Sore, Stiff and Swollen? It Could Be Rheumatoid Arthritis
By Rita Baron-Faust, Special to Lifescript
Provided by the Society for Women’s Health Research
Published April 11, 2011
When you hear “arthritis,” you might think of wear-and-tear joint pain that worsens only as you age. But rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can strike in your 30s and leave arms and legs disfigured. Read on for risk factors, symptoms and treatment of this chronic inflammatory disorder…
More than 2 million Americans – about 70% of them women – are affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic inflammation of the lining of the joints (synovium).
Although it can occur at any age, women typically notice symptoms between the ages of 30 and 50. RA is the most common rheumatic autoimmune disease. It can lead to permanent joint damage and can cause chronic pain, loss of function and disability. RA can also be a systemic disease, affecting other parts of the body.
Risk Factors
RA appears to be caused by a combination of genetic vulnerability, environmental triggers and hormonal influences. People with the genetic marker (a portion of DNA used to identify an individual disease or trait) known as HLA-DR4 appear to have an increased risk of developing RA and of having more severe disease.
Some of the suspected environmental triggers include Epstein-Barr virus and bacteria, including streptococci (which causes strep throat and rheumatic fever), salmonella (which causes food poisoning), Escherichia coli (E. coli, which causes urinary tract infections), Heliobacter pylori (which causes stomach ulcers) and Borrelia burgdorferi (which causes Lyme disease). Cigarette smoking is also linked to RA.
Why Your Sex Matters
While women are two to three times more likely to get RA than men, men tend to be affected more severely.
Studies show that women who have never had a child are twice as likely to develop RA as women who have. The disease often improves during pregnancy (when estrogen levels are high) but worsens after delivery (when estrogen levels drop).
The peak age for RA appears to be after 40, when estrogen levels are fluctuating or declining. Recent research suggests that if RA is diagnosed after menopause, it may progress at a faster rate. This has spurred research into the role that estrogen may play in RA; some scientists are studying whether oral contraceptives might be protective.
Women with RA may have reduced fertility, which can predate their diagnosis. Some drug treatments used for RA can also affect fertility. Menopausal symptoms in women with RA can be treated with low-dose estrogen, but hormone therapy needs to be individualized (as it does for any menopausal woman).
The risk of premature atherosclerosis (thickening of artery walls by cholesterol-laden plaques) and coronary artery disease is greater among women with RA. Some research indicates that women under 50 with RA have three times the risk of death from heart attack and congestive heart failure as healthy women of the same age.
Corticosteroids such as prednisone, one of the mainstays of RA therapy, can also increase cholesterol and the risk of diabetes, infections and osteoporosis. Women taking corticosteroids may need bone-building drugs or cholesterol-lowering medications. In addition, RA has been linked to low bone density independent of corticosteroid therapy.
Symptoms
The first symptoms of RA may include swelling, stiffness (often worse in the morning) and general aching of the joints. RA affects joints on both sides of the body, in contrast to osteoarthritis, a disease of wear and tear that may strike joints in one area.
The joints affected by RA also may be warm or red. Other common symptoms are fatigue, weakness, muscle pain and depression.
In 50% of women, symptoms come on gradually and can wax and wane. As the disease progresses, inflamed cells in the joint release enzymes that can digest bone and cartilage, often causing the joint to lose its shape and alignment and increasing pain and loss of movement.
Early diagnosis and treatment are important in minimizing joint destruction, so it is essential to see a doctor if telltale symptoms persist for a number of weeks.
Around 20% of women with RA may develop raised, firm lumps just under the skin, known as rheumatoid nodules. These nodules often occur in areas where there is repeated pressure on the skin, such as the elbows. Because RA can be systemic, these nodules may arise in the eyes, heart or lungs.
Up to half of women with RA may develop inflammation in the lining of the lungs (pleurisy), making it painful to take a deep breath. Inflammation may also develop around the sac enclosing the heart (pericarditis); symptoms include chest pain, dry cough and fever. Even blood vessels may become inflamed in RA; a sign of this vasculitis can be tiny broken blood vessels in the nail bed.
Diagnosis
Doctors may need to perform several tests to diagnose RA properly. The work-up will most likely include a complete medical history, physical exam, lab tests and X-rays. During the physical exam, your doctor will look for evidence of joint swelling, tenderness, redness, misalignment or loss of motion.
Expect to describe your pain, including the times of day it is most and least severe. Blood tests include a test for an antibody called rheumatoid factor (RF); approximately 70% to 80% of people with RA have positive tests for rheumatoid factor (but it may not be detected early on in RA). It is important to note that RF can be present in other conditions (including lupus and even infections), so testing positive is only one factor in making a diagnosis.
