At Murray Avenue Apothecary we love all animals and we believe they have the right to a healthy life.

Digestive disturbances are a very common complaint with our companion animals. A sick pet feels miserable and can affect your whole household, crimping your family’s plans and activities. It’s worrisome to leave your sick dog or cat behind, but on the other hand you don’t want to board or crate your animal, or turn it over to an unknowledgeable caretaker during a bout of diarrhea or other illness.

If you’ve had a pet with frequent or chronic digestive issues, you know the underlying problem is often difficult to diagnose and can take weeks or even months of trial and error to resolve.

Digestive Upsets Can Signal More Serious Problems
If your dog is passing a lot of foul-smelling gas, or leaving wet-looking poop in your backyard, or if he suffers from regular bouts of diarrhea, it’s very possible his intestinal tract is overrun with bad bacteria.

You can usually tell if your cat is having digestive problems by checking the litter box for changes in the consistency or color of her “deposits.” Cats with digestive issues will sometimes urinate or defecate outside their boxes.

Often, digestive upsets are the first sign your dog or cat has a larger health problem.

How Gut Bacteria Affects Your Pet’s Health
Your pet’s digestive tract is the largest immune organ in its body, and believe it or not, your dog or cat has even more bacteria in its intestinal tract than you do. Their digestive tract is designed specifically to handle a tremendous bacterial load -- bacteria which, if found elsewhere in the body, would be considered a life threatening infection.

Your pet’s digestive system must stay populated with a healthy level of good bacteria in order to keep the immune system strong. If bad bacteria overwhelms your pet’s intestines, your dog or cat can lose its vitality and become more susceptible to illness, not to mention GI symptoms.

Laboratory studies have shown animals raised either without colonies of friendly bacteria in the gut, or who have a poor balance of good-to-bad gut bacteria, are at high risk of developing disease.

Friendly bacteria in the gut helps your pet’s body make important B vitamins, maintain a strong immune system, and prevent an overgrowth of harmful bacteria.

How Bad Bugs Take Over
Your pet’s good-to-bad gut bacteria ratio can be thrown out of balance by gastrointestinal (GI) stressors which can be either emotional or physiologic -- or both. These stressors can include:

• A sudden change in diet (if your pet has been on the same food for a long time)
• A poor-quality diet
• Strange eating habits (feces, grass, sticks, rocks, etc.)
• Consumption of unclean water (from lakes, ponds or ditches)
• Ingestion of fertilizers, pesticides, or chemicals in the water supply
• Vaccinations

• Antibiotics and/or steroids (cortisone, prednisone)
• Surgery
• GI disease
• Boarding at a kennel or pet hospital
• Travel
• Emotional stress (usually caused by a change in routine)

Antibiotics and steroids like cortisone are the most-prescribed drugs in traditional veterinary practices. Both these drugs can decimate the friendly bacteria in your pet’s gut.

When GI stressors upset the balance of good to bad bacteria in your pet’s digestive system, it can create a cascade of nutritional and other health problems, including poor food absorption and intermittent or chronic diarrhea.

It also opens the door to leaky gut (dysbiosis), which means your dog or cat can absorb partially digested amino acids and allergens into its bloodstream. This in turn can trigger a host of other health problems, from allergies to auto-immune disease.

Probiotics and Veterinary Medicine
Probiotics are good bacteria. They have the ability to re-colonize the digestive tract with friendly bacteria.

Holistic veterinarians have been using them for years on their animal patients to prevent and treat digestive problems and a variety of other health concerns.

Traditional veterinarians, however, have, until recently, dismissed probiotics as ineffective and a waste of money.

Then about two years ago, studies began to emerge showing specific strains of probiotics were indeed beneficial for dogs and cats with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), gastritis and colitis (all GI conditions), as well as those suffering the side effects of antibiotics and steroid drugs.

In fact, the overwhelming research conclusion was probiotics are not only effective, but help pets recover from illness faster and with fewer complications.

Probiotics for a Wide Range of Health Concerns
Pet owners who participated in a study to test the effect of probiotics on their dogs and cats suffering from kidney failure reported very positive results.

