Eat to Beat Arthritis

Over 60 recipes and a self-treatment plan to transform your life

Marguerite Patten, O.B.E. and Jeannette Ewin, Ph.D.

Table of Contents

Cover Page

Title Page

Preface

Part One You Can Beat Arthritis!

Chapter 1 – You can beat arthritis!

Chapter 2 – Know your enemy (understanding arthritis and its causes)

Chapter 3 – Know how to combat your enemy (seven weeks that will change your life)

Chapter 4 – Changing your lifestyle

Part Two The Facts About Arthritis and Diet

Chapter 1 – About arthritis

Chapter 2 – Food, supplements and medication

Part Three The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet

Chapter 1 – The basics

Chapter 2 – The seven-week diet plan

Part Four The Recipes

Introducing the diet

Creamy Liver Pâté

Cucumber and Seafood Dip

Golden Roquefort Dip

Making Stock

Beetroot Soup

Chicken and Almond Soup

Lentil Soup

Indonesian Chicken Soup

Liver and Mushroom Soup

Cod with Pineapple and Cucumber

Fish Véronique

Grilled Fish

Herbed Baked Fish

Kedgeree

Seafood Stir-fry

Mussels in Cream Sauce

Thai Fish Cakes

Grilled Spiced Sardines

Poached Herring Roes

Sautéed Cod’s Roe

Enjoying Liver

Grilled Liver

Sautéed Liver

Chicken Liver Risotto

Liver Soufflé

Country Lambs’ Kidneys

Creamed Sweetbreads

Sweet and Sour Lambs’ Hearts

Curried Tripe

Steak with Roquefort

Caribbean Lamb

Roast Chicken

Turkey in Almond Sauce

Quail with Blueberry Sauce

Salmis of Pheasant

Cucumber Sauce

Pesto Sauce

Vinaigrette Dressing

Mayonnaise

Almond Relish

Herbed Polenta

Savoury Omelettes

Sweet Potato Rösti

Minted Beans and Cabbage

Garlic Mushrooms

Avocado and Pineapple Salad

Buckwheat Salad

Fruit and Vegetable Salads

Grilled Goat’s Cheese Salad

Liver and Herb Salad

Mushroom and Liver Salad

Sweet Potato Salad

Main Dish Salads

Apricot Rice Pudding

Mango Foule

Ginger and Lemon Pears

Peaches in Honey and Almonds

Summer Soufflé Omelette

Strawberry and Grape Sorbet

Vanilla Ice Cream

Classic Blinis

Speedy Blinis

Macaroons

Millet Porridge

Hush Puppies

Corn Bread

Part Five Taking It Further

Chapter 1 – Foods that heal

Chapter 2 – Questions and answers about arthritis

Glossary

Helpful resources

Index

Copyright

About the Publisher

Preface

Marguerite Patten, O.B.E., a well-known and highly respected food writer, and Jeannette Ewin, Ph.D., a health journalist with an international following, have joined forces to create an eating plan that can help you beat the pain and distress of arthritis. The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet, and everything you need to know about how it can change your life, is contained in this book.

Arthritis has been compared to being locked in a prison: its symptoms bar you from living the way you wish. In this book you will learn how to break lifestyle habits that have shackled you to pain. The pages that follow contain the latest information about food supplements that fight the causes and symptoms of arthritis. You will also learn how to listen to your own body, and understand what it is telling you about the food you eat.

The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet is based on a selection of foods and supplements that help your body fight the pain of crippling disease. Unlike other diets you may have tried in the past, it allows you to enjoy appetizing and satisfying meals while you chart the dietary course towards wellbeing. Using foods recommended in the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet, Marguerite Patten has developed over 60 delicious recipes that can be enjoyed by everyone – not just those suffering from arthritis. Unlike the recipes you may have tried in some healthrelated cookery books, the dishes described here are full of appealing flavour and texture.

Working on this book was a labour of love for Marguerite, as she personally knows how arthritis can affect one’s life. Her search for a means of controlling this painful illness had been long and hard, and included both acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. When these failed, her doctor said surgery on a severely arthritic hip was the only answer. Faced with family and professional responsibilities, Marguerite’s response was, ‘Sorry. I haven’t the time right now.’ With hope of finding an answer to her advancing illness in some other form of therapy, she turned for help to the subject she knows best: food. By changing her diet she changed her life, and in this book she not only provides clear instructions about how to cook the appropriate foods, but also shares the secrets of her own story.

Reading every health and diet book she could find that focused on the perplexing problem of arthritis, Marguerite came across an international bestseller: A Doctor’s Proven New Home Cure for Arthritis, by Dr Giraud W. Campbell. Here was a healing diet that incorporated foods she enjoyed eating. The prescribed therapy was strict, but manageable. She gave it a try and within weeks experienced a dramatic and clinically recognizable improvement in her condition.

Over the years since her introduction to Dr Campbell’s book, much has been learned about how diets work and why certain nutrient supplements help control this debilitating illness. To share her personal experience, and to expand what she had learned about diet and arthritis, Marguerite Patten teamed up with a friend and nutritionist, Dr Jeannette Ewin. Taking their lead from Dr Campbell’s book, they developed the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet. This sensible and healthy way to enjoy good food combines Marguerite’s decades of experience developing tasty and sure-fire recipes, with Jeannette’s insight into the interactions between food, nutrition and health. As a side benefit, those who follow their advice will soon find they not only gain control over pain, but also enjoy a greater feeling of wellbeing.

Part One You Can Beat Arthritis!

Chapter 1 You can beat arthritis!

During an awards ceremony, American comedian Jack Benny reportedly said: Thank you for this honour, but I don’t know what I did to deserve it. Then again, I have arthritis, and I don’t know what I did to deserve that either.’

If – like Jack Benny – you suffer from arthritis, you know it is no laughing matter. Pain can dominate your life, and its effects are insidious. You don’t sleep well at night because your joints hurt. Backache plagues you while you are in bed. Knees and hips ache when you get out of bed. Slowly, you begin to feel depressed by the lack of sleep. During the day you begin avoiding exercise. Taking a walk, swinging a golf club, or doing everyday household chores cause discomfort and pain and, as a result, you find yourself moving less. Muscles that were once firm and strong begin to weaken from lack of use. Not burning off calories as quickly as you once did, you find yourself gaining a bit of weight. The problem of wakeful nights becomes compounded because the exercise you now avoid is an important part of getting the body ready for sleep. Overtime, arthritis begins to dominate your life, and you find yourself in a slow physical and emotional cycle of decline.