Other blood tests look for evidence of inflammation, including an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR or SED rate), which measures the speed at which red blood cells fall to the bottom of a test tube, and C-reactive protein (CRP), which is elevated with systemic inflammation. A complete blood count may reveal anemia, a low red blood cell count, which often occurs in RA. X-rays are used to determine the degree of joint erosion, cartilage loss and joint distortion.
Treatment
Your doctor will prescribe treatments to attack RA on several fronts: to relieve pain and reduce inflammation and to stop or slow joint damage. The choice of medications takes into account how severe your symptoms are and how far the disease has progressed.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used to combat pain. These include aspirin and its chemical cousins, ibuprofen and naproxen, diclofenac, and indomethacin, and newer NSAIDs, called COX-2 inhibitors.
However, COX-2 drugs carry an increased risk of heart attack and stroke and should not be used if you have or are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Recent studies show that all NSAIDs also carry slight cardiovascular risks and should not be used at high doses for prolonged periods.
Corticosteroids such as prednisone are used to combat inflammation and modulate immune overreactivity. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including methotrexate and leflunomide, may be used to slow joint destruction. The newest DMARDs are “biologic” agents that inhibit the cytokines that promote inflammation and joint destruction. These include the TNFα (tumor necrosis factor) blockers.
Joint replacement surgery is often needed for RA patients with severely damaged joints. Just about any joint in the body can now be replaced, and the surgery dramatically improves function and pain.
Exercise and stress reduction are important for RA patients. Patients and their health care providers are turning increasingly to alternative and complementary therapies such as massage and acupuncture.
Future Approaches to RA Treatment
Researchers are looking at agents that block the processes by which arthritis begins. One strategy being tested is the use of cancer drugs, such as rituximab, to selectively destroy B cells that contribute to the disease process of RA. Another biological drug being tested for RA, alefacept, targets specific T cells.
Stem cell transplantation is another novel therapy under study. Stem cells are primitive cells in the bone marrow that can multiply into specific blood cells.
In this experimental treatment, a patient’s immune system is destroyed with high doses of chemotherapy drugs and then reconstituted with stem cells from the person’s own red blood cells (autologous stem cells).
Studies are also being done on new markers that could be used to diagnose RA earlier, before joint destruction has begun (or perhaps in women at high risk before the disease process is fully under way).
One such experimental test looks for autoantibodies, called cyclic citrullinated peptides (CCPs); one study found that 93% of those who tested positive for CCPs went on to develop RA after three years, but only 25% of those who tested negative developed the condition.
Excerpted from The Savvy Woman Patient: How and Why Sex Differences Affect Your Health (Capital Books) by the Society for Women’s Health Research.
MY THOUGHTS
This is scarier than I thought.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
HOW TO PREVENT RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
How to Prevent Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Avoid These 8 Factors for Arthritis Prevention
By Carole Jacobs, Special to Lifescript
Published May 23, 2011
Reviewed By Edward C. Geehr, M.D.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic autoimmune condition that affects 1%-3% of U.S. women, is on the rise – and can be triggered by everything from caffeine to car exhaust fumes. But researchers around the world are discovering new ways to reduce your risks. Learn about the top 8 things that could raise your chances of needing RA treatment, and get expert advice on how to avoid them...
Women are three times as likely to get rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as men, according to the American College of Rheumatology – and the numbers are growing.
The prevalence of RA in women increased by 2.5% between 1995 and 2007, according to Sherine Gabriel, M.D., professor of medicine and epidemiology with the Mayo Clinic, who co-authored a 12-year study on the subject.
Unfortunately, no RA cure is in sight, and research is divided on the exact causes – but scientists are beginning to connect the dots.
Studies show a correlation between RA and family genes, smoking, pollution, environmental toxins, lower estrogen levels and viral infections, says RA researcher Katherine Molnar-Kimber, Ph.D., founder of Rheumatoid Arthritis Decisions, a website for women with RA.
“Studies suggest factors that affect your overall health also contribute to symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis,” Molnar-Kimber says.
Read on for 8 possible reasons behind the rise of RA – and how you can reduce your risks.
Arthritis prevention method #1: Get tested early.
If one or both of your parents have RA, you have a greater risk of developing the disease – but odds are still small, says Steven Soloway, M.D., a rheumatologist and RA advocate in Vineland, N.J.
What to do: While you can’t change your parents, getting diagnosed and treated early and aggressively is the best way to minimize symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
“See a rheumatologist at least twice a year to get checked out, even if you have no symptoms,” Soloway says.
“That includes getting an MRI, which can detect joint disease much earlier than an X-ray.”
New medications can even halt RA when it’s caught early.
“Today’s cutting-edge biologic drugs can reverse the course of the disease and stop the destruction and erosion of bone. If caught and treated early, RA is more likely to go into remission,” Soloway says.