In pets with mild to moderate kidney disease, there was significant improvement in their conditions. For those animals with more advanced cases of renal failure, their owners reported their pets’ conditions stabilized with the probiotic therapy and quality of life was improved.

Probiotics are also used frequently in farm animals (poultry, pigs and calves) to prevent certain infections.

Probiotics show promise in the treatment of pancreatitis in dogs, and may prove beneficial for pets with allergies and other immune-related conditions.  We also use a lot of colostrum powder, an inexpensive yet effective treatment for allergies and immunity.

All Probiotic Supplements are Not Created Equal
Probiotic formulas used by humans were developed specifically to fortify the bacterial species found in the human GI tract. Pets have some specific strains of bacteria unique to them, so they need a unique probiotic. Your dog or cat must have organisms derived from its own species for best results.

Tests on commercially available veterinary probiotic supplements have revealed serious quality issues. For example:

• They often don’t contain the organisms listed on the label
• They are contaminated with unhealthy bacteria, or have too few live, healthy organisms to be beneficial
• They only contain one or two strains of bacteria beneficial for dogs and cats
• Their viability, potency and purity have not been thoroughly evaluated

Another problem -- don’t be fooled by commercial pet foods claiming to be “probiotic foods.”

The bacteria in a probiotic must be live and able to reproduce in order for it to be beneficial. Tests on dog foods claiming to contain probiotic micro-organisms showed the manufacturing process kills too many of the live bacteria, rendering the probiotic effect useless by the time the food is packaged and shipped.

How to Select a High-Quality Probiotic for Your Pet
As you can see, it can be quite difficult to determine whether the probiotic you’ve purchased for your companion animal is effective and safe.

A pet probiotic should have the following qualities:

• It must not cause disease (despite the fact it contains bacteria)
• It must contain enough live organisms to colonize the intestines
• It must contain the correct strains of bacteria beneficial for pets.
• It should remain stable under normal storage conditions-we refrigerate all of our probiotics
• It should be easy to give to your dog or cat

At the Apothecary we sell probiotics for dogs and cats that can simply be emptied on their food.  What a difference probiotics make in the health of our pets!

At Murray Avenue Apothecary, or Pittsburgh’s Pet Pharmacy as we are known in the veterinary community, we also compound two different products for your cat or dog, Kitty Digest or Doggy Digest.  Both can be obtained without and RX and contain probiotics, digestive enzymes, and colostrum to help with gut immunity, digestion, and allergies and can be flavored in many tasty flavors for your pet-beef, liver, 3 kinds of chicken, tuna, salmon, peanut butter, and cheese.  My own cat Alice was given another chance at life after using this helpful compound after she was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.

Stop by the Apothecary today and please bring your animal…we always have treats handy for our furry visitors and they always bring a smile to our faces.  Let’s keep our pets healthy so they can be our companions for many years to come!

Osteoporosis, affecting 25 million Americans, is a condition in which the bones become fragile and fracture easily. This article will discuss the causes, testing methods and treatments available for prevention and reversal of Osteoporosis.  At Murray Avenue Apothecary we treat people holistically-why do they have the disease, how can we treat the whole person, and how can we prevent chronic disease.  Osteoporosis is a multi-faceted disease as are most diseases and must be treated with an approach that includes diet, exercise, individual risk factors, nutritional supplementation, and restoring hormone balance.

For many years, I used to think that Osteoporosis was a calcium deficiency disease.  However, this is not really true. The reality is that we get plenty of calcium in our diet and the real problem is actually excess calcium loss due to our American Diet and Lifestyle.  Simply put, our diet is the culprit.  For example, soda pop, refined foods and animal protein promotes bone loss.  According to Dr T. Colin Campbell from Cornell, there is considerable evidence for this, and the solution is to eat more fruits and vegetables and less animal protein.  According to Dr. Susan Brown, dietary factors which influence acid-alkaline balance determine this rate of calcium loss from the bones.  An acidic diet high in animal protein will cause loss of calcium.  An alkaline diet high in fruits and vegetables will prevent calcium loss from bones. See her excellent article: Acid-Alkaline Balance and Its Effect on Bone Health by Susan E. Brown, Ph.D., CCN, and Russell Jaffe, MD, Ph.D., CCN, International Journal of Integrative Medicine, Vol. 2, No. 6 Nov/Dec 2000

Caffeine, Soft Drinks, Smoking, Alcohol and lack of exercise are major lifestyle factors leading to Osteoporosis. Weight bearing exercise is useful for building strong bones.  Remember all the T.V. Ads with the milk mustache on the celebrity?  The actual research says that milk and dairy products don't help strengthen bones. In the Sept. 2000 issue of A.J. Clinical Nutrition, Dr. Roland Weinsier, M.D., reviewed 57 research studies and concluded that milk and dairy foods do not promote bone health. 