The above scenario is not inevitable, however. You can prevent it happening to you. By changing your diet and lifestyle, it is possible to regain a sense of physical and mental wellbeing. Arthritis leads to negative changes in your life: The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet is your guide to the positive changes needed to overcome them.

Unfortunately, many arthritis sufferers never find a way of overcoming the debilitating symptoms of the disease. They may seek help from their doctor, and find that the medication they are prescribed causes unpleasant side effects such as stomach pain. Others try various forms of alternative therapy only to find them ineffective. In the end, they all too often submit. After all, they may reason, everyone who reaches a certain age must suffer from some form of aches or pains. As time goes by, their condition gets worse. All too soon the activities they once enjoyed – like playing with the grandchildren, gardening, or keeping up with a favourite hobby – cause too much pain to bear.

Don’t give in to arthritis. By learning to select and enjoy the foods that uniquely suit you, and by following the lifestyle advice in this book, you can continue enjoying life. Think positive. Be positive. Make the changes that release you from the negative cycle of arthritis.

The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet is based on a simple, three-part strategy to healing and health:

Know your enemy (in this case – arthritis);

Know how to defeat your enemy (gain control over arthritis in seven weeks); and

Enjoy life.

The details of this strategy are outlined in the chapters that follow, but here is a brief summary of what is involved.

Know your enemy

Strip away the mystery of arthritis by understanding what it is and why it occurs. When an illness is diagnosed and given a name by a doctor, it has power. It is the unknown, and we are its victims. By learning something about an illness, or disease, and why it makes us suffer, we gain control. Knowledge replaces doubt, and hope replaces fear.

The basic facts outlined in Chapter 2 demystify arthritis. More detailed information is presented in the section of the book called ‘Questions and answers about arthritis’. Additional help is also provided by a glossary, a selection of good food tips and a list of helpful resources (this includes a number of websites for those of you with access to the internet).

Know how to defeat your enemy (gain control over arthritis in seven weeks)

This book is your guide to seven weeks that can change your life. Once you understand an illness, you can build a strategy to defeat it. If its total defeat is not possible, you can still find ways to minimize its symptoms and learn to live a brighter, fuller life.

In the early parts of this book you will learn how to alter your diet and lifestyle to break the negative cycle of arthritis. You will discover why good nutrition can rebuild failing tissues, block pain and revitalize aching joints. It will also become clear why certain foods should be avoided, and how everyday favourites – like tomatoes and aubergines (eggplants) – can cause joint pain and swelling.

You are unique, and your requirement for food is unique. Not only do you need to know which foods you should eat, but how they can be balanced to help you live a full and active life – despite having arthritis. This is explained in Chapter 3, where you will find an outline of the basic rules of nutrition, and information about how the substances in food affect your health. The basic rules of nutrition hold for everyone, but the amounts of individual nutrients you require for optimum health are not the same as those needed by others.

During the seven weeks of this diet, you will learn how to listen to your body and recognize when specific foods are doing harm. Simply by avoiding all foods containing wheat and all drinks containing caffeine, many arthritis suffers find their lives changed forever.

If all this is beginning to sound a bit too restrictive – take heart! In Part Two you will find a long list of foods you can eat. And to help you enjoy a delicious (and very modern) approach to cooking with these ingredients, Marguerite Patten has devised over 60 easy-to-prepare recipes.

Marguerite’s recipes are a vital part of this book. In them she not only explains what to cook and how, but also shares her own experience with the diet. Day by day, step by step, she takes you through the diet and discusses why she chose one ingredient over another. These personal insights give invaluable information and encouragement as you begin to experiment with a style of cooking that is fresh and tasty as well as healing and healthy.

Enjoy life

This is the third proclamation of the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet. Unfortunately there are no simple recipes to help you with this part of the programme. Some suggestions are offered later on, but no one can prescribe what is best for you. Just remember:

The glass of life is half full – not half empty.

Smiling has been scientifically shown to have a positive effect on mood and the sensation of pain.

Exercise relaxes you, loosens joints and muscles, and helps lay the groundwork for a good night’s sleep.

Chapter 2 Know your enemy (understanding arthritis and its causes)
The costly epidemic of arthritis

‘People ignore arthritis both as public and personal health problems because it doesn’t kill you.’ So said Chad Helmick, a medical epidemiologist at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. He continued: ‘But what they don’t realize is that as Americans work and live longer, arthritis can affect their quality of life and eventually lead to disability.’ According to the FDA Consumer (May–June 2000), who quoted Dr Helmick, the current annual cost of arthritis to the U.S. economy is nearly $65 billion – a sum large enough to have about the same impact as a moderate recession.

Arthritis can strike at any age, and the number of arthritis sufferers increases each year. During a person’s lifetime, arthritis is more likely to restrict activity than cancer, diabetes or heart disease. World-wide, arthritis inflicts a terrible cost. In the United States alone, currently about 42 million people are afflicted by chronic forms of arthritis: according to the Center for Disease Control, that number will rise to 60 million by 2020. More than 11 million of those people will be crippled badly enough to be classified as disabled. And the U.S. is not an exceptional case – the social and economic impact of arthritis in the United States is mirrored throughout the Western world.

Why should more people suffer from arthritis today than in the past? And why do various forms of arthritis appear to be increasing at a greater rate in Westernized countries than in the rest of the world? Many experts believe the answer must be related to our lifestyle and diet.

When you consider the vast amount of money spent on medication to treat the symptoms of arthritis, and on surgical repair of crippled hips and knees, you get some idea just how much could be saved if people would eat and live according to the simple rules suggested here.

Arthritis comes in many forms

The word ‘arthritis’ refers to any process that causes inflammation of joints and surrounding tissues. Depending on which expert you believe, there are between one and two hundred different conditions that can be classified as ‘arthritis’. Some of these are common (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout), while others are relatively rare (ankylosing spondylitis and systemic lupus erythematosis are examples). In Eat to Beat Arthritis we focus on those types of arthritis that affect the most people, although the anti-inflammation diet described here will help almost everyone.

Two key words need explanation: ‘inflammation’ and ‘joint’.

Inflammation is a natural process in which the body’s immune system reacts to infection, injury or any abnormal form of irritation. The area of inflammation becomes red, swollen and abnormally warm. When inflammation takes place around a site of infection or injury its role is to kill any invading organisms and speed up the removal of debris from dead bacteria (or viruses) and tissue. In other words, inflammation is a healthy part of the normal healing process. Unfortunately, there are times when the immune system mistakes the body’s own normal tissues for the ‘enemy’, and attacks them. This is known as an auto-immune reaction. The immune system may also attack parts of the body where concentrations of abnormal substances occur – such as joints in which bony nodules form after injury; or in places where abnormal deposits of uric acid form, as is the case in gout.

Inflammation is the real culprit in arthritis, so the diet described in this book is designed to help control inflammation. Even if you are on medication for your condition, changing the way you eat will help break the painful bonds of inflamed joints and tissues.

A joint is a place, or ‘join’, in the body where bones meet. Some joints are stationary, or fused, and have no motion; the joints between bone in the skull are examples. Other joints may allow a limited degree of motion, such as those in the fingers and toes, while others allow extensive motion. Hip joints are a good example of a place where there can be considerable movement at the place where bones meet.

As a general rule joints are formed from fibrous tissue, a pad of cartilage at the end of each bone within the joint, a thin lining of synovial membrane (which secretes a thin lubricating fluid into the joint to aid its motion) and, sometimes, a ligament, or strong band of fibrous tissue binding the bones together. Ligaments are also found supporting other parts of the body, including some internal organs.

OSTEOARTHRITIS

Almost everyone suffers from some degree of osteoarthritis. The older you get the more likely it is that injury or constant use has damaged one or more of your joints, and osteoarthritis has set in. Many athletes suffer this form of arthritis at a fairly early age owing to injury to cartilage and the bones within much-used joints, such as the knee. In less athletic people the pain experienced in knees, hands and hips by the time they reach retirement age is as a result of simple wear and tear on the internal structure of joints. In both cases, cartilage can wear so thin the ends of bones become exposed within joints. This causes pain and inflammation. To make matters worse, bony nodules may collect in osteoarthritic joints, adding to the pain and inflammation. And as anyone who suffers from pain knows, it can be mentally exhausting as well as physically debilitating.

Medical treatment for osteoarthritis usually involves analgesics (painkillers) and – in some cases – drugs that support the body’s attempts to rebuild damaged cartilage. Most of these drugs not only effectively reduce pain, they also reduce inflammation. The problem is that many analgesics (including aspirin and ibuprofen) cause stomach irritation that can lead to bleeding, and they do nothing to help rebuild worn tissue. During the past decade research has shown that there are natural compounds that support the rebuilding of damaged cartilage: glucosamine holds the greatest promise at present. You can learn more about this healing compound here.

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

The stiffness, pain, swelling and loss of function associated with rheumatoid arthritis results from inflammation of the lining that secretes lubricating fluid into joints. The disease can affect other parts of the body, but treatment is most often sought for the condition when it involves joints. In most cases this form of arthritis affects the same joint on both sides of the body: both knees, or both hips, or the knuckles of both forefingers. In severe cases deformity and loss of function result.

The medications used to treat rheumatoid and osteoarthritis are similar, and are selected to block pain and reduce inflammation. However, there is strong evidence that certain foods, such as oily fish, and food supplements, such as fish oil, help reduce the causes of the inflammation without endangering the delicate lining of the stomach.

More information about rheumatoid arthritis can be found here.

GOUT

Gout is frequently lampooned as a rich man’s illness, associated with too much fine wine and fatty food. In fact it strikes people from all walks of life: beggar and king. It can be very painful, and it is common to hear sufferers describe how they cannot bear to have even the weight of a bed-sheet rest on an affected toe. (Big toes are frequent victims of this illness.) Mercifully, gout is far less common than either osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

Gout is caused when too much uric acid collects in the blood. Uric acid is a by-product of normal metabolism, and it is usually collected and discarded from the body by the kidneys in urine. However, when the kidneys are not functioning normally, or when the diet contains an excess of certain foods, blood levels can rise to the point where the excess uric acid crystallizes in joints, the kidneys, or even the soft tissue of the ear. These stone-like residues cause pain, damage surrounding tissues, and trigger the biological processes that lead to inflammation.

There are medications to help gout suffers, but diet is a vital part of controlling the build-up of uric acid in the blood, and reducing or eliminating inflammation.

For more about gout, see here.

Chapter 3 Know how to combat your enemy (seven weeks that will change your life)

The power to heal is within you. Given the right nutritional building blocks, adequate rest, exercise and a pollution-free environment, the human body has remarkable powers of restoration and self-healing. The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet is all about harnessing these elements to your advantage.

Food is the answer

No diet should promise overnight success. Healing takes time. If you suffer from arthritis you need to eat foods, and take food supplements, that calm the inflammatory processes that cause pain. You also need to consume those nutrients that the body needs to build new and healthy tissues, such as cartilage in joints.

Think of it this way. Your body is made entirely of the foods you eat. In an ideal world, what you eat would exactly match what your body needs to function at its best. But this is not an ideal world. Stress, illness, lifestyle changes and the natural processes of bearing children all place demands on your body that require a specific blend of nutrients. For example, smoking increases the body’s need for vitamin C, and you can cope with stress better if your diet is rich in foods containing B vitamins.

Using the advice in this book you will learn how to select those foods that provide the unique blend of nutrients your body needs for healing. You will also learn how the right foods can help you combat damaging and painful inflammation. Also highlighted is the importance of identifying foods to which you may be sensitive. Once you know what are the right foods for you, you can then go on to prepare delicious dishes using these ingredients. Best of all, you can read Marguerite Patten’s excellent advice on using and living with this diet. When you know what suits your body best, and you have experienced the rewards from changing your eating habits to improve your arthritis, you will find that you can relax from time to time and allow yourself some flexibility in what you eat. Marguerite explains how she balances her lifestyle with the diet and allows herself the occasional treat. The trick is just to enjoy yourself, then reinstate the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet as soon as you can afterwards and you’ll soon be back to your best.

A schedule for success

Once you begin this diet you will probably experience an improvement in your condition during the first week: but there is more to come! Give yourself at least six weeks before you judge its total benefits to you. Eating plans that promise much faster results are not really being fair. It takes time for your body to heal. The full programme is explained in the next section, but here is a brief week-by-week summary of the diet, followed by an explanation of how it works:

Week zero – Listening to your body

Learn about yourself by keeping records of what you eat and when your symptoms appear.

As the first step towards controlling pain, eliminate coffee, cola drinks, tea and other sources of caffeine from your diet.

If you smoke cigarettes, this is the time to stop.

Week one – Cleansing and detoxifying your body

After a one-day fast, begin a diet of foods that help heal and rebuild the body.

Eliminate all foods containing wheat, rye, oats, and all sources of gluten from your diet.

Eliminate alcohol from your diet.

Supplements containing fish oil and vitamin E are added to your healing routine, as is a Health Drink that you make at home.

Week two – Stabilizing your body

The routine of foods and supplements started during Week One continues. (By this time, many people experience significant relief from the pain and inflammation of arthritis.)

Weeks three through six – The elimination diet

During these four weeks, you will introduce various foods and food groups into your diet to test their effect on your arthritis.