Arthritis prevention method #2: Increase estrogen.
Estrogen has been shown to help protect against RA.
The recent rise in women affected by the disease could be a result of lower estrogen levels in newer birth-control pills and hormone replacement therapy, according to the 2010 Mayo Clinic study.
Half of a group of pregnant women experienced relief from RA symptoms during pregnancy because of naturally higher estrogen levels, a 2008 study conducted in the Netherlands found.
What to do: If you want to have kids, no problem.
“Getting pregnant and breastfeeding puts many women with RA into a sustained or even a permanent remission,” Soloway says.
If not, birth control pills, while reformulated, “may also help reduce risk,” says Nathan Wei, M.D., a rheumatologist in Frederick, Md.
Already in menopause? Ask your physician about short-term estrogen therapy. While the landmark Nurses’ Health Study at Harvard University found an increased risk of breast cancer in women who took hormone replacement therapy (estrogen plus progesterone), estrogen therapy alone doesn’t increase the risk when taken for less than 10 years, according to the American Cancer Society.
Arthritis prevention method #3: Don’t smoke.
“Smoking can double your risk of RA,” says Fred Wolfe, M.D., a Kansas-based rheumatologist and former director of the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases.
A series of recent studies bears this out.
Environmental pollutants like cigarette smoke and car and truck exhaust increased both inflammation and the risk of RA, a 2009 Harvard study conducted on 90,297 women found.
Women who smoked for at least 20 years were nearly twice as likely to develop RA than lifelong nonsmokers, according to a 2011 analysis at Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan. Women who had smoked at any time (including those who quit) were also more likely to develop RA than women who never smoked.
“Any type of smoking constitutes a significant risk factor for the development of RA,” notes study author Shunichi Kumagai, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of clinical pathology and immunology at Kobe University.
The risk of developing RA increased proportionally with the number of “pack-years” smoked, defined as one pack of cigarettes or 20 cigarettes daily for each year, a 2007 study at Denmark’s Danish Epidemiology Science Centre found.
What to do: Quit smoking.
Ask your physician about nicotine replacement therapy, antidepressants like bupropion (Zyban) that decrease your desire to smoke, and hypnosis – all of which have been shown to help smokers quit.
Even if you’re already experiencing symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, you’ll boost the effectiveness of your RA treatment by kicking the habit. Smoking hurt the effectiveness of most RA meds, including methotrexate and biologic treatments, in a 2011 study on nearly 1,500 people conducted at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden.
Arthritis prevention method #4: Boost your vitamin D.
A vitamin-D deficiency could increase your risk of RA.
“Vitamin D is a powerful antioxidant and hormone, and deficiencies can lead to a host of diseases, including RA and multiple sclerosis,” says Michael Holick, Ph.D., M.D., a vitamin-D researcher, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University and author of The Vitamin D Solution (Hudson Street Press).
Women who live in northern latitudes, which get less D-producing sunlight, are more likely to develop symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, according to a 2010 study conducted on 13,000 women at several universities, including Boston University and Harvard.
Another 2010 report, from Tufts Medical Center, noted that a vitamin-D deficiency has been linked to several autoimmune disorders, including RA.
And several other studies, conducted at Penn State University, Brigham Young University and the University of Genoa in Italy, found that women who suffered vitamin-D deficiency had an increased risk of inflammatory diseases, including RA, lupus, arthritis and Crohn’s.
What to do: The reaction of sunlight on your skin is the key source of vitamin D. Only a few foods contain vitamin D, including egg yolks, salmon, some mushrooms, and vitamin-D-fortified foods, Holick says.
If you don’t eat a lot of foods with D and/or you live in a cloudy climate or regularly use sunscreen (which blocks out most vitamin D), you should take a daily supplement, he adds.
The Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, recommends 600 International Units (IU) a day for women under age 71 and a maximum 800 IU for women age 71 and older.
(For more information, read Are You Deficient in Vitamin D?)
Arthritis prevention method #5: Limit caffeine.
Too much caffeine can do more than give you the jitters.
A 2010 study conducted at the University of Oslo in Norway found that heavy caffeine consumption increased RA risk, and a 2006 study conducted at the Danish Epidemiology Science Centre said the same thing about heavy coffee drinkers.
Interestingly, women who drank decaffeinated coffee also had an increased risk, according to a 2002 study conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
What to do: Cut back to three or fewer cups daily. Moderate caffeine consumption (about 300-400 milligrams daily, or about three cups of coffee) isn’t likely to cause negative health effects, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Prefer to cut caffeine out of your life altogether?
Don’t go cold turkey. Even light coffee drinkers can suffer withdrawal symptoms, while heavy drinkers could experience a killer headache, according to John Hughes, Ph.D., director of the Human Behavior Pharmacology Laboratory at the University of Vermont.