Diagnostic Testing-Bone Density Scan:

For years we had no idea how to test for Osteoporosis until 1994 when the DEXA Scan was invented. This machine measures bone density by passing a dual energy x-ray beam through your body.  However, the DEXA Scan reveals nothing about the actual strength of the bone which is more important than bone density.  The DEXA test result is called a T-Score and this is based on comparison with a healthy 20-30 year old bone density. The T-Score concept is misleading and probably should be changed.  Everybody loses bone density as they age and you don't necessarily have a disease because your bone density isn't the same as your daughters.  The Z-score which compares your bone density to other women of your age group is closer to reality. Although Bone Mineral Density (BMD) measurement can predict the risk of fracture, it cannot identify individual women who are going to fracture.

There are two simple urine tests which measure bone protein loss (Urinary  NTx and Dpd ). These are helpful in determining if your bone building program is successful.  However, most doctors are unfamiliar with these simple urine tests.

Drugs Commonly Prescribed forOsteoporosis:

Fosamax and Actonel:

These drugs were thought to be useful because the Fracture Intervention Trial (FIT)  with Osteoporotic women who already had fractures showed increased bone density on DEXA Scan and decreased fracture rate over the four years on the drug. However, these drugs kill bone cells called osteoclasts and cause a dramatic reduction in bone formation which some researchers think will eventually lead to weak bones which fracture more easily.  In support of this cautionary note, Dr. Odvina at the University of Texas (Mar 2005 J Clin Endocrin Metab) reported on nine patients who sustained spontaneous nonspinal fractures while on Alendronate (Fosamax)  therapy, six of whom displayed either delayed or absent fracture healing.   "Public health campaigns to encourage women with osteopenia and no additional fracture risk factors to take antiresorptive medications (Fosamax) do not appear to be justified," stated Dr. John T. Schousboe from Park Nicollet Clinic, Minneapolis, MN, in the May 3rd issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Forteo:

Other drugs such as Forteo which is recombinant Parathyroid Hormone given by daily injection does stimulate new bone formation, however, this drug requires a special warning label because lab tests showed formation of cancerous bone tumors in rats on the drug.  In addition, elevated parathyroid hormone levels are known to cause bone erosions called "subperiosteal erosions" and "brown tumors" which are holes in the bone.

Calcitonin:

Calcitonin, another hormone type drug was previously available by injection, is now available as a nasal spray.  This shows some usefulness for patients with existing painful vertebral body fractures, but is not recommended for mild osteoporosis.

What about Nutritional Supplements?

Calcium Doctors are recommending and everyone is taking extra Calcium.  Is this really necessary? There is plenty of calcium in the diet in green leafy vegetables.  If you insist on taking Calcium, then at least take an absorbable form such as Calcium Citrate or Calcium Lactate.  However, extra Calcium may cause kidney stones, constipation, and arterial calcifications, so be careful.

Magnesium: 

Many researchers think that the average American diet is deficient in Magnesium which has a multitude of health benefits.  This important mineral affects over 300 enzyme systems in the body and in addition to bone health, Magnesium is crucial for preventing muscle stiffness, arthritis, and inflammation in the body. It is also important for proper heart and circulatory function and prevention of constipation.  This mineral is important to balance the Calcium you are taking. Taking too much calcium has recently been linked to heart disease and it is important to know that excess Calcium causes Magnesium deficiency. Trace minerals such as boron, manganese, zinc, copper, silicon, strontium are all important.   Low levels of stomach acid (called hypochlorhydria) common in the elderly can prevent absorption of calcium and other minerals needed for strong bones. 