Up to now you have enjoyed a diet based on a limited number of ingredients. To live in the real world of work and family, that list of foods needs to be expanded.

The benefits of the diet by now include a greater sense of wellbeing, and improved skin and hair texture.

Week seven and forever – Enjoy life
WEEK ZERO – GETTING TO KNOW YOURSELF

This period is a preparation for the life-changes to come. By keeping a daily chart of when and where you experience pain, what you eat, how well you sleep, and when and how you exercise, you will have a snapshot of how well you are taking care of your body. Make no changes during this week (with the exception of giving up caffeine). Just listen to your body. You will continue to keep these charts throughout the first six weeks of the diet, because they will provide information about how your body is reacting to change.

It may be tempting to skip this week’s activities. Forget any such ideas. This may be the most valuable week of the diet, because it provides the information you need to monitor your progress towards a life of less pain and greater mobility. Keeping notes for anything shorter than a week will give you a false picture, because your life activities have a pattern – and they run from Sunday through to Saturday.

If you smoke, use this time to consider how you plan to remove this pollutant from your body. As you will learn in the next chapter, smoking adds to the problems that increase the pain of arthritis.

WEEK ONE – CLEANSING AND DETOXIFYING YOUR BODY

Work begins here. During these seven days you will lower the level of harmful substances in the body through fasting, avoiding specific foods, and drinking adequate amounts of fluids. The charts you keep will begin to show early benefits of the diet.

WEEK TWO – STABILIZING YOUR BODY

By the end of Week One you will be eating a very healthy, although somewhat restricted diet. This is the Basic Arthritis Diet. By following the same eating plan during the second week of the diet, you will stabilize your metabolism and remove any traces of reaction from foods you have eaten in the past. You are allowing your body to rest. (Do not worry about having to eat bland and uninteresting food – the recipes Marguerite Patten provides further on in the book are full of flavour.)

WEEKS THREE TO SIX – EXPANDING YOUR FOOD VOCABULARY

Now is the time to expand the variety of foods you eat. In this section, guidance is provided on how to test specific foods for their effect on your level of joint pain and discomfort. You may be surprised by the results. Foods you have enjoyed for years – and that you have been told are good for you – may be just the ones that stimulate an inflammatory reaction in your joints.

WEEK SEVEN AND FOREVER – HOW TO LIVE A LITTLE AND STILL MAINTAIN CONTROL OVER PAIN

Once you know which foods present problems, and how to detoxify your body on the Basic Arthritis Diet, you can try breaking the rules. But remember: once you break the rules you must return to them as quickly as possible.

Chapter 4 Changing your lifestyle

As you change your diet, and learn about yourself by using a self-assessment chart, you should consider other ways to improve your health. In addition to changing your diet and giving up smoking (see here), there are other ways you can change your lifestyle and help control the painful and crippling effects of arthritis:

1 Control your weight

2 Enjoy gentle exercise

3 Get adequate sleep

4 Learn to relax

5 Have a good laugh

Control your weight

Extra pounds place excess wear and tear on joints and ligaments. Hundreds of diet plans exist to help you lose weight: ignore them all. The healthiest and most important step towards eliminating unnecessary fat from your body is to eat a balanced diet in moderation, and become more active. Using the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet as your guide, choose foods that suit you best and enjoy them in small portions until your weight has reached an ideal level.

Serve yourself whenever possible (other people always give you more than you need), and only put on your plate what you intend to eat. Do not have second helpings. If you would usually take two tablespoons of peas, take only one. If you usually enjoy a full bowl of soup, ladle out half a bowl as your diet portion. For the good health of your heart and vascular system, cut the amount of butter and animal fat in your diet to the smallest possible amounts, and use only half the oil you would usually use on salads and in cooking. Eat smaller portions and eat more slowly to enjoy the full flavour of your food. There are two exceptions to the rule on eating less. Among the foods you will enjoy on the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet are liver and a nutritious Health Drink. Do not reduce your intake of either of these foods. (Gout sufferers must eliminate the liver, however. See here.)

If you are trying to lose weight, it is essential to add some extra exercise to your daily routine to burn off unwanted calories. Housework and walking to the shops are not enough.

If you smoke, try to stop. The health evidence against smoking tobacco is overwhelming. Smokers dislike hearing people drone on about this, but the effects of smoke on your body are worth keeping in mind when you are committed to improving your health. As all those massively expensive anti-smoking campaigns tell us, the link between smoking and certain forms of cancer is obvious, but smoking causes other damage as well. There is evidence that the damaging levels of free radicals released in the body by cigarette smoke increases inflammation, and thus increases the level of pain associated with arthritis.

Enjoy gentle exercise

Many of the causes of joint and muscle pain and discomfort should be eliminated or reduced by following the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet. However, you also need to keep active to keep your body at its best, especially if you need to lose weight.

The choice of exercise activities is rich and varied. All you need to do is choose one and give it a try. If your first choice does not suit you, try another, and another, until you find one that you enjoy. Add at least three exercise sessions to your weekly routine. Include gentle stretching at both the start and conclusion of each session. No matter how old or unfit you are, visit the local gym and see if they offer anything that would interest you. Alternatively, contact local community and church groups to see if they offer activities that would get your blood pumping. You’ll be surprised by the variety of activities available. For example, line dancing seems to be all the rage for every age these days, and some of the less strenuous martial arts both strengthen the body and calm the mind.

Remember, talk with your doctor before beginning any new exercise or sporting activity. He or she will probably applaud your decision to get out and get moving.

Good forms of exercise include walking, swimming and stretching. Gardening is also valuable exercise as it promotes joint health by stretching and placing gentle pressure on muscles surrounding joints in the arms, legs, hips and back.

Pain may be increased when you first start exercising, but you will soon ‘work through’ that as your stiff joints regain their flexibility. Exercise unlocks stiff joints and tissues. How many times have you heard someone say, ‘I was so stiff this morning I thought I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed; but once I got moving everything was fine.’ You have probably had this same experience, and know that movement is a large part of keeping stiff limbs and muscles active.

To conquer the pain of arthritis, you should gently and repeatedly move the joints and tissues that hurt. By doing so, you strengthen the muscles that support the tissues, stimulate normal bone growth, and stimulate the circulation to the inflamed area. Remember, if you reduce your level of daily activity because you are afraid of the pain and discomfort that accompanies movement, you are going to lose more muscle strength and fail to stimulate normal bone growth.

