Marguerite O.B.E. - Arthritis - Over 60 Recipes and a Self-Treatment Plan to Transform Your Life

Write a letter to someone you love. Tell them about all the funny and happy things that you can remember happening during the past week.

The aim in this part of the book is to get you started on the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet. After basic information about arthritis in several of its more common forms you will read about food and diet, and how they affect inflammatory illnesses.

Coming from ‘arthron’, the Greek word for joint, arthritis literally means ‘inflammation of the joint’. It may surprise you to know that about 200 different illnesses, all causing degeneration of joints and soft tissues, are classified as arthritis. Millions of people around the world suffer from some form of this illness, and in the United Kingdom one quarter of all visits to the doctor relate to its symptoms.

Although there are a surprising number of different types of arthritis, the great majority of people suffer from either osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. Both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis vary in their degree of severity, ranging from very mild discomfort to crippling. As you would expect, those with milder forms of these conditions will experience a greater degree of healing on this diet than those who have already suffered a major deterioration of joints. However, everyone should improve, and many will experience a return to normal activity.

Osteoarthritis is due to ‘wear and tear’ on joints, and most people beyond the age of 65 are affected to some degree. Athletes, or people involved in vocations that repeatedly use one or more joints – such as dancers and typists – may begin suffering from signs of arthritis at a relatively young age. Osteoarthritis may co-exist with other forms of arthritis, especially rheumatoid arthritis. It frequently occurs in the weight-bearing joints of the knees, hips and feet. Bony lumps, called ‘nodes’ sometimes form on the ends of finger bones, causing a gnarled, enlarged appearance. Stress, wear and tear can also cause slow deterioration of the discs between the spinal vertebrae, leading to pain and stiffness in the neck and back.

Heat and redness around an affected joint is common, and cold packs help dull the sensation of pain during the early part of an attack. Warm packs relax muscles surrounding joints, and are effective after acute pain has subsided. Remove warm packs after 10 minutes.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease involving the immune system. About three times as many women as men are affected. It is thought that some factor in the environment triggers an abnormal immune response in the joints. Many experts agree that specific foods may trigger inflammation. Unfortunately, not every case of rheumatoid arthritis responds to the same stimulus, and it is necessary to identify the specific food, or foods, that affect an individual.

Rheumatoid arthritis begins gradually with aching and stiffness. At first it may involve only one joint, but soon spreads to others, tending to affect the same joint on both sides of the body. Small lumps under the skin may appear around the elbows. Sufferers may get very tired, but experience a great deal of difficulty sleeping. A minority of sufferers will experience other symptoms, including skin rash and ulceration, enlargement of lymph nodes, and inflammation of tissues around the lungs and heart.

Bearing all this information in mind, just how does the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet work? Its success relies on three objectives. The first is to eliminate from the diet all foods that trigger, or aggravate, abnormal inflammation in the joints and tissues. The second is to reduce the symptoms by supplying the body with nutrients known to strike at the stiffness, swelling and aching caused by inflammation. Many scientists believe that free radicals are a primary factor in causing inflammation, and foods used in the diet are rich sources of natural antioxidants that block inflammation. The third objective is to supply, through both food and dietary supplements, substances that help rebuild the internal components of joints destroyed by wear and tear.

Now that you know how the diet works, the following chapter will explain which foods are best for success.

Gout is a form of arthritis caused by a build-up of waste products in the blood. For more detailed information about it click here. For more detailed information on all forms of arthritis click here.

‘People are more easily convinced of the power of magic, than convinced of the healing power of nutrition.’

The above statement – one I often use to open seminars – is, sadly, very true. Yet you can halt the pain of arthritis by changing the way you eat. In most cases, the difference will be so great it will change your life forever. All that is required for this transformation is the knowledge of which foods to avoid and which to enjoy, and a commitment to staying on the diet long enough to experience its benefits. Once you have experienced the improvement it brings about you will be very reluctant to return to your old ways. The path to success is not easy, however. You will be giving up foods and drinks that are part of most people’s daily lives – for example, coffee, alcohol, bacon, bread and sugary sweets. These changes will be easier if you understand why they are necessary. Use this book as your guide, and you will soon find that you feel better, look better and no longer crave the foods that trigger the pain that once overshadowed your life.

Several years ago a group of women attending a community meeting about nutrition were asked for a show of hands as to how many agreed with the statement: eliminating a single food from the diet can change a person’s health. Less than a third agreed. During the discussion that followed, some people were slightly amused by the question: after all, they ate a ‘healthy’ diet, how could that do them harm? When asked to describe a ‘healthy diet’, it was generally agreed that a healthy diet consisted of foods they ‘had always eaten’. In fact, none of us eats ‘what we have always eaten’. Differences in food production and processing – along with changing cultural influences – have subtly reshaped both the content and nutritional value of the food we eat. A healthy diet entails eating a high proportion of fresh fruits and vegetables, pulses, grains and nuts, and a modest amount of meat.

Many consumers are confused by all the dietary advice provided in the media these days. What should we listen to: old advice that we have followed for years; or new opinions still untested by time? Listen to both, and then ask yourself which makes good sense. If promises made for a wonder food sound too good to be true, they probably are. If someone tells you that a special diet will help control an illness, ask why and how it works. That is why you should take time to read all the information in this book, rather than just trying the recipes. You need to become familiar with your enemy in order to beat it.

Do eggs dangerously increase levels of blood cholesterol? The answer to this question is an example of how conflicting information about the health value of a food arises. Until the medical community became convinced that high levels of blood cholesterol were a significant risk factor in coronary artery disease, eggs were looked upon as a safe and healthy food, ideal for all the family – including infants and the infirm. Then came the theory that the cholesterol contained in foods, such as egg yolk, increases the level of blood cholesterol. As a result, people were advised to reduce their intake of eggs to as few as two per week. Recently, scientific research has established that the cholesterol contained in eggs has very little effect on blood cholesterol: saturated fats, such as those found in red meat, are the culprits. Eggs contain a far lower percentage of saturated fat than a portion of cheese of equal weight and, when enjoyed in moderation, they are an easy-to-eat food, high in the protein and vitamins our bodies need. Produced by free-range hens fed on grain and free of infection, eggs are a welcomed part of breakfast, lunch or dinner. You will see in Parts Three and Four that eggs are very much a part of the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet.