Joint pain caused by arthritis and other health factors can be debilitating and prevent you from doing daily tasks that you need to keep your life in order. Inflammation of the joints and the wear and tear of cartilage causes pain and stiffness.Normally the body utilizes inflammation to fight off infection and keep you from furthering injuries. Chronic inflammation can confuse the immune system, manifesting itself through physical symptoms such as joint pain. This sounds awful, and it feels worse. Natural remedies for arthritis and other joint health issues can be an effective and easy solution to implement into your lifestyle. Research is consistently showing us that the foods we eat, including herbs other natural remedies, directly impact our health either negatively or positively. This affects how much inflammation the body deals with on a daily basis and the maintenance of our bones and tissues such as cartilage, muscle, and tendons. Something that anyone can do is change the selection of foods they eat to have more of a positive influence. This doesn’t have to be a big change, even a small variation in your recipes or a new snack can make a sizable difference over a long period of time. A natural and holistic view on healing gives precedence to methods of treatment that coincide with nature. There are many herbal and plant based treatments that have been proven to provide anti-inflammatory properties.
Here are a few types of natural remedies that can be integrated easily into any type of lifestyle.
Palo Azul (a literal translation of Blue stick) is a deciduous type tree with documented diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties, a couple of good reasons that it is recommended as a natural remedy for rheumatoid arthritis and other joint health issues. Being an anti-inflammatory, anti rheumatic, anti spasmodic are just a few more of the palo azul tea benefits. The bark of the palo azul tree is commonly used to brew a unique, slightly blue fluorescent tea with scientifically validated properties. Read more about the benefits of palo azul tea.
Many people boil the palo azul bark in water and drink it to pass drug tests on short notice as it removes traces of the drugs from their bodies. You can buy the bark here to brew a pot of the drug detox drink yourself.
Green tea is just about as cliche as it gets for a healthy daily ritual. On top of containing the anti-oxidants and nutrients that make it potent in providing increased brain function, easier fat loss, and cancer prevention, research shows the catechins it contains reduce the breakdown of cartilage. Cartilage, again, is extremely important to keep healthy so your joints move as smooth as possible.
Olive oil is something you may already be using in the kitchen, but if not it is extremely easy to add into many recipes. Add to salads, use on pans to stop food from sticking and as a butter or canola oil substitute. It too contains healthy anti-oxidants and when regularly consumed it has an effect similar to ibuprofen. This makes it an excellent way to naturally reduce the effects of swelling and inflammation.
Vitamin C is essential for cartilage maintenance, something that is a key factor in joint related health. Cartilage enables the joints to move with minimal friction. When cartilage is not properly maintained due to a combination of poor diet, lack of proper exercise, and other health predispositions, friction will increase when the joints move and cause symptoms ranging from minor discomfort to intense pain. Vitamin C can be a smart natural remedy for joint pain sufferers, but in high doses can be harmful to those suffering from osteoarthritis.
Spices can have amazing positive effects on your health with their wide range of phytonutrients and antioxidants. There are a large variety of spices to entice every type of palette, and different types can enhance the flavor of anyone’s favorite dish.
Check out this simple spice guide and embolden your cooking horizons with minimal effort.
Here are a few spices that specifically ease joint related problems:
Turmeric has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and also has been shown to prevent stomach and colon cancer.
Oregano contains vitamin K with is excellent for bone health. It is as crucial to the body as vitamin D for it’s ability to absorb calcium, making it a crucial part of any complete joint health treatment program.
Ginger also has anti-inflammatory agents, and helps to naturally reduce pain. Research has shown that it can improve your attention span as well as your memory.
Nutmeg is another spice that provides anti-inflammatory action. It’s other benefits include plaque build-up reduction and anti-bacterial properties.
Since our diet plays such an integral role in our health, in many ways we are what we eat. Big positive lifestyle changes start with small positive lifestyle changes and even the slightest effort to make your diet healthier now is a building block to a healthier diet down the road.
The many temptations from advertising companies, friends, family, and coworkers to break a healthy diet can sometimes feel overwhelming. Arming ourselves with this type of food knowledge ahead of time gives us an important tool in any attempt to change or stick to a healthy diet. When presented with an unhealthy food option hopefully you can more easily remember why it’s a bad idea, and what your healthier options are.
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24176232
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21609303
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