Strontium:

Strontium deserves special mention because favorable clinical trials on this mineral from the Mayo Clinic were reported back in 1959.  More recently, research published in the Jan 29, 2004 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine by Dr. Meunier demonstrated an average increase in bone density of 14.4 percent in the lumbar spine and 8.3 percent in the hip for 1649 women who took strontium with calcium and vitamin D. Vertebral body fractures were reduced by 41 percent in the strontium-calcium-vitamin D group compared with the placebo-calcium-vitamin D group over the three-year research period.

A publication in Osteoporosis International, Dec 2002 by Dr. JReginster examined the effects of strontium on early postmenopausal bone loss.  Women who took 340 milligrams of strontium a day for two years had a 3 per cent increase in bone mineral density, compared to the placebo group which decreased in bone density.  This means that Post-Menopausal women without osteoporosis and no hormone replacement can take only strontium and calcium and still benefit with an increase in bone density with strong, normal bone with no adverse side effects. 

Here are some recent references showing that strontium supplementation reduces risk of osteoporotic fracture: 

Osteoporosis Int. 2005 Oct;16(10):1291-8. Epub 2005 Jun 29. 

 Effect of osteoporosis treatments on risk of non-vertebral fractures: review and meta-analysis of intention-to-treat studies. Boonen S,

Ugeskr Laeger. 2005 Sep 12;167(37):3485-7. Strontium ranelate: a new therapeutic principle for postmenopausal osteoporosis Mosekilde L, Nielsen LR, Vestergaard P.

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 May;90(5):2816-22. Epub 2005 Feb 22.

Strontium ranelate reduces the risk of nonvertebral fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis: Treatment of Peripheral Osteoporosis (TROPOS) study.

Strontium a nutritional supplement in the U.S and does not require a prescription and is available from Pure Encapsulations, (800-753-2277)
www.purecaps.com and is contained in Osteo-Mins, the Osteoporosis formulation of Alan Gaby, M.D., and Jonathon Wright available from Progressive Laboratories (800-527-9512; www.progressivelabs.com)

Vitamin D:

Vitamin D is made by the body from natural sunlight exposure and is needed for proper calcium absorption and strong bones.  If you live in Florida, you can get vitamin D from sunlight exposure. Too much supplemental vitamin D (usually found with Vitamin D2 NOT D3) can cause potential toxicity and make serum calcium levels go up which will alarm your doctor.  If you avoid the sun, or don’t know how much you need, a blood test called 25-OH vitamin D will determine how much supplemental Vitamin D you need.  Optimal 25-OH D levels are 60ng/ml.  Vitamin D is also very important to help the thyroid receptors work properly so often people will tell me they feel more energy after starting Vitamin D supplementation.  And Vitamin D deficiency is a big part of depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Vitamin K:

The K stands for "Koagulation" in Danish.   This vitamin is often given as an injection in the hospital to correct blood thinning disorders of the liver and to reverse the blood thinning effect of Coumadin. Vitamin K is important in bone formation because it activates osteocalcin, a protein which attracts calcium to bones.

Serum vitamin K levels are much lower in hip fracture patients than in normals of the same age.  Vitamin K administration in patients with  non-healing fractures may cause the fractures to unexpectedly heal. The best sources of dietary vitamin K are green vegetables. Vitamin K is manufactured by friendly intestinal bacteria which are susceptible to routine use of antibiotics. This is another good reason to replace friendly colonic bacteria with Probiotics after antibiotic administration.

Results of bone-loss testing suggest 5 to 10 milligrams of vitamin K daily is sufficient to retard bone loss.  Fortunately, vitamin K is virtually nontoxic.  However, use caution as Vitamin K will potentially reverse the effect of the blood thinner drug, Coumadin.  So if you are taking Coumadin, DONT take supplemental vitamin K unless you check with your doctor first but it is safe to eat green leafy vegetables-your doctor can monitor your therapy and adjust your blood thinner dose if needed.  

 Vitamins B6, B12, and Folic acid deserve mention, because they bring elevated levels of homocysteine down to normal. (In addition to contributing to atherosclerosis, homocysteine also promotes bone loss.)