Yoga and Pilates are two excellent exercise disciplines. Both stretch and strengthen muscles, but in their elementary forms neither one pushes or pulls muscles into extreme positions or activity. As relaxation is a principal goal in the practice of yoga, it has special value for arthritis sufferers. Yoga originated in India about three thousand years ago, and is based on physical control and relaxation. The practice has become increasingly popular over the past several decades, and many forms of movement and self-training have evolved. To learn more about yoga, visit your local library for books on the subject. Also, shop around to see what programmes are available in your area. Yoga is often offered in community and adult education centres.

Pilates is a form of exercise and body control developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s. Born in Germany in 1880, Pilates was sickly and frail as a child, and as a result became obsessed by physical fitness. By the time the Great War broke out in Europe, Pilates was in England, teaching detectives self-defence. As a German, he was interned for the duration of the conflict. While in the camp he devised a regime of exercises for his fellow internees that maintained their health and fitness level while they were held in confinement. Not one of these people died during the influenza outbreak of 1918, and Pilates often claimed this was due to the exercise programme he developed. (There may be some truth in this, as we now know that exercise strengthens the immune system.)

After the war Joseph Pilates returned to Germany and began working with dancers and others who sought perfection in body form, flexibility and balance. When asked to begin work with the German army, Pilates refused and fled to America. On the boat he met a nursery teacher whom he later married. Together they established a fitness studio in New York, where dancers, athletes and members of top society soon became his clients. His devoted followers have included Martha Graham, Gregory Peck, Katharine Hepburn, Jodie Foster, Michael Crawford, Joan Collins and Sigourney Weaver. Tennis professional Pat Cash and world champion ice skating star Kristi Yamaguchi are among the athletes who have profited from Joseph Pilates’ teaching. His methods are now taught around the world.

The Pilates method differs from other fitness programmes in the way the exercises are approached. Like yoga, it binds the activities of the mind with those of the body, making the mental perception of the body as important as physical movement. As in yoga, the three main elements of each exercise are relaxation, control and co-ordination. Pilates differs from yoga in one important way, however: the Girdle of Strength, that is the internal cage of muscles that supports and holds the body’s internal organs in place, is tightened and used in every exercise practised. So too are the multifidous muscles, which stabilize the lumbar spine. By building power and flexibility into these often overlooked muscle groups, Pilates uniquely contributes to the physical fitness of sufferers of innumerable physical ailments and injuries.

For more about Pilates and how it can help you, browse in your local library and bookshop for more information. Also contact community and fitness centres to see what they have to offer in the way of basic courses.

Get adequate sleep

Insomnia affects the ability to concentrate and increases the awareness of pain and discomfort. If you have trouble sleeping, you are not alone. According to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, more than 100 million people in the United States do not get a good night’s sleep on a regular basis. Tired people have slower reaction times, are less productive and are less likely to interact with others in a positive manner. Like everyone else, arthritis sufferers should do all they can to maximize their chances of sleeping for eight hours a night. Here are some tips on what you can do to help you deal with this insidious problem.

First, however, what is insomnia? According to the Mayo Clinic, in the United States, these are some signs to watch out for:

It takes longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep

You wake several times during the night

You wake up feeling muddled and tired

You fall asleep during meetings and daytime events

You are forgetful.

Dr Peter Hauri, Director of the Mayo Clinic Insomnia Program, suggests that answers to the following questions may help determine why you have sleep problems:

Do you feel anxious when you are getting ready for bed?

Do you argue with your spouse or partner in bed?

Do you worry about the next day’s tasks when you are trying to fall asleep?

Do you keep checking the time on a bedside clock?

Do you sleep better on holiday, or at a friend’s house, than when you are in your own bed at home?

Do you try to force yourself to go to sleep?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions you should take action.

Dr John W. Shepard Jr, M.D., Medical Director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, has offered the following tips on how to get the full eight hours of sleep we all need each night. Remember, however, that what works for one person may not work for another. Try one or two of the following suggestions at a time until you find the combination that is right for you.

Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Both are addictive stimulants that can interfere with sleep. (Remember that on the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet, neither caffeine nor cigarettes are permitted.)

Exercise, preferably in the afternoon.

Watch what you eat and drink. Fatty and spicy foods may cause heartburn that disturbs sleep.

Avoid drinking alcohol before going to bed; it may cause you to snore or get up during the night. (You should be avoiding it anyway while on the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet.)

If you must have a midnight snack, eat foods rich in the amino acid L-tryptophan, which triggers the release of serotonin in the brain. Good snacks include a glass of milk (warm or cold, as you prefer) or a tuna or turkey sandwich.

Make sure the room is cool before going to bed, but have enough bedding to keep your body warm. Warm hands and feet encourage sleep.

Avoid naps. Save your sleep for night-time.

Enjoy stillness. Leave the radio and television off. If external noises disturb you use earplugs.

Use your bed only for sleeping and sex. Watch television somewhere else.

Set a sleep schedule. Try to go to bed and get up at the same time each day. Remember that a lazy Sunday morning in bed after a night out can mean a restless night ahead.

Do not fret if you cannot go to sleep immediately. After a time, get up and do something else, like reading a good book. Then try again.

Learn to relax

Learn to unwind and let the world pass by. Use techniques like yoga and meditation to help release you from internal tension.

A hot bath or shower will relax you. Gently massage the area around inflamed joints. Try using herbal bath products that make you relax.

Many people who are disabled or slowed in their daily activities by pain become obsessive about what they cannot do. If this sounds familiar, then concentrate on what you can do, and do not be afraid to ask others for help to take care of the rest. It isn’t easy, but it is necessary. If, for example, you are used to keeping your home and garden immaculate and can no longer do so, you need to admit that this is the case and take steps to reduce or spread the load. Decide which chores can be reduced in frequency, which can be turned over to someone else and which can simply be ignored. You may have ironed your bed linen – even your underwear – for many years but is it really necessary?

Have a good laugh

Laughter and a positive attitude are powerful medicines to be taken in large and frequent doses. When someone is in pain or discomfort they have a tendency to turn emotionally inwards. Before they know what has happened, the pain is worse. And as the pain gets worse, they withdraw into themselves. Laughter brings out the best in people. Let it lift you when those aching joints are getting you down.

To brighten your spirit:

Enjoy films and videos that you know will make you laugh, even if you have seen them before. Read a book with a positive message. Better still, read a book of jokes or amusing short stories. I know a lovely elderly gentleman who reads Harry Potter to forget his gouty feet.

Call a friend who makes you laugh. Avoid all talk of illness and pain; just enjoy a good chat.

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.

Part Two The Facts About Arthritis and Diet

Chapter 1 About arthritis

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 clickhere. For more detailed information on all forms of arthritis clickhere.

Chapter 2 Food, supplements and medication

‘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.

