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» ARTHRITIS SOLUTIONS
Best, Natural Options for Arthritis Effective, Long-Term Help for Pain and Active Living By Elias Markou, ND
Silently, one in six Canadians are living with some form of arthritis. Arthritis is often described as an intense; achy; continuous pain in the joints. Arthritis is society’s great unknown disease where many sufferers go unnoticed by the public. There is a high probability that a family member, a friend, or someone you know is living with this tremendous pain and disability caused by arthritis. Arthritis has been known to devastate a promising life, and destroy a person’s spirit and independence.
OSTEOARTHRITIS AND RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease in which the cartilage loses the ability to cushion the joint, therefore resulting in a joint that swells with pain, OA may be caused by an acute or chronic trauma or injury to any joint. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own tissues resulting in an inflammatory condition that affects the whole body resulting in swelling, pain, joint deformities and loss of function. Arthritis sufferers have endured their arthritic pain with determination while they continue on the journey to find some form of relief. The key to living better with arthritis is
understanding the condition. That has left many Canadians looking for alternative forms of treatments and relief that can be best found in natural medicine.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS Arthritic patients should always ask their naturopathic doctor (ND) for tests that can help diagnose arthritis and uncover the deeper root causes. Appropriate diagnostic testing can also help NDs determine the best treatment approach.
16 January / February 2014 HEALTHY DIRECTIONS | www.healthydirections.ca
The intestinal permeability test, food allergy testing and oxidative stress profile test are all tests that further help determine the type of food and nutrition that would be best appropriate for your arthritic condition. The results for these tests would set up the blue print for your diet and help consider the foods you should and shouldn’t eat. One more thing to consider; any test results can be re-tested to show measurements of improvements in the arthritis, so ask to test for your baseline scores before you begin treatment.