It's Only Natural
Chapter XXI
Arthritis-Fact And Fancy
By far the most common chronic disease in America is arthritis. It seems that every few weeks someone publishes a book guaranteeing to eliminate this scourge of middle and old age, but unfortunately we have more arthritis with us than ever before. Thus, either no one reads, or follows the advice of, these books on curing arthritis or the methods recommended don't work. My money is on the latter.
There are at least three common (and many not so well known ones) disorders called arthritis and each is a separate and distinct disease entity in and of itself. These are osteo arthritis (hypertrophic arthritis), rheumatoid arthritis, and gouty arthritis.
When the single word arthritis is used by most lay people, hypertrophic arthritis is usually being referred to. This type of arthritis generally afflicts those from middle age on and is characterized by a build-up of calcium deposits in and around the bony surfaces within a joint. In its most extreme form, osteoarthritis may be called crippling arthritis, although this name is not really appropriate and tends to cause more fear than elucidation in the mind of the patient.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a cold, stiff condition. The joints are difficult to move, but they usually aren't hot or inflammatory. Osteoarthritic joints usually improve by movement but stiffen with rest.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
In many ways, rheumatoid arthritis is the exact opposite of osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis generally attacks people in their 30's or early 40's, though it sometimes waits until the 50's before it rears its ugly head. This type of arthritis is inflammatory-that is, the joints are usually swollen, reddened, hot and very painful if any attempt is made to move them. The pain and swelling usually appear in attacks or spells. Certain joints may appear fairly normal for some time, only to suddenly swell and become very sore and inflamed. This may last for some time and then the inflammation dies down. The joint, though never quite normal again, at least becomes usable for a while.
The underlying basic nature of rheumatoid arthritis is not fully understood and although the anti-inflammatory sterols such as prednisone are able to relieve the attacks, they are not curative. In time their use precipitates more degeneration than if the patient had remained untreated with them. Rheumatoid arthritis does respond moderately to salicylates; thus the most knowledgeable and conscientious physicians usually recommend aspirin or aspirin-like compounds rather than the sterols if the patient can be controlled by these non sterol compounds.
In general, the inflamed joint of rheumatoid arthritis should be rested; any attempt to exercise the joint when it is swollen usually results in further aggravation of the problem. Such a reaction is directly counter to that of osteoarthritis. In rheumatoid arthritis, usually only a small amount of calcium is deposited in the joint, the basic lesion being one of degeneration or deterioration of the joint material. The calcium deposition is probably due to an attempt by the body at repair.
Rheumatoid arthritis is so entirely different from osteoarthritis that an entirely different name should be found for it. Even though the physician understands the character of these two conditions, arthritis is arthritis to a lay person, and very few are able to readily distinguish between osteo and rheumatoid. Because there is probably no chronic condition in which self-treatment is so prevalent as arthritis, and because the therapy for rheumatoid arthritis is considerably different from that for osteoarthritis, we feel the medical community should attempt either to rename rheumatoid arthritis or to make sure that the distinction between it and osteoarthritis is completely understood by each patient and the general public as well.
Gouty Arthritis
Gouty arthritis is the least frequent of the three, but it seems to be on the increase in recent years. In the early days of my career, I assumed that gout was confined to the aristocracy of the Middle Ages and, like the plague, died with this feudal time. The truth is that gout is more prevalent today than at any other time in history.
We have all seen pictures of the captain in the Katzenjammer Kids sitting with his foot swathed in bandages, as he endures his gouty attack. As I remember, my hero, Benjamin Franklin was also, occasionally, laid up with this malady. Although the joint of the great toe is one of the most common areas for gout to manifest, it is possible for this rather ambiguous condition to cause distress in almost any joint. It is an axiom in our Centers to suspect "hidden gout" whenever any painful condition of the bony frame does not respond to treatment within a reasonable time.
Gout can usually be diagnosed from elevations in the blood uric acid levels, although only a slight elevation of the uric acid may cause widespread problems in selected individuals. Some patients present all the symptoms of gout but do not show an elevated blood uric acid. We usually place these patients on temporary gout therapy. If improvement takes place, we consider it to be an instance of occult (hidden) gout.