Basic nutrition

Food is the essential link between your body and the rest of the living world. For optimum health, there is no substitute for a diet based on leafy vegetables, root vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains and various forms of meat. Eat food in a form as close to its natural state as possible: fresh, raw or lightly cooked, unsalted and without artificial flavours, colours and preservatives. That way, you will be giving your body the nutrients it requires.

Plants contain natural compounds that have healing properties. Ginger, for example, is not only a good source of B-vitamins, magnesium and zinc, but also contains a substance that helps control nausea. Chilli peppers contain a substance that fights pain. (More examples are found here.) So to get the most from your diet, include a wide range of foods from plants, and vary what you eat.

A balanced diet contains a healthy combination of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It may surprise you to know that international experts recommend a diet containing about 50 per cent carbohydrate, 30 per cent fat and 20 per cent protein. The healthiest carbohydrates come from grains, root vegetables and fruits. Sources of protein should be as low-fat as possible. Red meat (muscle) and full-fat milk products are high in saturated fats, which should be limited to no more than 10 per cent of the total calories consumed. Organ meats such as liver and kidney are relatively low in saturated fats, as are tofu and other plant-protein products.

It is widely believed that fats are bad for us, and that all fats should form a minimal part of a healthy diet. This is not true. Our bodies need fat, and deficiencies in certain fats lead to illness. Fats are a compact source of stored energy. They also aid the absorption of vitamins A, D and E from the gut, and form important parts of cell membranes, hormones and messenger molecules in the body. For good health, enjoy oils obtained from plants, and oily fish. These provide healing substances that people suffering from arthritis need to help fight pain. More is said about this when the omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in fish oil, are discussed. (See here and here.)

If you are a vegetarian, ensure you eat at least one meal a day that combines grain and one or more pulses; for example, rice and beans. All the amino acids (protein building blocks) needed by the human body are found in plants, but not in the combination required by the human body. The amino acids we must obtain from our diet are called essential amino acids, and must be supplied in the same meal. More in-depth information can be found here.

Vegetarians may not benefit from this diet as much as people who eat meat because they will not benefit from the healing properties of liver.

Foods that harm

Things we eat may cause harm in several ways:

Some may contain a toxic substance that, eaten in excess, can create metabolic problems in your body.

Some may trigger an allergic reaction.

Some may cause food sensitivity.

Some may aggravate inflammation.

Here are some examples:

Arthritis sufferers, and people concerned about the health of their bones, should be aware that rhubarb contains oxalic acid, which inhibits the body’s ability to absorb calcium and iron from other foods. (The acid is concentrated in the leaves, which are poisonous and should never be eaten.) Rhubarb aggravates gout and rheumatoid arthritis, and may even cause an attack if eaten in excess. It may also increase the risk of kidney stones in some patients. If you cook rhubarb, do not use aluminium pans, as the acid juice dissolves aluminium from the surface, leaving it in the food for you to eat. Aluminium may be harmful to the body. Rhubarb is not the only plant containing oxalic acid. Smaller amounts are found in spinach, sorrel and chocolate.

Certain foods can trigger an allergic reaction – some people are allergic to nuts, for example. Seafood, especially lobster and prawns, may also cause problems.

This is a good opportunity to talk about the difference between an allergic reaction and food sensitivity (also known as food intolerance). These two conditions are frequently confused.

An allergic reaction is a serious matter that has immediate consequences. It is caused when the body’s immune system has built up antibodies to one or more substances in a particular food. Symptoms include hives (urticaria), severe breathing difficulty, rash, swelling of the tongue and throat, and – in extreme cases – shock and death. Tingling of the lips and mouth after eating a particular food is a sign that an allergy to a particular food may be developing. If you experience such a response to a specific food, obviously it is prudent to avoid it.

Food sensitivity, or intolerance, is far less dramatic, but can cause serious symptoms that may vary from person to person. Migraine headaches, nausea, indigestion, eczema, stomach upset and hyperactivity have all been linked with food sensitivity. Symptoms do not appear with the speed seen in allergic reactions, and it is frequently difficult to identify the exact cause of the problem. In order to identify which food is causing the symptoms, an elimination diet is usually necessary.

For a few days the sufferer is placed on a diet based on foods known to cause little, if any, intolerance. This gives the body time to rid itself of substances that may be causing the problem. Following this rest period, other foods are introduced one at a time. Most will cause no recurrence of symptoms, and thereafter can be safely added to the diet. As more foods are introduced, almost inevitably one new item will cause symptoms to reappear. When this occurs, the culprit (or one of them) has been identified and the person on the exclusion diet will know to avoid that food in the future.

The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet includes an elimination diet that should help you identify your sensitivity to foods that can trigger, or increase, the painful inflammation of arthritis.

Certain foods known to cause sensitivity are eliminated from the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet. These are:

ALL PRODUCTS MADE WITH WHEAT AND OTHER GRAINS CONTAINING THE PROTEIN GLUTEN (RYE, BARLEY AND OATS)

More is said about this later (see here). For the moment, however, you need only be aware that gluten is often the cause of health problems ranging from migraine headaches to coeliac disease – a debilitating condition characterized by diarrhoea, bloating, and even anaemia. Coeliac disease can cause serious problems in some people, and even mimic the symptoms of certain forms of cancer.

Cutting out gluten will improve your general health and nutritional status. It will also help control the inflammation that causes much of the pain of arthritis.

ALL FOOD AND DRINK CONTAINING CAFFEINE

Some experts believe that caffeine increases the swelling and pain of inflammation. Many people find that removing this one source of trouble from their diet dramatically improves their life.

ALL PROCESSED FOODS, INCLUDING SALTED AND PRESERVED MEATS

Removing processed foods from your diet may seem daunting, but the rewards are great. You will be eliminating major sources of additives and unnatural chemicals from your body. You will be choosing not to eat foods that have been milled, stewed, or baked to the point that all the precious nutrients they once contained have been removed. And you will be leaving room in your diet for foods that are full of natural flavour and nutrition.

If you have gouty arthritis, the problem of diet becomes more complicated because liver and all other forms of offal should be avoided.

Foods that heal

How can something as basic as food heal? How can it be true that simply by changing the content of your dinner plate you can beat illness and heal damaged tissues?

Nothing in your body is static. Every moment of every day billions of cells are in constant change. They form, fill with molecules that conduct the chemical processes of life, and eventually die. It is said that over the course of seven years every molecule in the body is replaced. What we eat, and therefore supply to the body to reconstruct itself, determines its health and strength in the future.

When illness or injury damages the body, eating foods rich in the nutrients needed to replace and rebuild tissues promotes healing. When arthritis is present the nutrients most needed are protein; the B-vitamins, plus folic acid and biotin; vitamins C, E, B12, and D; the minerals selenium, manganese, iron, calcium and zinc; and certain specific fats known as omega-3 fatty acids.

