Arthritis Treatment - Six Arthritis Diets That Work

Arthritis treatment using diet is one of the most popular and successful types of arthritis treatment.

Here I describe 6 types of arthritis diets that are effective as arthritis treatment strategies.

1. The underlying causes of arthritis for many people is food sensitivities. If you are one of these people, finding out your exact food sensitivities and eliminating these problem foods from your diet can work miracles. The ALCAT blood test is one way to discover if you have any food sensitivities and if so, exactly what they are. Selectively eliminating any suspected problem foods from your diet for a week and then systematically reintroducing them, with at least 24 hours between each reintroduction, is another.

2. Specific foods have anti-inflammatory properties. Including the spices tumeric, ginger, and cumin in your diet, for instance, calm inflammation without the negative side effects of many prescription arthritis drugs.

3. Poor digestion is another underlying cause of arthritis. Healing the digestive tract can often heal arthritis. The types of bacteria that flourish in a health digestive system are called probiotics. Taking probiotic pills or eating foods rich in probiotics (such as miso, homemade sauerkraut, live culture yogurt and kefir, and kim chi) are one way to bring the digestive tract into a state of greater health. This is especially true if you have ever taken antibiotics, even years ago.

4. Cabbage and cabbage juice contain a type of protein called mucins that coat the stomach and allow it to heal. Gelatin also has stomach healing properties, for the same reason.

5. A good broth made wine or vinegar in the broth to extract the gelatin and other joint building components of cartilage (such as chondroitin and glucosamine) from soup bones, is one cheap and very healing arthritis treatment. Sliced pork trotters, beef feet, rib bones, chicken carcasses and feet, and whole fish are all good starting materials for making arthritis treatment broths. Simmer the bones slowly for 4-24 hours to extract the maximum amount of arthritis healing nutrients. These broths are much cheaper and tastier than buying the same thing in pill form.

6. Arthritis is a disease of acidity. The body become acidic when we eat too much protein and carbohydrate, especially refined carbohydrates like sugar and white flour. Eating 80% of the diet as vegetables is a healthy way to bring the body back into the correct pH range. Once it comes back into the correct range, arthritis will often disappear.

If you are highly acidic, it may take several months or even a year or longer on an alkalizing diet (one high in vegetables, low in protein and carbohydrates) to reestablish a stable, healthy pH balance.

Substitute alfalfa and other teas which are alkalizing, for coffee and soft drinks which contribute to acidity.

It takes a while to neutralize all the excess acidity stored in the body. This is why some people have arthritis treatment success by going on a largely vegetarian diet for a year or more and resuming a vegetarian diet for a while whenever they feel like the arthritis might be starting to come back.

You can test your pH by swallowing several times first thing in the morning before you have eaten anything or had anything to drink. Then spit onto a piece of litmus paper. Ideally the pH of your saliva should be around 7 to 7.2. You can purchase litmus paper for testing the pH of saliva and/or urine in most health food stores.

CONCLUSION

Even if you are going the conventional arthritis treatment route, incorporating these arthritis treatment diet strategies can make a big difference in how well you feel.