Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Joint Health written by: Noreen Kodula, Certified Natural Health Professional (CNHP) Joints are the connection between two bones. They allow you to bend your elbows, knees and back, wiggle your hips, turn your head, wave your fingers and give your skeleton its shape. Joints support …
Written by: Dr.Claire Arcidiacono, ND
For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com†
We have reached the end of our conversation on joints. In this blog series I have tried to cover the most common joint dysfunctions that can occur. In addition, I have tried to cover those treatments that are both most commonly used as well as most studied. Thus, there will be some supplements that you may have “heard on the grape vine” that were not mentioned. Feel free to ask any Invite nutritionist about them. Joint health is a complex topic that can affect everyone, including men and women as well as different age ranges. One of the points that I hoped to make in this blog series on joints is that joint disorders can vary from person to person. It is important to find out exactly what is going on in your joints so that we can give you the best recommendations possible. †
Depending on what is going on in the joints, there different treatments available. Thus, it is important to not only what is going on but what stage it is. I will be rehashing some of the most researched supplements that I have found clinically to be some of the most helpful in working with joint disorders. I will also be recommending some recipe ideas to help with inflammation! †
ICYMI:JOINT SURGERY, PART 2 & SUPPLEMENTS THAT CAN HELP POST-SURGERY.>>READ NOW!
Supplements that can help!
DIGESTIVE HEALTH PART 10: ANAL FISSURES, FISTULAS & LEAKY GUT>>READ NOW
RECIPES: Here are some ideas to use our products in fun ways! †
6. Green eggs I say! This is an easy way to add greens to a breakfast. Place your eggs and 1 scoop of Greens Hx in your blender. I like to add 1 scoop of Greens Hx to 2 eggs so it’s very flavorful. Then add a big handful of baby spinach. Add any spices you like, blend until smooth. I like to cook these just like scrambled eggs. They may look interesting, but the green color is fun and perfect for certain holidays! †
I hope that I gave you some ideas on healthy eating. There is no right way or wrong way to make a recipe. If you have an idea, try it! If it’s good, yay! If it’s bad, you know for next time :-)†
Now that we are done with joints, we will be moving on to our next topic soon! †
REFERENCES
Written by Dr.Claire Arcidiacono, ND For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com In our last blog we completed our lupus discussion. This week we will be discussing another autoimmune disease called psoriatic arthritis. Psoriatic arthritis is a type of arthritis that occurs in individuals …
Subscribe Today! Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode. DON’T ACCEPT CHRONIC PAIN AS NORMAL, BIOCURCUMIN & 5-LOXIN CAN HELP, INVITEⓇ HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 628 Hosted by Amanda Williams, MD, MPH *Intro Music* InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: [00:00:04] Welcome to the Invite …
Written by Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com
Last time we talked about RA, (Rheumatoid Arthritis), which is an autoimmune disease that includes joint pain as well as joint damage. In this same theme we have Lupus. Systemic lupus erythematosus or lupus is a well-known autoimmune disease which involves the body’s very own immune system attacking and damaging healthy cells. Lupus can mimic many different diseases and it is often called the great imitator. Due to this fact it is often misdiagnosed, and thus appropriate treatment is often delayed. † (1)
Lupus very commonly presents with a fever, malaise, fatigue, and both muscle and joint pain. It is interesting to note that while Lupus is much more likely to develop in women it can and does occur in men. The symptoms of lupus are slightly different between the two genders. Typically, women will have a low white blood cell count, increased risk of RA, Raynaud’s syndrome and even a higher rate of psychiatric symptoms. In contrast men tend to experience more seizures, kidney disease, serositis, skin disorders and neuropathy. † (2)
Skin disorders are very common in lupus. In fact, up to 70% of people diagnosed with lupus have symptoms of the disease in their skin. The Malar rash otherwise known as the butterfly rash is a well-known symptom of lupus and occurs in 30-60% of people diagnosed with Lupus. (3) See attached picture. † (4)
Anemia is very common in lupus and develops in approximately 50% of children who have been diagnosed with lupus. In addition to anemia, it is common to develop low platelet count, low white blood cell count, and different clotting type disorders. As a fascinating aside one of the autoantibodies that are present in lupus is called anti-cardiolipin antibody and it is interesting because it can present a false positive result on a syphilis test. † (5)
Lupus can also present with symptoms that are caused by damage to the internal organs. There can be inflammation in the heart caused by the lupus which can present as pericarditis, myocarditis, endocarditis, and even atherosclerosis occurs more frequently in those with lupus. (6) Similarly, inflammation in the lungs can present with signs of pleurisy, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension/hemorrhage, and pulmonary embolism. (7) In addition to affecting the heart and lungs it is well documented that lupus can cause inflammation in the kidneys. The inflammation associated with lupus causes symptoms of lupus nephritis in the kidneys. In fact, in lupus immunofluorescence testing shows a very particular granular appearance known as Glomerulonephritis or wine loop nephritis. † (8)
Lupus can also cause neurological symptoms such as signs of neuropsychiatric syndromes. Other neurological symptoms include headaches, seizures, polyneuropathy, cognitive disorders, anxiety, and depression and even in some people psychosis. Other complications include Guillain-Barre syndrome, meningitis, demyelinating syndrome and what are called movement disorders. While lupus has numerous effects on the neurological system, in this article, I have only reviewed the most common. (9) Lupus can also affect the eyes and vision as well. Lupus has been found to affect vision and eye health in up to 1/3 of people that have been diagnosed with lupus. (10) Due to the fact that lupus is an autoimmune disorder there are also effects on fertility. While most people with lupus can and do have healthy children there is an increased risk of miscarriage and the death of the child in utero † (11)
ICYMI:RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, INVITE HEALTH BLOG>>READ NOW!
Now you may be saying Dr. Claire this is fascinating but why bring up lupus in a series on joint health. That’s because joint pain is a big part of what lupus is. Now since this is a joint health conversation and not just an arthritis series it is important to talk about lupus since as I said it does affect our joints. More than 90% of those diagnosed with lupus will have joint pain of some degree. While lupus does not usually cause the severe destruction and distortion of the joints seen in RA, there is still joint pain that can vary in its intensity from person to person. It is important to point out that pain is very individualized. Normally a doctor will use a scale from 1 to 10 for patients to rate their pain. What one person would term a 1/10 pain another might feel is an 8/10 on the pain scale. Being more or less sensitive to pain is nothing to be ashamed of. Since we are all different, we all experience pain in a different way. Interestingly there have been studies that suggest a possible link between lupus and RA. At this time more research is needed into this possible correlation. † (12)
Lupus is a complex autoimmune disorder and thus in order to give this topic all the attention it deserves I have decided to split this topic into two parts. The next blog will cover the risk factors for developing lupus, specific tests that can help determine if you have lupus and both conventional as well as complementary approaches to controlling symptoms of lupus. †
REFERENCES