The foods rich in these nutrients that form the basis of the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet are:

Liver: polyunsaturated fats, vitamin A, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B12 (cobalamin), folic acid, biotin, selenium, copper

Kidney: vitamin A, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), selenium, copper

Milk and dairy products: calcium, zinc

Black treacle (molasses): calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron

Brewers’ yeast: vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B12 (cobalamin), folic acid, biotin, copper, magnesium, zinc

Oily fish: omega-3 essential fatty acids, vitamin A,

Vegetable oils: vitamin E, omega-3 essential fatty acids

Nuts and seeds: vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, copper (omega-3 fatty acids are found in walnuts)

Fresh fruit and vegetables: vitamin C, manganese

(More about healing foods can be found here and here.)

People with gout should enjoy celery and cherries several times a week. Both are thought to contain compounds that help the body eliminate uric acid. Celery also contains an anti-inflammatory substance.

Most of these nutrients play numerous roles in human metabolism. It is unnecessary to know all the details, but the following list identifies the specific role that makes them appropriate for arthritis sufferers:

Vitamin A is needed for normal function of the immune system, and the control of inflammation.

B-vitamins help maintain a healthy nervous system and fight depression.

Vitamin C is needed to build collagen required for healthy tissues, including tendons and joints; it is also a strong antioxidant and fights damage by free radicals.

Folic acid is needed for the normal absorption of other nutrients from the gut.

Vitamin D plays a vital role in normal formation of bone.

Vitamin E helps fight the oxidation of essential fatty acids in the body, thus reducing the symptoms of inflammation.

Selenium is a strong antioxidant and helps protect against free-radical damage.

Magnesium is an important component of bone.

Manganese is vital for the normal formation of tissues in joints and bone.

Zinc is essential for a normal immune system.

Copper is needed for normal connective tissue and bones; it also helps protect against damage caused by free radicals and acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Omega-3 fatty acids (as found in fish oil, hemp oil and walnuts) help control the inflammation, swelling and pain of arthritis.

The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet recommends including frequent servings of offal such as liver, sweetbreads, heart and tripe. These are low-fat sources of protein that supply all the amino acids needed for healthy tissue. Sweetbreads contain useful amounts of important minerals, but not in quantities as large as those found in liver and kidney. Tripe and heart are good sources of low-fat protein, but contain smaller amounts of healing nutrients.

The BSE crisis in Europe forced the removal of many fine products from the market, and sweetbreads are among them. Very few stores now stock them, but a few organic meat producers have earned the right to sell these delicious morsels again. They are expensive, but when cooked correctly are delicious delicacies.

People with osteoarthritis will benefit significantly from eating foods rich in vitamin B12. The best source of these nutrients are the healthy bacteria in your own gut, but food sources are also available: liver and other animal proteins are a rich source, and play an important role in the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet. If you are a vegetarian, vitamin B12 will be difficult for you to obtain from your diet. Plant sources include mushrooms and parsley. Certain fermented foods, such as tempeh and fermented black beans, contain a high bacterial count that insures they are a good source of vitamin B12.

PLANTS WITH HEALING POTENTIAL FOR ARTHRITIS SUFFERERS

All fruits, except citrus, cranberries and plums.

All green vegetables, except rhubarb and spinach.

Broccoli, cauliflower, kale and cabbage are excellent sources of substances that fight cancer. (People with thyroid problems should limit their intake of these foods.)

All root vegetables, with the exception of true potatoes. Sweet potatoes and yams are excellent for you, and full of texture and taste, as are Jerusalem artichokes and parsnips.

Onions, garlic, leeks and shallots.

Sprouted grains, beans and seeds. Mung beans and alfalfa are good. Sprouted brown rice is nice in a salad or stir-fries.

Spices, especially turmeric and cinnamon.

Seaweed, especially kelp, kombu and nori.

All pulses (legumes), including aduki beans, black beans, soya beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and kidney beans. (People with gout should limit their intake of these foods.)

Gluten-free grains: maize, millet, wild rice, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat (kasha), amaranth. Avoid all products made with wheat, rye, barley or oats.

Dietary supplements and medications

The past ten years have seen a considerable increase in the number of medications available to treat all forms of arthritis. (The more frequently used of these are discussed here.) Although many people find these a primary avenue of relief from arthritis, they all carry some risk of side effects. The NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) can irritate the lining of the stomach and in some cases can cause ulcers when used over a long period. Commonly used NSAIDS include aspirin and ibuprofen. Treating arthritic symptoms by altering your dietary habits carries none of these risks.

The following dietary supplements have been shown to have special healing properties that counter the effects of both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis:

Vitamin E is one of the most powerful natural antioxidants identified to date. It works best when combined with vitamin C and the mineral selenium, both of which are well known for their antioxidant properties. Scientific studies have shown that people with rheumatoid arthritis have lower blood levels of antioxidants than others, and there is growing interest in what this means for the treatment of the disease. In a controlled study of osteoarthritis patients with knee and hip joint problems, 400mg of vitamin E was shown to be as effective in controlling symptoms as 50mg of Diclofenac, a medication classified as an NSAID. The effects of the NSAID were faster, but it produced more side effects than vitamin E. As pain relief over time was comparable, vitamin E was thought to be the treatment of choice.

Another study showed that rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with vitamin E had less pain and improved symptoms when treated over a three-month period. Vitamin E can be taken in large quantities with little risk of side effects.

Fish oil supplements are an important source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, and part of the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet. You can read more about this subject here. If you are a vegetarian, or cannot tolerate fish oil, try flaxseed oil instead. This is another rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, although they are in their original plant form, and have not been through the metabolic processes that produce the DHA and EPA fatty acids known to be deposited in the flesh of oily fish. These specific fatty acids are necessary for the body’s production of small hormone-like molecules with strong anti-inflammatory properties, known as prostaglandins. Many people suffering from inflammatory illnesses experience dramatic effects when they supplement their diets with a fish or flaxseed oil supplement. For maximum benefit:

Do not mix fish oil and other fatty acid supplements. Take omega-6 supplements (evening primrose oil or borage oil) at a different time of day.

Make sure you take a vitamin E supplement, as this protects the omega-acids.

Keep any opened bottles of supplements in the refrigerator or other cool place.

Note: there is a difference between fish oil and fish liver oil. Liver oils contain substantial quantities of vitamin A, which is stored in your liver and can be toxic if taken in large amounts. If you are setting out on this diet, it is recommended that you use fish oil supplements.