Celiac disease: A considerable number of women with osteoporosis will have gluten intolerance or celiac disease as the cause.  There is a blood test to screen for this. The treatment is to avoid foods that contain gluten found in wheat and various breads. However, the blood tests such as serum transglutaminase are unreliable because they show only late end-stage disease, so you may need a dietary trial of withholding gluten products to see if this helps.

Gentle Hormone Restoration Therapy®:

Synthetic hormones derived from horse urine are no longer recommended by the FDA for treatment of Osteoporosis because of adverse side effects, namely breast cancer and heart disease. On the other hand, compounded Bio-Identical Hormones such as Human Estrogen (Estradiol),  Progesterone and Testosterone and DHEA have been shown to be excellent at promoting new bone formation, and are safe to use under the care of a knowledgeable physician or practitioner. In a study published in the August 2003 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by Dr. Prestwood at the University of Connecticut Center on Aging, women 65 years of age were given  low dose (0.25 milligrams) Estradiol daily for three years and showed significant improvements in bone mineral density with no reports of breast cancer.  Stop in to the Apothecary and learn more about this kind of therapy-this is my personal specialty and I have been providing consultation and restoration therapy for over 10 of my 30 years of pharmacy practice.  One-size-fits-all therapy is slowly becoming a thing of the past as people take a pro-active role in their health.

Eat a healthy diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables, MOVE every day-we are not meant to be sedentary-cut soda from your diet, and too much red meat especially non-organic, and balance your hormones!

The following nutrients and doses constitute a typical and thorough daily bone-rebuilding supplement program:

Note: Please be careful where you buy your supplements!  They are not all created equal.  At the Apothecary we provide high quality supplements created in GMP facilities and can provide a certificate of analysis upon request.  Vitamin warehouses, grocery stores, and other discount super stores often sell lower quality supplements with fillers that can cause gut discomfort and allergies and may not have the actual potency of vitamin shown on the label.  Make sure you are talking to an expert when you supplement with nutraceuticals (nutrients used as treatment).

calcium citrate 800-1,200 mg or Hydroxyappetite or chelate
magnesium glycinate 300-1000 mg
manganese 5-10 mg
zinc 15-30 mg
copper 2-3 mg
boron 3-6 mg
silicon (plant source) 
vitamin D
vitamin K
vitamin B6
vitamin B12
folic acid 1-3 mg
omega-3 fatty acids
ipriflavone
gentle hormone restoration therapy

Stop in today to Murray Avenue Apothecary and start your bone health program today!  We can help you achieve hormone balance and work with your practitioner to provide a triad of health for positive health outcomes.

MAA Osteoporosis Protocol:
OsteoSheath                1 w/ each meal (multi ingredient calcium/magnesium)

Vit K                           1 w/ breakfast

Vit D drops                 2 drops QD SL

Or Vit D2400 cap       2 caps w/ breakfast

Ipriflavone                  1 cap twice a day

Strontium                    1 at bedtime on an empty stomach away from Calcium

Hormone balancing for stronger bones:
Progesterone- enhances bone density (activates osteoblasts)

 

Age, stress, and poor nutrition can sap our immune system of its effectiveness. Influenza provides one example. During young adulthood, when the body can mount a robust immune response to this common virus, influenza is rarely fatal. Among the elderly, however, the virus is associated with significant rates of death and hospitalization (Nichol KL 2005).

A healthy immune system grows ever more important as we age, and immune status is closely associated with nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction.

Older people and people with compromised immune systems should talk to their physician about exercising, reducing stress, and designing an active, immune-boosting nutritional program.

At Murray Avenue Apothecary we believe that all aging people should take proactive approaches to bolster their immune systems. This means reducing negative psychological stress; following a physician-approved, moderate, long-term exercise program; and following a diet and consuming nutrients that have been shown to enhance the immune response and promote health.