In former days, kings and other royalty became gouty from an overuse of red meats, wines, liquors and an insufficient supply of fresh leafy vegetables. The poor of those times couldn't afford such a lavish diet and were thus inadvertently spared by their poverty from this painful affliction. In our day, almost everyone can afford a fare that often causes gout in susceptible persons. Gout has now become most democratic and is ready and willing to afflict even the most humble. It is undoubtedly because of our affluence that gout has become so common-a disorder that every doctor must consider in a person who complains of skeletal aches and pains.
Treatment of Osteoarthritis
Most books for the public on arthritis discuss osteoarthritis, which can be easily treated in mild cases, but which becomes almost impossible to help in severe cases. Its symptoms may range from mild stiffness of the fingers, occurring in the morning, to crippling so severe that the patient is practically incapable of moving. Osteoarthritis can be responsible for both of these extremes and anything in between.
I dislike using the word arthritis for the milder forms of this disease. If one of my patients at some time has encountered a person with severe osteoarthritis, the term would be enough to strike fear into his heart, which could only worsen the condition. Thus, we usually refer to mild osteoarthritis as minor calcium deposits or simple joint stiffness, which in truth is what it is.
In its milder forms, this disorder is usually easily treated, particularly when it is restricted to a few peripheral joints. The patient is placed on a special diet and ultrasound is used through the affected areas. When the areas to be treated are small, like the hand or foot, we usually sound under water; otherwise we use a cream between the sound head and the patient's skin. Three to ten treatments are usually necessary to bring this type of arthritis under control; only rarely is more energetic treatment needed.
Recently we have added the Low Level Laser Therapy to all our arthritic therapy with mind blowing effect in some patients. Frequently, almost immediate pain relief is experienced by some patients. In many instances the pain of the arthritis is relieved before the end of the three to four minute treatment. While the pain may return, we have seen many cases where just one treatment has lasted for many weeks.
When the osteoarthritis is more general, it is necessary for a whole-body-regeneration plan to be instituted. The patient is first placed on a collagen disease diet. Manipulative therapy diathermy and Magnatherm treatment are given as thought appropriate. Ultrasound treatments are given to the worst offending joints. Nutritional supplementation is used after thorough testing for nutritional deficiencies has been completed. Water and fruit juice fasts are used in selected cases. And now of course the LLLT is added to this therapy and the results are much better than ever before.
In general, our treatment of osteoarthritis is effective but undramatic. We don't use a magic wand to overcome this extensive condition, but with the best natural therapeutic methods we can bring great relief to most of our patients.
This last paragraph was written many years before the LLLT. I left it in this edition because of the words "magic wand." If there ever was a magic wand the LLLT is it. (It even looks like and magic wand.) This little wonder is revolutionizing the way we treat arthritis. We can only view with great anticipation what will come now as others attempt to better the work of the Danish firm that developed this therapy.
Vinegar and Honey
A popular folk remedy for osteoarthritis is apple-cider vinegar and honey. Dr. D. C. Jarvis, who popularized this treatment, stated that it supplies potassium in a form that is usable by the body. In his experience, this potassium tends to correct the chemical imbalances causing, or at least aggravating, this type of arthritis.
Many of our patients have insisted that their condition has been improved by using cider vinegar and honey. I can't deny these assertions, though I don't think the acetic acid present in the vinegar is beneficial on a long-term basis.
I believe that much of the benefit attributed to this combination results from the acidity produced by the cider vinegar in some of the body tissues. It can be shown that calcium won't be deposited in an acid medium. Because the joints are normally acid in reaction, calcium should not be deposited there. Many authors have thus postulated that calcium can be deposited in arthritic joints because for some reason or other these joints have become alkaline in reaction. Therefore the improvements reported by those who use the vinegar-and-honey method may result from acidification of the articular areas by this combination.
We use another acid called orthophosphoric acid, which is extracted from wheat bran for this purpose. The advantage of orthophosphoric acid is that it is a food factor, natural to the body, and therefore is less toxic than cider vinegar.
Calcium and Arthritis
Most of my patients are completely confused about the relationship between calcium and osteoarthritis. Some authors insist that because osteoarthritis is a condition in which calcium is deposited in the joints, the patient has too much calcium and should avoid all foods containing it. Other authorities suggest that it is the mishandling of calcium by the body that causes the problem and that the osteoarthritic needs more calcium. These authorities recommend large amounts of bone meal to help the arthritic condition. There is some validity in both opinions, though the dogmatic and unknowledgeable following of either could lead to disastrous results.