Flaxseed oil is the richest known source of omega-3 fatty acids, and also contains substantial amounts of omega-6 fatty acids. It also contains plant chemicals known as lignins, which are plant estrogens that help control the body’s estrogen level. Lignins are also believed to have other biological effects, including anti-viral and anti-bacterial activities.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are naturally occurring substances in the body that act as a building block in many tissues. Of the two, better curative effects have been demonstrated by glucosamine than by chondroitin, so it is suggested that this is the supplement of choice. Sometimes called the ‘basement membrane builder’, glucosamine is an essential substance in manufacturing and maintaining the ligaments, tendons, cartilage and synovial fluid found in joints. More detailed information on glucosamine and how it is thought to work can be found on page here.

Part Three The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet

Chapter 1 The basics
What is the Eat to Beat Arthritis diet?

Since the 1930s, scientists have been aware of a possible link between rheumatoid arthritis and food allergies. Some scientists went so far as to suggest that symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis could be completely controlled by dietary changes.

Max Warmbrand, a naturopathic doctor who practised up until the mid-1970s, advocated a very low-fat diet in the treatment of both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. In addition he told his patients to avoid eating all red meat, eggs, dairy foods, sugar, chemicals and processed foods. Six months were required before improvement was noticeable, he claimed. The diet seemed to work for a few people, but not others.

In 1979, Giraud W. Campbell wrote A Doctor’s Proven New Home Cure for Arthritis, a book that helped millions of people break the bonds of this crippling disease. Using the information available at that time, he prescribed a strict regime that called for raw fruits and vegetables, hearty amounts of lightly cooked organ meats (liver, kidney, sweetbread, brain, heart and tripe), and daily doses of unpasteurized milk, nutrient-rich black treacle (molasses) and brewers’ yeast. The diet began with a brief period of fasting, during which the body was freed of toxins from previous poor eating habits. He instructed his readers to shun all drinks containing caffeine, and cautioned against all processed foods – including canned and frozen items. If you followed this somewhat Spartan plan, you could end the pain of arthritis in seven days, he claimed.

The science of nutrition has changed greatly over the past several decades, and we know more about how and why you can control illness through diet. The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet therefore builds on the Campbell diet, but also uses new information and a more modern approach to food and dietary supplements. At the same time, it recognizes some of the realities of modern life. For example, not all frozen foods are taboo: frozen peas, sweetcorn and spinach are very useful items in any kitchen. Soaking and cooking dried pulses such as chickpeas (garbanzo beans) takes hours; so canned ones, well rinsed to remove any salt and sugar, are allowed as an alternative.

This book also recognizes that more than seven days are needed to fully achieve benefits from recommended changes in food choices. Here, you will follow a gradual process that is tailored to your unique needs. The foundations of the Eat To Beat Arthritis Diet are:

Finding the right balance of foods for your body.

Knowing how to tell when a specific food is making the symptoms of arthritis worse.

The initial programme spans seven weeks. In the first week you keep a diary of your pain and stiffness and also record your intake of food and drink. You then learn to eliminate the specific foods that aggravate (or even cause) a flare-up of arthritis, and how to make this a diet you can use for life. You will also be encouraged to try new foods that you may have otherwise passed by.

While you remain on the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet you will notice that you feel better. Depending on the severity of your condition you will find that pain will disappear, or diminish in severity. These are not the only exciting benefits you will enjoy from changing your eating habits. Selecting the right foods strengthens your body and enhances its metabolic activities. You will begin enjoying improved general health, stronger nails and hair and younger-looking skin. You will suffer from fewer colds and other infections. You may even find that you lose some of the excess weight that may be contributing to your joint pain and stiffness.

Rediscovering the way to eat

You are now ready to focus your attention on one of life’s great pleasures: food. What comes next will change your life forever. Previous sections of this book have covered three main topics:

The causes and symptoms of several forms of arthritis.

The links between good nutrition and healing.

The role plant and other natural substances play in controlling pain and inflammation.

Armed with this knowledge, read the remainder of this book before you begin the diet. As you read, keep these principles in mind:

THERE ARE NO QUICK FIXES

If you follow this diet exactly, you will begin to feel better within days, but the full extent of healing will take longer. Diets promising remarkable cures often disappoint. If you really want to change the way you feel, and improve your health, you must be patient and give your body time to heal.

THIS IS A DIET FOR LIFE

A diet must be both practical and flexible, or you will find it boring and impossible. Once you have gone through a full seven-week cycle of the diet plan, you can occasionally bend the rules a little. In the chapter that follows, Marguerite discusses her flexible approach to the diet.

WHILE YOU ARE ON THIS DIET, ENJOY EATING

A partial list of the foods and ingredients you can incorporate into meals appears here. I call it a partial list because it cannot include every fruit, vegetable and fish from around the world. When you begin your new eating plan, take time to taste new varieties of fresh food. Have you tried the sweet, orange flesh of Sharon fruit? For a fantastic dessert, scoop out the flesh of chilled, ripe Sharon fruit and serve in small glass bowls. No sugar needed for this treat! On the more substantial side, have you enjoyed the delicate flavour of firm-textured steaks of escolar (mock sea bass), caught off the coast of South America? Or tasted barracuda fillets? If not, a treat or two awaits you.

The culinary arts are based on a rich palate of fruit, vegetables, meat, seafood, nuts, grains, seeds, herbs and spices. Combined in different ways by different cultures, these ingredients produce dishes with an endless variety of flavours and textures. The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet actually sets very few restrictions on your enjoyment of this wonderful diversity.

THERE ARE CERTAIN FOODS AND DRINKS YOU MUST ABANDON

These are listed here. Don’t let this put you off. Give your body a chance. Following the diet carefully for at least seven weeks should reduce the symptoms of arthritis and improve your general health, so it will be worth the sacrifice.

THERE ARE CERTAIN FOODS YOU MUST EAT

These are listed here. Be faithful to these foods: they contain the healing nutrients your body needs. Include raw fruits and vegetables in your diet as often as possible.

THERE ARE CERTAIN DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS YOU MUST TAKE

Many of you will already be using supplements containing fish oil and vitamin E. The Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet also includes black treacle (molasses), brewers’ yeast, and further suggests that you use supplements containing the mineral selenium (see here) and glucosamine, a naturally occurring substance that forms part of normal joint cartilage (see here).

DRINK WATER

This sounds simple enough, but you would be surprised how many people fail to drink enough water to fully flush waste products from their bodies. You need 1½–2 litres/2½–3 pints/1½–2 quarts, drunk in small amounts throughout the day. This can include fruit juice and milk, but no caffeine drinks. Filtered water and fresh tap water are recommended, or still bottled water (not carbonated).

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.