Spotlight on Arthritis

Osteoarthritis is simple wear and tear on any joint that becomes stiff, sore and swollen after use. It usually affects unrelated joints throughout the body and is common in the fingers, knees, hips and back. At its worst, it may require the joint to be completely replaced. Rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition, has a completely different cause. Here the body systematically attacks the joints affecting both sides of the body equally. It will often begin in the fingers or toes and work towards the trunk of the body.

For me, one of the cornerstones of treatment of any illness will always be to look at the diet. It is important to remember that the body doesn’t know the difference between medicine and food, and that our greatest sphere of influence is always through what we eat and drink. In the clinic, I find that reducing the acidity of a person’s diet can often be beneficial because it can help to reduce inflammation in the joints and this has a positive effect on pain levels. In fact, in the case of osteoarthritis, reducing acidity and increasing the amount of water a person drinks can often be enough for the earliest stages of stiffness and swelling.

When I talk to patients about how this I usually ask them to remember that the body can only process a certain amount of acid in a day – the rest is stored away and can promote inflammation.

So I ask them to stick my list of acidic foods on their fridge door and try to only to have one of the items on it a day. Often I find that patients may have a very healthy, Mediterranean style diet, but that the amount of tomato-based dishes, citrus fruit or shellfish is just too much for their bodies. Once they have avoided the worst offenders and their bodies have a chance to offload some acidity, they often find that their symptoms improve. I’m also careful to explain that eating the odd tomato might be tolerable for them, but that cooking with tomato paste, or eating tomato soup would be too much. Likewise with oranges – the occasional one is fine, but I urge them to avoid orange juice which would be much more acid for the body to work through. Many people are surprised to know that pork is considered to be acidic and of course the more cured it is the higher the acidity. Shellfish is the one that people often don’t know about and can add to the acid load when eaten often.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a serious condition usually requiring ongoing pharmaceutical medication. Joints are painful, stiff and will eventually become deformed. Immuno-suppressant drugs will often be used in the treatment and this means that the person is more likely to be unable to fight off common infections and viruses.

Once we’ve looked at the diet, which is important for any kind of inflammatory condition, physical therapies such as massage can help to reduce pain around the joint. Improving circulation to the joint, particularly if it feels cold and the pain is better for heat, is useful and the general relaxation offered by massage can help contorted muscles to function more effectively. Medicated ointments can be very helpful here including the judicious use of chilli (Capsicum minimum) which contains capsaicin, a potent pain reliever. Of course, you need to take care to wash hands thoroughly after use! Deep massage with essential oils of ginger and rosemary help to improve the circulation to the affected joint and ginger is a helpful anti-inflammatory. Epsom salts baths are also useful for pain relief if the arthritis is better for heat and the salts assist the body to detoxify.

Those us who are trained to work with herbs have a large number of allies to hand. Some of the plants I work with are available in over the counter preparations but others are strictly for practitioner use only. Plants with anti-inflammatory actions like turmeric (Curcuma longa) are certainly useful but turmeric is best taken as a supplement as it is not easily absorbed by the body so we need a lot of it. However, once levels are high enough it can offer pain relief too. It is possibly the only plant that I recommend taking as a standardised extract for this reason. For all others, as a traditional Western Medical Herbalist, I prefer whole plant preparations.

One of the simplest additions to a person’s routine would be nettle (Urtica dioica) which can help to remove excess uric acid from the joints to reduce pain levels. Drinking 2-3 cups of nettle tea a day can be enough to resolve mild symptoms. There is an old tradition of applying fresh nettles to the affected joint, however, despite anecdotal stories of success – including a school janitor who stuck his elbow in a bucket of fresh nettles and considered himself cured thereafter, it is certainly not something that I recommend doing!

Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) has gained in popularity in recent years and is readily available in health stores. Studies have shown that it can reduce inflammation and in two high-quality studies patients reported better pain relief than the placebo and fewer side effects than the pharmaceutical alternative. Devil’s claw can cause some heartburn in my experience so it can be given with a soothing herb such as marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) to avert this. As is usual for a herbalist, I would rarely use Devil’s Claw on its own but regularly use it alongside Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) where there is tendon inflammation and Guaiacum (Guaiacum officinale) as a general anti-inflammatory. Practitioners will also commonly use white willow bark (Salix alba) which contains the natural chemical from which aspirin was synthesised – salicylic acid.