It’s safer to give it up gradually over several weeks.
Arthritis prevention method #6: Eat more fish.
If you’re not eating enough fatty fish, along with olive oil or nuts and seeds, you could be increasing your risk for RA.
The chance of getting RA was reduced by 20%-30% in women who consumed fatty fish at least 1-3 three times a week, a landmark 1990 study of nearly 2,000 patients at Scotland’s University of Glasgow found.
Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the inflammatory response, says study author Gail Darlington, M.D., a researcher with Epsom General Hospital in Glasgow.
What to do: Eat plenty of cold-water fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, including salmon, tuna, lake trout, herring and mackerel – or else take 1-2 grams of fish-oil supplements per day. Extra virgin olive oil is another good source of omega 3’s, Darlington says.
Arthritis prevention method #7: Prevent viral infections.
“Several studies have shown that infection can be one of the initial causes of rheumatoid arthritis,” Molnar-Kimber says.
Some likely suspects include the hepatitis C virus, Epstein-Barr Virus, herpes simplex virus, human herpes virus type 6, cytomegalovirus, and parvovirus B19.
In a 2009 study conducted at Institute of Experimental Immunology at the University of Zurich, researchers found that viral infection often triggered autoimmune diseases like RA.
Infections were responsible for RA symptoms in about 20% of patients, a 2005 study at Finland’s Helsinki University Central Hospital found.
What to do: Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. When possible, avoid places germs are likely, such as public rest rooms, drinking fountains, public tables and shopping carts – or clean surfaces with antibacterial wipes.
“See your physician if you’re feeling ill, so infections don’t get out of control,” says Molnar-Kimber.
Arthritis prevention method #8: Avoid environmental toxins.
Scientists are investigating the link between RA and exposure to toxins such as man-made pesticides, organic solvents, compounds like formaldehyde, and heavy metals like cadmium and mercury, Molnar-Kimber says.
Exposure to insecticides was associated with the risk of autoimmune rheumatic diseases such as RA in postmenopausal women, according to a 2010 study at the National Institute for Environmental Health Science in Durham, N.C.
The 2009 Harvard study of 90,297 women found that those who lived within 55 yards of a large road frequented by cars and trucks had a 31% increased risk for RA, compared with women who were less exposed to exhaust fumes.
What to do: “Several studies have shown that rheumatoid arthritis patients have less ability to rid their bodies of toxins due to low levels of glutathione, a protein produced by your liver that plays a key role in neutralizing [harmful] substances in the body,” Molnar-Kimber says.
To beef up your glutathione activity, take a glutathione supplement; an amino acid called L-carnitine may also help raise levels. Also eat foods rich in antioxidants, such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, prunes, beans and pecans, which help repair cell damage, she says.
MY THOUGHTS
I think I may be at risk. This runs in the family. I hate beans. But I love all those berries. Better go see a doctor first.
Avoid These 8 Factors for Arthritis Prevention
By Carole Jacobs, Special to Lifescript
Published May 23, 2011
Reviewed By Edward C. Geehr, M.D.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic autoimmune condition that affects 1%-3% of U.S. women, is on the rise – and can be triggered by everything from caffeine to car exhaust fumes. But researchers around the world are discovering new ways to reduce your risks. Learn about the top 8 things that could raise your chances of needing RA treatment, and get expert advice on how to avoid them...
Women are three times as likely to get rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as men, according to the American College of Rheumatology – and the numbers are growing.
The prevalence of RA in women increased by 2.5% between 1995 and 2007, according to Sherine Gabriel, M.D., professor of medicine and epidemiology with the Mayo Clinic, who co-authored a 12-year study on the subject.
Unfortunately, no RA cure is in sight, and research is divided on the exact causes – but scientists are beginning to connect the dots.
Studies show a correlation between RA and family genes, smoking, pollution, environmental toxins, lower estrogen levels and viral infections, says RA researcher Katherine Molnar-Kimber, Ph.D., founder of Rheumatoid Arthritis Decisions, a website for women with RA.
“Studies suggest factors that affect your overall health also contribute to symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis,” Molnar-Kimber says.
Read on for 8 possible reasons behind the rise of RA – and how you can reduce your risks.
Arthritis prevention method #1: Get tested early.
If one or both of your parents have RA, you have a greater risk of developing the disease – but odds are still small, says Steven Soloway, M.D., a rheumatologist and RA advocate in Vineland, N.J.
What to do: While you can’t change your parents, getting diagnosed and treated early and aggressively is the best way to minimize symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
“See a rheumatologist at least twice a year to get checked out, even if you have no symptoms,” Soloway says.
“That includes getting an MRI, which can detect joint disease much earlier than an X-ray.”