Paradoxically, in osteoarthritis, the bones lose calcium at the same time it is being deposited in the joints, apparently because of an imbalance in the hormonal and enzymatic systems. Unless the management of these are taken into account, calcium can be injurious to osteo patients.
I don't recommend that people older than forty take bone meal, except when provided in a form that supplies the various enzyme factors necessary for its proper metabolism and assimilation. For most of these patients we suggest one of the alkaline calciums such as calcium lactate, calcium gluconate, or egg-shell compounds. If a bone-type calcium is desired, and often one with adequate enzymes can be useful in treating some cases of osteoarthritis, we suggest those that contain the necessary enzymes needed for calcium metabolism.
Diet and Arthritis
Many diets have been suggested over the years for osteoarthritis. In my experience the collagen diet given in the appendix of this book has proven the most useful for our patients. It isn't as restricted as most, but it does take a certain amount of diligence and resignation on the part of the patient to follow it correctly. If the patient is faithful, results are sure to follow, and it is a rare patient whose arthritis doesn't improve while on this diet.
If one of our patients does not fare well on the regular arthritis diet we may try to eliminate the night shade plants (peppers, tomatoes, egg plant and potatoes). This will often make dramatic improvement in those arthritic patients who are sensitive to these foods.
Diet and Fasting
One of the most successful forms of therapy used in our Centers for osteoarthritis is the water fast. Almost no other condition responds so well to the fast as does osteoarthritis, particularly if the patient happens to be one of those full fleshed persons so commonly afflicted with this disease. The loss of weight resulting from the fast usually proves most advantageous to their general health.
Emotional Attitude and Arthritis
Some authors believe the emotional attitude or nature of a person has a great deal to do with his arthritis. Although I have noticed such a relationship in some of my patients, I can't agree that it is a common cause of osteoarthritis. However, I make every effort to encourage my patients to establish as positive and happy an emotional outlook as conceivable under their circumstances. Because such attention to emotional integrity is an integral part of our therapy, little additional help is needed for the arthritic patient. My experience has been that once you are able to reduce the patients pain level (For instance with the LLLT), their emotional attitude improves dramatically.
Physical Therapy and Arthritis
Most of the physical therapeutic methods used in treating osteoarthritis have already been described. We generally use ultrasound, diathermy, Magnatherm, sine wave and/or galvanic therapy with our patients. (And now the LLLT) These methods are old standbys and like all old friends are more or less taken for granted, even by patients. It is only when the patient is not able to have this type of treatment for a while that he realizes how much benefit is derived from its use. It is not uncommon for pain to return with a vengeance when the patient is unable to take advantage of his regular physical therapy.
Homeopathy and Arthritis
The first chronic patients that Hahnemann treated were those with osteoarthritis. Although the homeopath doesn't prescribe according to disease (as does the allopath), some remedies are more suited to this type of problem than others. The two most commonly used homeopathic remedies for osteoarthritis are Bryonia alba, and Rhus tox. While these aren't a cure for the crippling stage of this disorder, they nevertheless can offer much harmless pain relief in patients responsive to their action.
The true homeopath, of course, always chooses the remedy according to the totality of the patient's symptoms. Where well chosen, such remedies can prove of inestimable value in this condition.
Chelation
By the use of certain agents (see also Chapter **) placed into the circulating blood by the intravenous slow drip method, it is now possible to dissolve some of the calcium deposits formed in hypertrophic arthritis. We have been investigating this method for many years and it has shown great promise in selected patients.
The Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis
In our Clinics we consider rheumatoid arthritis to be more a condition of glandular imbalance than of a general degenerative nature. Rheumatoid arthritis is treated by us much in the same way that we treat adrenal exhaustion (see Chapter II). That is not to say that patients with adrenal exhaustion will develop rheumatoid arthritis. They won't unless other factors necessary to precipitate this disorder are present. Perhaps the stress of rheumatoid arthritis brings about adrenal insufficiency.
The emotions, as in all adrenal insufficiency type patients, are an important factor in treating rheumatoid arthritis.Each rheumatoid patient is evaluated regarding the nature of his emotional stability. Where needed, private counseling sessions are made an integral part of his therapy, although in some patients such measures are happily unnecessary. In most patients, the basic improvements produced by our treatment seem to be sufficient to raise the lowered spirits usually encountered in this disorder, thereby bringing them to a more positive frame of mind.
