By Steve Lankford

 Joint pain and stiffness are one of the most common health issues that Americans experience. And many people have had tremendous benefits from nutrients such as glucosamine and chondroitin, however even these two nutrients only benefit about half of the people who try them. Nutritional science has moved forward tremendously in the last ten years since glucosamine was first introduced to America. Because of this research, we are able to understand the nature of joint pain and we are much more knowledgeable about the best ways restore health and reduce disease. In this article, I will outline a protocol that will provide the best results for most people. 

It is important to understand that all of the different nutrients that are often recommended for joint pain are all different compounds with different properties and effects. And even though they each may be helpful in some way, their modes of action are different and the degree of benefit will vary greatly. Because each person is unique, the best solution for restoring health will vary and your challenge is to discover what works best for you.

 When the average person thinks about arthritis, they are usually only thinking about reducing or eliminating the pain. So they turn to pain relieving drugs, which may mask the pain, but do nothing for helping correct the condition. Pain relieving drugs allow the damage to continue. While managing pain is important and sometimes critical, one has to look at how to help the body heal. It is by nurturing the cells of your body that repair and healing take place. As healing takes place pain and inflammation are reduced.

 Remember, pain and inflammation are NOT the problem. They are only the symptoms.

Fix the problem and the symptoms go away. Mask the symptoms and the problems get worse.

 Three Major Components

There are three major components to dealing with pain and inflammation. And while I referring to joint pain specifically in this article, this strategy will help anyone with chronic pain and inflammation. The three components are:

1. Shift your fatty acid balance
2. Provide tissue specific support
3. Fight residual inflammation.

 1. Shift Your Fatty Acid Balance

There have been thousand of studies on the importance of fatty acids and their roles in human health. In my opinion, our understanding of the benefits and problems of fatty acids is perhaps the most profound nutritional discovery in my lifetime. It is so important that anyone with a chronic inflammatory condition should make this his or her number one priority. There is one way to do this. Take a therapeutic dose of omega-3 rich fish oil.

 Here is why this is so important. Every cell in your body has receptor sites for fatty acid molecules to attach and do their job. These receptor sites will be occupied by the fatty acids supplied by your diet. With the average American diet, this would be heavily weighted toward the omega-6 fatty acids from common vegetable oils and conversely is low in the omega-3 fatty acids. The average American diet has a fatty acid ratio of about 30 to 1, omega-6 to omega-3.

 Here is the key. Most Omega-6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory. They are involved in producing inflammatory compounds. Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory compounds. The ideal ratio for these fatty acids is around 3 to 1, omega-6 to omega-3.

 The two major sources for omega-3 fatty acids are flax seed oil and cold-water fish body oil, also known as fish oil, or omega-3 oils. While they are both good oils, fish oil provides the greatest amount of the most important fatty acids, so I always prefer the fish oil when I’m seeking a therapeutic benefit. 

In order to shift the fatty acid balance in the body, you need to consume a therapeutic dose of fish oil, at least in the beginning. As you improve you can reduce your dose and maintain the dose that gives you the best results over time. The main mistake most for users of fish oil is that they don’t take enough. If you are inflamed you need to flood your body with omega-3 rich fish oil. I recommend about 4000 milligrams of EPA + DHA daily for three months. This dose is found in 1 tablespoon of high quality fish oil. Fish oil capsules are usually 300 to 600 milligrams per capsule so that would require 7 to 13 capsules. When you see improvements the dose can be reduced.

 At the same time you increase your fish oil, you should also reduce your consumption of grain and seed oils in your diet. Oils such as canola, corn, sunflower, safflower oils are all high in omega-6. Instead use more olive oil. This shift in the fatty acid balance will help everyone with any inflammatory condition. Without it long-term success is less likely. 

2. Provide Tissue Specific Support

Tissues can’t heal if they don’t get the nutrients they need for repair and maintenance. There are two reasons why tissues don’t get the nutrients they need. First is that we don’t consume them and second is that the nutrients can’t effectively get to the tissue.

 It the first case, nutritional science has made a great deal of progress. Glucosamine and chondroitin are two of the most important nutrients for joint health. These two nutrients have helped millions of consumers with joint pain and inflammation. This is because they provide specific tissue support. Nutrients the body needs to repair cartilage tissue. By now, almost everyone has heard of and/or tried glucosamine and chondroitin. These are, by far, the nutrients everyone with joint pain should try. Take 1500 mg. of glucosamine and 1200-mg. of chondroitin daily.

 But not everyone gets results with glucosamine and chondroitin. This may be because the nutrients can’t get to the joint. Joint cartilage does not get its nutrition directly from the blood. Cartilage gets nourish by the synovial fluid that surrounds a joint. Recent research has discovered that the tiny capillary blood vessels that nourish the synovial fluid become blocked by fats and by fibrin. This blockage reduces the nourishment to the synovial fluid and subsequently the cartilage itself. This is where you need to provide nutrients that can reduce this blockage. This is a totally new approach and a new and better understanding of why joints go bad.

 There is a relatively new product that addresses this problem in a spectacular way. Shea nut triterpenes help restore mobility by reducing these blockages and allow blood to flow and nutrients to reach the synovial fluid and cartilage. Shea nut triterpenes contain more concentrated inflammation fighters than any other botanical. The studies on this new shea nut extract have been very exciting. Users of this compound have reported complete relief in 30 days.

 For those people who have tried glucosamine and chondroitin and have not gotten good results or whose results are only partial effective, this is a great product to try. You will know in only one bottle, 30 days, whether shea nut extract can help you. Especially nice is that is comes with a complete satisfaction guarantee. Complete relief in 30 days or get your money back.

 3. Fight Residual Inflammation

If you’re successful with step one and two, your inflammation will come down naturally and your pain will be reduced, or even eliminated. However not everyone is successful. If the above program does not work completely you may need to take something additional to help reduce the inflammatory compounds that build up in the body. There are tremendously effective products that help the body eliminate the inflammatory compounds and thereby bring down the pain. One mistake that many people make is that they start with this step and are then disappointed because they still have pain and inflammation to some degree. If you don’t do steps one and two, the nutrients in step three will only be partially successful, because you are dealing with the symptoms and not the cause. Addressing the causes is found in steps one and two.

 There are two major groups of nutrients that help reduce pain and inflammation. They are proteolytic enzymes and herbs. Proteolytic enzymes help break down inflammatory compounds and eliminate them from the body. Herbs such as turmeric, boswellia, ginger and many others can interfere with body’s inflammation response. The most complete products will contain both the enzymes and the herbs.

 These products are most useful for acute, sudden and short-term inflammation such as a sports injury. They can also be useful in the beginning stages of your program, before your other supplements have had time to provide their effects. This approach should never be your long-term strategy unless you’ve had little success in changing your health status and you need relief from the pain and inflammation.

 For the Best Results

Decide on your plan – determine which products, how much and for how long you intend to try your program.

Use quality products – cheap products will seldom give you same results high quality products.

Be consistent – products don’t work if you don’t take them. Follow the recommended doses for the recommended time period.

Shop selectively – shop where the people know the products and can help you develop your personal nutritional program. 

Do these things and your joint pain will improve. Do these things and you will be more successful with your nutritional program.

 Author

Steve Lankford is the president and owner of Family Nutrition Center, 850-A Lombardi Ave., Green Bay, WI 54304 - 920-432-6886.

Steve also hosts Health Quest Radio Show on Sundays, 8-8:30 am on WTAQ 1360 AM, also on the net at www.healthquestradioshow.com.

For more information on nutrition and health visit www.familynutrition.com.