Here are some facts about the immune system:

• The immune system declines as we age, making us more susceptible to various diseases and pathogens.
• The immune system's health is closely related to stress, frequency of exercise, and nutritional status. Poor intake of vital nutrients is closely associated with a depressed immune response and an increased rate of disease.
• The immune system has two primary defense mechanisms: natural, which uses white blood cells and physical barriers to protect us from disease, and acquired, in which specialized cells generate antibodies to defend against specific pathogens.
• Inflammation is caused by multiple factors, including microorganisms, physical stress, tissue death, and inappropriate immune responses. Chronic inflammation is linked to diseases such as heart disease. Inflammation is mediated by cytokines and free radicals. It is an important immune system response, but it can also be dangerous because a chronic inflammatory state is linked to various diseases of aging.
• Free radicals are unstable molecules that readily react with other molecules, especially oxygen, to change their chemical composition. Antioxidants are used by the body to scavenge for free radicals and limit the amount of damage they can cause.

 
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM: HOW IT WORKS
The immune system is an elegant and complex set of components that combine to fight disease, infections, and various pathogens.

A healthy immune system distinguishes organisms in the body as “self” or “non-self.” An intact immune response identifies pathogens as “non-self” and rapidly destroys them. A depressed immune system, by contrast, will allow invading organisms to flourish.

Furthermore, when the immune system mistakenly recognizes a “self” cell as “non-self” and mounts an immune response, the result is an autoimmune disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis.

In general, the body has two primary defense mechanisms: natural immunity and acquired immunity. Natural immunity is the “first responder” to an attack. The natural immune response relies on various white blood cells and physical barriers to block or immediately attack any foreign invader and attempt to destroy it.

Acquired immunity, on the other hand, involves antibodies that are created in response to specific foreign antigens. This sort of response requires a few days for the body to recognize the invader and manufacture antibodies against it. Once the body has manufactured a particular antibody for a specific invader, the immune system response is faster and more effective the next time that invader appears (Janeway CA et al 1999; Beers MB 2004).

How to Build a Dynamic Immune System
Between running errands, carrying out everyday chores, work and the children, you don’t have time to get sick.  But no matter how well you take care of yourself, you’re bound to get sick sometimes.  There are things we can all do to make sure those times are fewer and less extreme.

Immunity: Use It or Lose It
Illness is not always a bad thing.  Exposure to new microbes is part of an active life and the ensuing fight between our bodies and the infection can actually make us stronger.  Getting sick a few times a year with quick recovery is normal for a healthy person, but getting sick often with lingering symptoms can be a sign of a weakened immune system.

Nature's Way to Make Us Take Care
Mother Nature uses the immune system to reward or penalize us for our behaviors and habits. Her singular goal is survival of the species. To the extent that we contribute to that end, (by staying fit, handling stress, eating right) we are rewarded with a competent immune system. For every transgression (obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, unman- aged stress, cigarette smoking) our immune system is penalized. Maintaining a dynamic immune system is as easy as simply taking care of you.

Training and Maintaining Your Immune System
Just Say "NO" to OTC Drugs and Remedies First, you must begin to avoid the hundreds of over-the-counter drugs that do nothing but suppress the symptoms of illness. Believe it or not, nature has equipped us with a number of extraordinary immune weapons, most notably the ability to generate a tremendous amount of heat, known as fever. The inherent intelligence involved in this phenomenon is extraordinary, because you don't get a fever every time you get a cold. Fever is a weapon that is pulled out only when necessary. It was developed millions of years ago to kill bacteria and viruses. Instead of suppressing this extraordinary immune defense with a pill, try allowing it to run its course. You will be stronger for it, because every time you have a fever, your immune system learns an important lesson, - a lesson recorded by anti- bodies and memory cells that cannot be learned otherwise.

Feed Yourself
Focus on organic ingredients; eat a diet of citrus fruits, peppers, dark leafy greens, onions, garlic, ginger - the list of delicious immune- boosting botanical ingredients goes on and on. Stay away from sugar, white flour products, prepared foods, dressings, candies, caffeine beverages and fast food.

Warming Up Your Immunity With Exercise
Scientists have long observed that people who exercise regularly live longer. This is because cardiovascular fitness leads to better circulation. Exercise also makes the bones stronger and maintains greater oxygen delivery. But why do exercisers experience less illness? Because every time we are strenuously active, we give ourselves a "fever." It is this temporary but significant elevation in core body temperature that creates a more active immune system.