Specific diets don't seem as remedial for the rheumatoid arthritis patient as they are in osteoarthritis. It is important, however, that the patient refrain from all forms of refined foods and those with chemical additives, and toward this end we insist that he follow our Basic Maintenance Diet as carefully as possible. Several specific dietary deficiencies have been indicted as being factors in this disease, but none of these have been adequately proven.
Specific Nutritional Therapy
In the specific nutritional therapy of rheumatoid arthritis, we usually concentrate on supporting the adrenal glands and in correcting the trace mineral balance in the body. If we think the patient is unable to get sufficient high biologic protein in his diet, we may supplement with concentrated protein compounds.
Pangamic acid (DMG) is considered by some a near specific for rheumatoid arthritis. Our experience is not so optimistic, but many rheumatoid arthritic patients do respond to DMG with various degrees of benefit.
Physical Therapy
The physical therapy used in rheumatoid arthritis is much different from that used in osteoarthritis. In osteoarthritis, rather heroic measures are often required to help the affected parts; in rheumatoid arthritis, one must use all forms of physical therapy with care and discretion. Very mild forms of massage, ultrasound and Magnatherm have been used in our rheumatoid arthritis patients with good success, but the treating physician must feel out the sensitivities of the patient with discernment and carefully tailor his treatments to fit the patient's specific state at the time of the treatment.
If the patient is in a state of inflammatory swelling, only very mild and gentle therapeutic measures can be used. If the patient is over treated at this time, his pain will be increased and the disorder aggravated. As the patient improves, the physical therapeutic methods can become more vigorous, but at no time do we use the vigorous methods used in osteoarthritis.
The major exception to this rule is the use of LLLT. The rheumatoid arthritic patient seems to respond well to this "magic wand" and as yet we have had no adverse effects even in those patients who were treated very thoroughly.
Chelation
According to various authorities on blood chelation, both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are benefited by this therapy. The complete rationale behind this result is not well understood. Some attribute it to the general detoxifying effect that results from systemic chelation.
The Treatment of Gouty Arthritis
Gouty arthritis is generally considered more easily treated and less severe than extreme forms of osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, but it is nevertheless aggravating enough if one happens to be the victim. In general, gouty arthritis is believed to be caused by an improper metabolizing of purines in the body. A breakdown of these substances can cause uric acid to build up in the blood. This acid may then unite with alkali to form salts such as sodium urate and ammonium urate, which are slightly more soluble than the acid itself. Because of this feeble solubility, the urates are often deposited in joints, resulting in the severe pain of gouty arthritis. The uric acid is derived chiefly from nucleoproteins, which are found in nearly all foods of animal origin except eggs and milk, but these proteins are more common in the glandular organs such as sweetbreads, kidneys, and liver. Legumes, peas, beans and asparagus also contain significant amounts of nucleoproteins.
In gouty arthritis, an apparently hereditary imbalance makes it difficult for the body to properly break down the nucleoproteins. Where such a situation exists, it is necessary to place the patient on a diet that is relatively free from these offending substances. No other form of therapy is entirely successful in treating this disease.
Orthodoxly, a variety of drugs are used to help eliminate the excessive uric acid from the system. At our Healing Centers, we find that a gouty diet, certain nutritional compounds and homeopathic remedies may well control a case of gout without the use of such drugs as long as the patient is cooperative.
The suggested diet for gouty arthritis appears in the appendix of this book. Such a diet is imperative if attacks are to be prevented-important because every time an attack occurs owing to dietary indiscretions, a certain amount of joint tissue is injured. Even though the attack may pass, the injured tissue can't be regenerated. Although through natural means a patient can be helped to weather an attack, it is a much more practical goal of therapy to prevent such attacks. Each attack weakens the structure of the affected bones, and a state can be reached eventually in which almost no therapy is wholly satisfactory in preventing distress from the gouty deposits.
Cherry Juice---A Real Remedy
Many years ago, the literature from the Lee Foundation of Milwaukee recommended the use of cherry juice in controlling the symptoms of gouty arthritis. More recently an article appeared in Prevention Magazine on the advantages of the same remedy. To the best of my knowledge, it is not known what substance in cherries has a beneficial effect in gout, but cherries have proven very helpful in many patients with this painful complaint.