New medications can even halt RA when it’s caught early.
“Today’s cutting-edge biologic drugs can reverse the course of the disease and stop the destruction and erosion of bone. If caught and treated early, RA is more likely to go into remission,” Soloway says.
Arthritis prevention method #2: Increase estrogen.
Estrogen has been shown to help protect against RA.
The recent rise in women affected by the disease could be a result of lower estrogen levels in newer birth-control pills and hormone replacement therapy, according to the 2010 Mayo Clinic study.
Half of a group of pregnant women experienced relief from RA symptoms during pregnancy because of naturally higher estrogen levels, a 2008 study conducted in the Netherlands found.
What to do: If you want to have kids, no problem.
“Getting pregnant and breastfeeding puts many women with RA into a sustained or even a permanent remission,” Soloway says.
If not, birth control pills, while reformulated, “may also help reduce risk,” says Nathan Wei, M.D., a rheumatologist in Frederick, Md.
Already in menopause? Ask your physician about short-term estrogen therapy. While the landmark Nurses’ Health Study at Harvard University found an increased risk of breast cancer in women who took hormone replacement therapy (estrogen plus progesterone), estrogen therapy alone doesn’t increase the risk when taken for less than 10 years, according to the American Cancer Society.
Arthritis prevention method #3: Don’t smoke.
“Smoking can double your risk of RA,” says Fred Wolfe, M.D., a Kansas-based rheumatologist and former director of the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases.
A series of recent studies bears this out.
Environmental pollutants like cigarette smoke and car and truck exhaust increased both inflammation and the risk of RA, a 2009 Harvard study conducted on 90,297 women found.
Women who smoked for at least 20 years were nearly twice as likely to develop RA than lifelong nonsmokers, according to a 2011 analysis at Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan. Women who had smoked at any time (including those who quit) were also more likely to develop RA than women who never smoked.
“Any type of smoking constitutes a significant risk factor for the development of RA,” notes study author Shunichi Kumagai, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of clinical pathology and immunology at Kobe University.
The risk of developing RA increased proportionally with the number of “pack-years” smoked, defined as one pack of cigarettes or 20 cigarettes daily for each year, a 2007 study at Denmark’s Danish Epidemiology Science Centre found.
What to do: Quit smoking.
Ask your physician about nicotine replacement therapy, antidepressants like bupropion (Zyban) that decrease your desire to smoke, and hypnosis – all of which have been shown to help smokers quit.
Even if you’re already experiencing symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, you’ll boost the effectiveness of your RA treatment by kicking the habit. Smoking hurt the effectiveness of most RA meds, including methotrexate and biologic treatments, in a 2011 study on nearly 1,500 people conducted at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden.
Arthritis prevention method #4: Boost your vitamin D.
A vitamin-D deficiency could increase your risk of RA.
“Vitamin D is a powerful antioxidant and hormone, and deficiencies can lead to a host of diseases, including RA and multiple sclerosis,” says Michael Holick, Ph.D., M.D., a vitamin-D researcher, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University and author of The Vitamin D Solution (Hudson Street Press).
Women who live in northern latitudes, which get less D-producing sunlight, are more likely to develop symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, according to a 2010 study conducted on 13,000 women at several universities, including Boston University and Harvard.
Another 2010 report, from Tufts Medical Center, noted that a vitamin-D deficiency has been linked to several autoimmune disorders, including RA.
And several other studies, conducted at Penn State University, Brigham Young University and the University of Genoa in Italy, found that women who suffered vitamin-D deficiency had an increased risk of inflammatory diseases, including RA, lupus, arthritis and Crohn’s.
What to do: The reaction of sunlight on your skin is the key source of vitamin D. Only a few foods contain vitamin D, including egg yolks, salmon, some mushrooms, and vitamin-D-fortified foods, Holick says.
If you don’t eat a lot of foods with D and/or you live in a cloudy climate or regularly use sunscreen (which blocks out most vitamin D), you should take a daily supplement, he adds.
The Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, recommends 600 International Units (IU) a day for women under age 71 and a maximum 800 IU for women age 71 and older.
(For more information, read Are You Deficient in Vitamin D?)
Arthritis prevention method #5: Limit caffeine.
Too much caffeine can do more than give you the jitters.
A 2010 study conducted at the University of Oslo in Norway found that heavy caffeine consumption increased RA risk, and a 2006 study conducted at the Danish Epidemiology Science Centre said the same thing about heavy coffee drinkers.
Interestingly, women who drank decaffeinated coffee also had an increased risk, according to a 2002 study conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
What to do: Cut back to three or fewer cups daily. Moderate caffeine consumption (about 300-400 milligrams daily, or about three cups of coffee) isn’t likely to cause negative health effects, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Prefer to cut caffeine out of your life altogether?