Stretching and range of motion (ROM) exercise is great for improving your immune system. Through movement, especially movement that involves muscles and joints going through their full range of motion, lymphatic fluid bathes every cell, playing an important role in immunity and detoxification (removing toxins and metabolic debris). Yoga, dancing, rock-climbing, bouncing on a trampoline, basketball, swimming, Tai Chi, martial arts and regular simple stretching movements are wonderfully effective ways to improve lymphatic circulation.

When All Else Fails, Be Patient
Be patient when you do get sick. When illness comes, think of it as a message from Mother Nature to slow down and take better care of you. Typically, you can find yourself dealing with stress related illness. Were you working too hard, sleeping too little, and eating poorly? Become more aware of your daily routine.  Illness is a signal to slow down, get more rest and eat your vegetables. Reinforced by proper supplementation, eating properly could actually help you avoid colds or the flu for an entire season.

While we all know that arthritis is an inflammatory disorder, and we may know that all conditions that end with “itis” describe inflammation of whatever proceeds the “itis” , we may not know that scientists and physicians are acknowledging more and more the role of subclinical, invisible inflammation in many diseases, chronic conditions and even the aging process!

The diseases and conditions that low level inflammation can impact and accelerate include: heart disease, cancer, diabetes and pre-diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, obesity, allergies, and the aging process itself. 

Inflammation is defined as a localized reaction of tissue to irritation, injury, or infection. Symptoms of inflammation include pain, swelling, red coloration to the area, and sometimes loss of movement or function. We commonly think of inflammation as the painful component of arthritis. Inflammation is also a component of chronic diseases such as heart disease and strokes.

Inflammatory Conditions:

1. Inflammation Autoimmune Disease
2. Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis
3. Arthritis, Osteo or Rheumatoid
4. Acne, psoriasis, eczema
   

Food affects the body’s inflammatory response in surprising and complex ways.  Some foods have pro-inflammatory effects, and others have anti-inflammatory effects. 

Adding foods that reduce inflammation will improve how you feel and help to decrease your risk for chronic diseases. Here are some suggestions.

Anti-inflammatory Super- foods:

• Omega-3 rich cold water fish,includes Wild Alaskan Salmon, Sardines,   Sablefish (black cod), Trout, Herring, Anchovies, Mackerel (not king, too much mercury), tuna (try to get from smaller fish)
• Soybeans, tofu, and soy milk
• Monounsaturated fats: olive oil, avocado, olives, coconut
• ORGANIC WHOLE FRUITS/VEGETABLES (not juices)
• Fresh whole fruits, such as, blueberries and strawberries and dark cherries which are packed with anti-inflammatory phytochemicals and anti-oxidants. (At least 5 servings daily) Also, apples, pears, grapefruits, berries, peaches, plums, and pomegranates.
• Nuts, and seeds: flax seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, etc…
• Spicy hot foods: chili peppers, cayenne, chili powder, red pepper flakes.
• Beans and lentils: dried beans and canned, rinsed beans including, kidney, pinto, navy, red, black, chickpeas, lentils, etc…
• Low fat probiotic dairy foods: Low fat yogurt, low fat kefir, acidophilus milk.
• Bright multi-colored vegetables (At least 5 servings daily)
• Green tea
• Lean poultry
• Dark green leafy vegetables
• STEEL CUT OATMEAL [NOT processed, instant oatmeal]
• Spices that are anti-inflammatory: Ginger, Turmeric, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Rosemary, Basil, Cardamon, Chives, Cilantro, Cloves, Garlic, nutmeg, allspice, bay leaf, and Parsley
• Whole grains are excellent sources of fiber, and a high fiber diet will reduce your   inflammation.  All your pasta, cereal, and bread should come from 100% whole grain which is high in fiber and fiber reduces inflammation- oats, barley, buckwheat, etc.-unless the patient has celiac or gluten sensitivity.
• Water - Other good fluid sources include 100% fruit juices, herbal teas, vegetable juices and low fat milk.

                                               
Inflammatory Foods (Limit or avoid):
Pro-inflammatory foods will increase inflammation, increase your pain   from the inflammation and may also raise your risk for chronic disease.

