical conditions that can occur to varying degrees in both children and adults -- and it's becoming a bigger problem every day.

Most doctors bounce their patients from one prescription pain reliever to another, which offer just temporary relief from painful symptoms for a nice chunk of change. Recently, as Cox-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx and Celebrex have come under scrutiny for safety, arthritis sufferers are feeling the squeeze even more.

I certainly don't want to minimize the solution, but I think it's important to note that a little fish oil could go a long way in helping relieve some of this misery. And a new study shows that adding some olive oil to the mix can help even more.

Dr. Wright has discussed the health benefits of fish oil many times. Research is proving that the imbalance of omega-3 to omega-6 essential fatty acids is indeed a source of many ills. Most of us have a ratio of about 20:1 omega-6 to omega-3 from our regular diet. For arthritis sufferers, particularly those with RA, this is a big problem since omega-3 is the side of the EFA equation that reduces inflammation.

That's why a recent study showing that a combination of fish oil and olive oil supplementation offered an even greater benefit than fish oil alone could be such an important finding. In the study of 43 patients, a statistically significant number of them who took both fish oil and olive oil supplements reported experiencing less morning stiffness and an increased ability to open doors using a doorknob, bend over to pick up dropped items, get in and out of a car, and turn faucets on and off.

These activities may sound insignificant, unless you can't do them without great pain -- then you realize they are not small accomplishments at all.

Dr. Wright has also covered a number of other natural arthritis pain relievers over the years, such as selenium -- which is found in garlic and onions -- ginger, zinc, copper, and niacinamide.


Yours in good health,
Amanda Ross
Managing Editor
Nutrition & Healing

Flax seed oil,which iswhat I take,also has a goodratio of omega-6to omega-3.

M_M