Don’t go cold turkey. Even light coffee drinkers can suffer withdrawal symptoms, while heavy drinkers could experience a killer headache, according to John Hughes, Ph.D., director of the Human Behavior Pharmacology Laboratory at the University of Vermont.
It’s safer to give it up gradually over several weeks.
Arthritis prevention method #6: Eat more fish.
If you’re not eating enough fatty fish, along with olive oil or nuts and seeds, you could be increasing your risk for RA.
The chance of getting RA was reduced by 20%-30% in women who consumed fatty fish at least 1-3 three times a week, a landmark 1990 study of nearly 2,000 patients at Scotland’s University of Glasgow found.
Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the inflammatory response, says study author Gail Darlington, M.D., a researcher with Epsom General Hospital in Glasgow.
What to do: Eat plenty of cold-water fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, including salmon, tuna, lake trout, herring and mackerel – or else take 1-2 grams of fish-oil supplements per day. Extra virgin olive oil is another good source of omega 3’s, Darlington says.
Arthritis prevention method #7: Prevent viral infections.
“Several studies have shown that infection can be one of the initial causes of rheumatoid arthritis,” Molnar-Kimber says.
Some likely suspects include the hepatitis C virus, Epstein-Barr Virus, herpes simplex virus, human herpes virus type 6, cytomegalovirus, and parvovirus B19.
In a 2009 study conducted at Institute of Experimental Immunology at the University of Zurich, researchers found that viral infection often triggered autoimmune diseases like RA.
Infections were responsible for RA symptoms in about 20% of patients, a 2005 study at Finland’s Helsinki University Central Hospital found.
What to do: Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. When possible, avoid places germs are likely, such as public rest rooms, drinking fountains, public tables and shopping carts – or clean surfaces with antibacterial wipes.
“See your physician if you’re feeling ill, so infections don’t get out of control,” says Molnar-Kimber.
Arthritis prevention method #8: Avoid environmental toxins.
Scientists are investigating the link between RA and exposure to toxins such as man-made pesticides, organic solvents, compounds like formaldehyde, and heavy metals like cadmium and mercury, Molnar-Kimber says.
Exposure to insecticides was associated with the risk of autoimmune rheumatic diseases such as RA in postmenopausal women, according to a 2010 study at the National Institute for Environmental Health Science in Durham, N.C.
The 2009 Harvard study of 90,297 women found that those who lived within 55 yards of a large road frequented by cars and trucks had a 31% increased risk for RA, compared with women who were less exposed to exhaust fumes.
What to do: “Several studies have shown that rheumatoid arthritis patients have less ability to rid their bodies of toxins due to low levels of glutathione, a protein produced by your liver that plays a key role in neutralizing [harmful] substances in the body,” Molnar-Kimber says.
To beef up your glutathione activity, take a glutathione supplement; an amino acid called L-carnitine may also help raise levels. Also eat foods rich in antioxidants, such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, prunes, beans and pecans, which help repair cell damage, she says.
MY THOUGHTS
I think I may be at risk. This runs in the family. I hate beans. But I love all those berries. Better go see a doctor first.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
DO YOU HAVE ASTHMA?
Question: How Do I Know If I Have Asthma?
Answer:
While the typical person is diagnosed with asthma in early childhood, you can develop asthma at any age. Anyone with one or a combination of the following symptoms could have asthma:
Cough - often with symptoms worsening at night
Wheezing
Chest tightness
Decreased ability to perform normal activities
Frequent nighttime awakenings or symptoms
If you have any of these symptoms, you may want to discuss asthma with your healthcare provider. Asthma can sometimes be difficult to diagnose as the symptoms mentioned above can occur in diseases other than asthma.
MY THOUGHTS
So, do you think you should make a trip to your doctor's office?
Answer:
While the typical person is diagnosed with asthma in early childhood, you can develop asthma at any age. Anyone with one or a combination of the following symptoms could have asthma:
Cough - often with symptoms worsening at night
Wheezing
Chest tightness
Decreased ability to perform normal activities
Frequent nighttime awakenings or symptoms
If you have any of these symptoms, you may want to discuss asthma with your healthcare provider. Asthma can sometimes be difficult to diagnose as the symptoms mentioned above can occur in diseases other than asthma.
MY THOUGHTS
So, do you think you should make a trip to your doctor's office?
Thursday, May 5, 2011
CAN JUNK FOOD CAUSE CANCER?
Can Junk Food Cause Cancer?