• SUGAR, FROM ALL SOURCES
• White bread, regular bagels, most breads, cake, candy, refined cereals (oats and whole grain cereals OK) cookies, high fructose and other corn syrup, refined crackers, ice cream, croissants, donuts.
• ALL PROCESSED FOODS!
• Cheddar cheeses
• Soda, caffeine, and alcohol
• Egg rolls, fast food, white flour, French fries, fried foods, ALL FAST FOODS, fruit juice (eat the fruit instead).  Hot dogs and lunch meat, margarine, muffins.
• Noodles, pancakes, pasta, pastry, peanut butter (or anything) containing hydrogenated oils…natural PB is good.
• Pudding, rice, shortening, snack food including: potato chips, pretzels, rice and corn cakes, etc…
• Soda, sugar, vegetable oils such as vegetable and corn oil, (other than olive oil) waffles
• Another possible source of irritation comes from the nightshade family of plants. Whole fruits and vegetables are important to eat for their vitamins, minerals, and natural antioxidants, however some vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplant may actually make pain from inflammation worse. These vegetables contain a chemical alkaloid called solanine. Solanine can trigger pain in some people.

Tips to Ease Arthritis Pain and General Information:

• Do away with refined and partial foods: white flour and white sugar- get them out of your diet.
• Eat a diet composed mainly of: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, beans, nuts, seeds, lean meat and fish.
• Take dairy out of your diet and see if that helps. If not, try eliminating meat-especially red meat!
• Some people with arthritis do well by eliminating allergenic foods which include-dairy, wheat, corn.
• Avoid foods from the nightshade family: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and white potatoes.
• The herb Ginger has been known to help some people.
• Consume foods containing the amino acid histidine, which includes brown rice, wheat and rye. (If wheat isn’t a problem)
• Be sure and take a good calcium/magnesium supplement. Very important for the health of the bones and ligaments.
• Include the essential fatty acids: wheat germ oil, sesame seed oil, and flax oil. The good oils will lubricate the joints and promote healing.
• Supplement with Omega-3 fatty acids (such as fish oil, 1000 to 1,500mg twice a day)
• Get plenty of sunshine. Exposure to the sun prompts the synthesis of vitamin D, which is needed for proper bone formation as well as anti-inflammatory responses in the body.
• If you are overweight, lose weight. Easier said than done, but an overweight condition can cause and aggravate arthritis. Shrink your waist size. If you're a woman with a waist measurement of over 35 inches or a man with a waist of over 40 inches, you probably have high inflammation. Whittling a few inches off the waist by reducing your portions and increasing activity can go a long way toward solving that problem.
• Glucosamine Sulfate is one of the most talked about natural remedies for arthritis. A Swiss study found it was as effective in decreasing stiffness and pain as ibuprofen, but without the side effects.
• Stop smoking. Smoking hardens the arteries and increase inflammation. But research shows you can reverse all the damaging effects to your arteries within 10 years of quitting.
• Think olive oil, fish, and nuts. People who stick with a Mediterranean-style diet based on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and olive oil can lower their levels of inflammation. It works by increasing the amount of foods you eat that are rich in omega-3 fats, which fight inflammation.
• Get enough sleep. A new study shows that elderly people with high blood pressure who sleep less than 7.5 hours a night have dramatically elevated chances of having a stroke or heart attack. Other research has shown that both too little and too much sleep increases inflammation. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says most adults need between seven and eight hours of sleep each night.
• Reduce stress. High levels of stress hormones can lead to the release of excess inflammatory chemicals.
• EXERCISE- many arthritis sufferers have reported tremendous relief by adding an exercise program to their daily regime. Water aerobics is a wonderful exercise for those with arthritis with little or no pain. Get active. Exercise a great way to lower inflammation without any of the side effects associated with medications.
• Get a complete Thyroid test including T3, T4, TSH and Thyroid peroxidase antibodies-we know from the literature that low thyroid function causes joint pain and dysfunction.

Our favorite anti-inflammatory supplements: 
Arnica, Traumeel Gel, Wobenzym, MSM, HA Plus, Zyflamend and Zyflamend PM, Ultra InflamX, Topical Magnesium and Glutathione, Acetyl Glutathione Capsules, UltraRelief Rub.