While many of the suggestions above may be useful to anyone with rheumatoid arthritis, it is crucial that expert advice must be taken on to manage this complex condition. Anyone with an underlying health condition or taking prescription medication should seek expert advice from a properly qualified naturopath or medical herbalist before trying any new treatments whether that be supplements, herbal remedies or topical preparations. Happily, there are plenty of suitably qualified practitioners around the country.

For medical herbalists like myself, you can find your local person through the National Institute of Medical Herbalists: www.nimh.org.uk/find-a-herbalist

Pamela Spence Pamela is a medical herbalist, writer and presenter based in Scotland, UK. She is often spotted as an industry expert in the media, most recently Hello! Magazine and the Financial Times. She writes regularly for holistic health magazines, has written and presented her own BBC online series and has taught herbal medicine and ethnobotany internationally – from Russia to Germany, Italy to Uganda, the USA and across her native UK. She is the expert herbalist for Twinings Tea internationally and advises Deep Heat on product development. From her base in the beautiful West Coast of Scotland, she sees patients at her busy holistic health centre. Pamela teaches and writes for the Herbal Academy and the Betonica professional herbal medicine training programme in the UK. She is currently writing a book on aromatic medicine for publication in 2020.

Book Reviews

Hydrotherapy for Body workers, 2nd Edition Improving Outcomes with Water Therapies MaryBetts Sinclair

This is the second edition of a highly successful book, first published in 2008. Hydrotherapy is easy to incorporate into a CAM therapists practice and can provide additional well-being and relief for the patient. This book has been tried and tested in its first iteration but has benefited from an update. This new edition still introduces the reader to hydrotherapy, its effects and treatments, but it has been fully revised and updated. It is now highly illustrated in full colour and with many new photos and line diagrams. It includes of new treatments, extended coverage of the use of herbs and essential oils, new case histories, more review questions and handouts and increased coverage of hydrotherapy and pain relief. Hydrotherapy for Bodyworkers, Second edition is an excellent book for therapists wishing to extend their skills and practice beyond massage therapy and for those working in other areas of manual and movement therapy who want a better understanding of the benefits of hydrotherapy and how it might complement their practice and extend their skills.

£49.95 www.handspringpublishing.com

Vegan Foodporn 100 Easy and Delicious Recipes Bianca Zapatka

“Wow, that’s vegan?!” is the most common response to the photos posted by food blogger and Instagram star Bianca Zapatka.

Bianca’s recipes are completely plant-based and anything but boring. Her creations are a feast for the eyes and taste so good that they appeal to vegans and meat-eaters alike. Whether it’s vanilla pancakes with blueberry cream and white chocolate, burrito samosas with guacamole, tortellini with almond ricotta or chocolate peanut butter cake – in her extraordinary recipe book, Bianca reveals her 100 favourite dishes and shows how much fun vegan cooking can be.

With step-by-step pictures and practical tips and tricks, it’s easy to follow the recipes and create your very own foodporn!

£18.99 www.lotuspublishing.co.uk

How to Be a Well Being: Unofficial Rules to LIVE Every Day Andy Cope

This book introduces a new set of rules. Rules that just are. The authors’ challenge is to learn them, apply them and live by them because, best of all, they just work.

Sidestepping some of the unanswerables (What actually was the best thing before sliced bread? Why are there life jackets under plane seats instead of parachutes?) our intrepid authors take on the challenge of staying upbeat in a world that’s hell bent on knocking you sideways.

Written as a potpourri of quirky, interesting, challenging and counter-intuitive, the brand new rules of life are designed to be downright fun. The reader will learn:

· Why Monday is the new Friday · Why your smartphone is making you stupid · That we’re all superheroes, so stop pretending to be normal · Why being busy and being productive are two entirely different things · The absolute truth about money and happiness · Why it pays to have regrets · The importance of acting your shoe size rather than your age · How to take charge of your own mental health · How to flourish in a world that’s trying to beat you up

Be warned - don’t mistake their light touch for light content. The trio are deadly serious about happiness. Plot spoiler alert: ‘Memento mori’ - remember death. No more MESSING around. No more wasting time. It’s time to focus on what’s most important and take giant strides towards human flourishing.

£10.99 (Published by Capstone) www.amazon.co.uk/How-Be-Well-Being-Unofficial-ebook/dp/B08BTS1465 www.artofbrilliance.co.uk