The suggested dosage is half a pound of cherries a day or its equivalent of cherry juice concentrate. We have found these concentrates fully as effective as any other form of cherries.
The use of cherries in gouty arthritis has proven so successful that we have begun to recommend it in other forms of arthritis and have been pleased with the results. It isn't known exactly whether some of these patients had a small amount of gouty arthritis complicating their other problems, or whether the cherry juice has a wider effect than its use in gout. Whatever the case, we find it a delightful, effective, and inexpensive remedy that even the Food and Drug Administration can't prevent us from using, making it a true rarity in the natural armamentaria.
Specific Nutritional Compounds
Although we use specific nutritional substances in each gout patient, they must be individually optimized for each patient and there is therefore no specific grouping to be recommended.
In acute attacks, owing to the irritative effects of the sodium urates, potassium bicarbonate has been recommended to counteract and neutralize this sodium salt. Potassium bicarbonate is somewhat difficult to obtain, although you might ask your local pharmacist to see if he can obtain the food-grade potassium bicarbonate for you. Half a teaspoonful taken in a glass of water often helps mitigate an acute gout attack. If your druggist cannot obtain the potassium bicarbonate for you, ask your Center physician. He will be able to help you find a supply.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is useful in gout, but it must be handled somewhat similarly to that used in rheumatoid arthritis. When the patient is experiencing gouty inflammation of the joint, one must use great discretion in using any physical therapy over this area, for it is possible to aggravate the condition. Once dietary and remedial measures have brought the inflammation under control, physical therapy can be used with good benefit as long as the work is done within the tolerance of the patient. Treatments should be so regulated that they are never painful. This is just the opposite of osteoarthritis, in which the most adequate treatments are usually mildly painful and the improvement is felt later.
While at the time of this writing we have had very little use of the LLLT with gouty arthritis, there is no reason to feel that it is not beneficial here as well as with the other forms of this disease.
Parting Words
Many books have promised cures for the arthritides, and I'm sure a great many more will be written, offering the same optimistic promises. Few of these books, however, will bring arthritis victims the help they desire.
The arthritides can be helped and in many instances actually cured. Such results, however, require a willing patient, a conscientious, devoted physician with a knowledge of body metabolism and natural therapeutics, and time and perseverance on both their parts. In severe cases, such a cure doesn't take place in a week, a month or even a year, but it can be done where there is true desire and effort on the part of physician and patient.
Arthritis is at one and the same time one of the most disappointing and yet one of the most rewarding disorders to treat by natural means. It is disappointing in that only rarely are rapid results obtained (written before the LLLT); it is rewarding in that when with time, work and patience, good results are obtained, something has been accomplished for which both patient and physician can be very proud.
Postscript: Several years ago we discovered the most dramatic remedy ever for all forms of arthritic pain. It was a Chinese proprietary product called Tung Shueh. This item was a combination of eighteen Chinese herbs and was without a doubt the worlds finest non-toxic controller of arthritic pain (and most other types of bone-muscle-fibrous tissue pain) ever discovered.
This remedy was so good that we could not believe it did not contain some unlabeled powerful drug, even though none of us knew of any known drug that relived pain so well without any other discernible side effects. We had this remedy tested by a variety of very competent laboratories and none of them could discern any such drugs in the "little round black pills."
This Tung Shueh was so good that we soon discovered many seemingly identical copies of it available in health food stores and other similar sources. We checked as many of these as possible but none that we tested had an of the therapeutic effects of the original remedy.
Finally, about a year ago, we were told that the plant that made this marvelous remedy had been closed by the powers that be. It would seem that the motto of the giant drug cartels, "If you can't beat them, destroy them" had triumphed once again. The world would once again be left with only two choices-by from the drug cartels or suffer.
We mention Tung Shueh for two reasons:
One, if you find such a remedy in a store or advertised it is probably not the real thing. Not surprisingly, there seems to be little effort to stop the sale and importation of the fake Tung Shuehs. Since they don't work they are no threat to the Drug Cartels.
Two, someday it may be possible to again obtain the authentic original Tung Shueh. If this happens we want you to know of the real wonders that these little round black balls can perform.