The new documentary Forks Over Knives claims that a diet of processed foods and junk food is to blame for most major diseases
Jill Provost ON May 4, 2011 at 11:19AM
Just when you think you’re living a healthy lifestyle, a documentary like Forks Over Knives comes along to shatter all of your healthier-than-thou notions. Forget patting yourself on the back for adding more fish, olive oil and low-fat dairy to your diet. If you really want to prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes and just about every other major disease in the developed world, you should be forsaking meat, dairy, sugar and refined or processed foods, say the doctors and researchers in this documentary, which opens in theaters Friday, May 6.
This isn’t just a matter of opinion, say the filmmakers Lee Fulkerson and Brian Wendel. Like an elaborate (vegan) feast, Forks Over Knives lays out all of the scientific evidence that they say proves our diet is killing us. Among them: A study where researchers could turn cancer on and off by adding or removing animal protein from the subjects’ diets. It’s not your genes, it’s not the BPA in your plastics and it’s not the pesticides in your produce, they say. It’s our love affair with meat, sugar and dairy.
The stats that film assails us with are frightening: Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. Fifty percent of us are on at least one prescription medication. The U.S. spends $2.2 trillion on healthcare -- five times as much as we do on defense. One out of three of us will get diabetes –- the same number will die of heart disease. Men in this country have a 47 percent chance of getting cancer; women have a 38 percent chance.
Forks Over Knives profiles, among others, two renowned experts -- Caldwell Esselstyn, M.D., director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Reversal Program at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, and T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., a pioneering nutrition researcher and author of The China Study. A former cardiovascular surgeon, Esselstyn now focuses on reversing heart disease in his patients through a plant-based, whole foods diet. In the documentary, he claims that heart disease is a toothless paper tiger -- it doesn’t even have to exist. Patients have come to him when, after bypasses failed, they were told they wouldn’t live through the year. By limiting them to whole grains, fruit, vegetables and legumes, Esselstyn not only kept many alive for decades, but halted their heart disease as well.
If this diet sounds too extreme for you, consider Dr. Esselstyn’s retort. “With the Western diet, there are going to be half a million people in this country this year who will have to have the front half of their body divided, their heart exposed. Some people would call that extreme,” he says.
According to Esselstyn, autopsies on 18-34-year-old Americans who died in accidents revealed that everyone over 20 has heart disease -- not enough to trigger a heart attack, but the arteries are already damaged. Compare that to rural China, where residents eat mainly plants. There, heart disease is non-existent.
“We know there are certain foods that every time they pass our lips, they will injure our blood vessels,” says Esselstyn. By eliminating those foods, the body has a remarkable capacity to repair itself and stop, or even reverse, heart disease,” he says. “Everybody who’s been eating the western diet has this disease. So one really is left with the personal decision of, ‘Do I continue to eat foods that will grow my disease, or should I stop the disease now in its tracks?’ Nutrition trumps everything. There is nothing more powerful to our health than food.”
Since watching Forks Over Knives last week, I have been struggling hard with this personal choice. I don’t want to give up meat, fish and oils -- I love sushi and cheese and the occasional slab of steak -- but I do know that I can cut back. Yesterday, I bypassed the meat section of the supermarket and filled my cart with tofu, seitan and quinoa instead. I’ve been eating homemade “oatmeal” each morning, made with wild rice, barley, steel-cut oats and dried fruit. I’ve been snacking on homemade kale and apple chips all week. I enjoy these foods, feel good about my choices and don’t feel deprived. But then again, I haven’t given up meat, and I don’t see myself going vegan any time soon, unless my health demands it. I realize that continuing to eat these foods is a bit like playing Russian roulette. But I like to think that adding as many fruits, vegetables and whole grains to my diet as I can is also a bit like donning an (admittedly untested) bullet-resistant vest.
Read More http://www.ivillage.com/can-junk-food-cause-cancer/4-a-346282#ixzz1LXltrV7t
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MY THOUGHTS
I can live without meat. I cannot live without bread. Was there any mention of bread?
The new documentary Forks Over Knives claims that a diet of processed foods and junk food is to blame for most major diseases
Jill Provost ON May 4, 2011 at 11:19AM
Just when you think you’re living a healthy lifestyle, a documentary like Forks Over Knives comes along to shatter all of your healthier-than-thou notions. Forget patting yourself on the back for adding more fish, olive oil and low-fat dairy to your diet. If you really want to prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes and just about every other major disease in the developed world, you should be forsaking meat, dairy, sugar and refined or processed foods, say the doctors and researchers in this documentary, which opens in theaters Friday, May 6.
This isn’t just a matter of opinion, say the filmmakers Lee Fulkerson and Brian Wendel. Like an elaborate (vegan) feast, Forks Over Knives lays out all of the scientific evidence that they say proves our diet is killing us. Among them: A study where researchers could turn cancer on and off by adding or removing animal protein from the subjects’ diets. It’s not your genes, it’s not the BPA in your plastics and it’s not the pesticides in your produce, they say. It’s our love affair with meat, sugar and dairy.
The stats that film assails us with are frightening: Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. Fifty percent of us are on at least one prescription medication. The U.S. spends $2.2 trillion on healthcare -- five times as much as we do on defense. One out of three of us will get diabetes –- the same number will die of heart disease. Men in this country have a 47 percent chance of getting cancer; women have a 38 percent chance.
Forks Over Knives profiles, among others, two renowned experts -- Caldwell Esselstyn, M.D., director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Reversal Program at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, and T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., a pioneering nutrition researcher and author of The China Study. A former cardiovascular surgeon, Esselstyn now focuses on reversing heart disease in his patients through a plant-based, whole foods diet. In the documentary, he claims that heart disease is a toothless paper tiger -- it doesn’t even have to exist. Patients have come to him when, after bypasses failed, they were told they wouldn’t live through the year. By limiting them to whole grains, fruit, vegetables and legumes, Esselstyn not only kept many alive for decades, but halted their heart disease as well.
If this diet sounds too extreme for you, consider Dr. Esselstyn’s retort. “With the Western diet, there are going to be half a million people in this country this year who will have to have the front half of their body divided, their heart exposed. Some people would call that extreme,” he says.
According to Esselstyn, autopsies on 18-34-year-old Americans who died in accidents revealed that everyone over 20 has heart disease -- not enough to trigger a heart attack, but the arteries are already damaged. Compare that to rural China, where residents eat mainly plants. There, heart disease is non-existent.
“We know there are certain foods that every time they pass our lips, they will injure our blood vessels,” says Esselstyn. By eliminating those foods, the body has a remarkable capacity to repair itself and stop, or even reverse, heart disease,” he says. “Everybody who’s been eating the western diet has this disease. So one really is left with the personal decision of, ‘Do I continue to eat foods that will grow my disease, or should I stop the disease now in its tracks?’ Nutrition trumps everything. There is nothing more powerful to our health than food.”
Since watching Forks Over Knives last week, I have been struggling hard with this personal choice. I don’t want to give up meat, fish and oils -- I love sushi and cheese and the occasional slab of steak -- but I do know that I can cut back. Yesterday, I bypassed the meat section of the supermarket and filled my cart with tofu, seitan and quinoa instead. I’ve been eating homemade “oatmeal” each morning, made with wild rice, barley, steel-cut oats and dried fruit. I’ve been snacking on homemade kale and apple chips all week. I enjoy these foods, feel good about my choices and don’t feel deprived. But then again, I haven’t given up meat, and I don’t see myself going vegan any time soon, unless my health demands it. I realize that continuing to eat these foods is a bit like playing Russian roulette. But I like to think that adding as many fruits, vegetables and whole grains to my diet as I can is also a bit like donning an (admittedly untested) bullet-resistant vest.
Read More http://www.ivillage.com/can-junk-food-cause-cancer/4-a-346282#ixzz1LXltrV7t
Sign up for iVillage Special Offers
MY THOUGHTS
I can live without meat. I cannot live without bread. Was there any mention of bread?
Monday, May 2, 2011
HEALTH TIP ON A BAD BACK
Get Back at a Bad Back
YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
By The Lifescript Editorial Staff
Published May 01, 2011
www.lifescript.com
Ever wonder where your back problems came from? You put undue stress on your lower back (lumbar spine) when you lean forward over your computer keyboards, sit hunched at your desk, slouch in the car, and bend at the waist to pick up your kids.
For the sake of your back, and the body that it supports, get familiar with back-saving techniques. The 3 rules of lifting are:
1. Keep objects close to your body
2. Move your feet instead of twisting at the waist (whether it’s to grab or set down objects)
3. Keep your spine in a neutral position.
Also, never reach for something that’s out of reach – use a step stool instead. And when you can, walk instead of drive, stand instead of sit, and always use good posture.
MY THOUGHTS
Simple enough, right/ And yet we don't take notice-until it's too late. Or almost.
YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
By The Lifescript Editorial Staff
Published May 01, 2011
www.lifescript.com
Ever wonder where your back problems came from? You put undue stress on your lower back (lumbar spine) when you lean forward over your computer keyboards, sit hunched at your desk, slouch in the car, and bend at the waist to pick up your kids.
For the sake of your back, and the body that it supports, get familiar with back-saving techniques. The 3 rules of lifting are:
1. Keep objects close to your body
2. Move your feet instead of twisting at the waist (whether it’s to grab or set down objects)
3. Keep your spine in a neutral position.
Also, never reach for something that’s out of reach – use a step stool instead. And when you can, walk instead of drive, stand instead of sit, and always use good posture.
MY THOUGHTS
Simple enough, right/ And yet we don't take notice-until it's too late. Or almost.
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