How much better can I be? (Part 2)

Despondency is a common obstacle to healing. The nagging thought that you will not be able to improve can affect our ability to make decisions. After speaking to so many people you get the feeling that some people are just stuck in their problem.

However my client files are full of stories from people who had the courage to try something different. Last year I helped someone really troubled by joint pain in her hands, feet and hips.

This had restricted her to the point that simple things like gardening were a challenge. To make it worst she had a lot of pain at night affecting the quality of sleep. She had been taking a traditional high glucosamine joint product with little result.

She had been doing lots of good things such as a diet high in Omega 3. While I made further dietary suggestions most of the benefit came from adding a high chondroitin supplement. A therapeutic level of high grade chondroitin is the single most important measure to improve comfort with arthritic joints.

While glucosamine sulphate is a precursor for cartilage, chondroitin sulphate is an actual constituent of cartilage. Research shows that adding high levels of chondroitin has many benefits for arthritic joints. The most important is that it helps to stimulate the specialised cells (chondrocytes) that repair and maintain cartilage. The benefits of high grade chondroitin are so profound that it is routinely prescribed by medical doctors in Europe.

Chondroitin Study

This study (https://ard.bmj.com/content/76/9/1537) compared high grade chondroitin with a common anti-inflammatory medication and concluded that it is so effective that it should be considered as a frontline treatment for knee osteoarthritis.

With my client we started at 1600mg of high grade chondroitin which also had 1600mg of glucosamine and 400mg of high grade curcumin (from turmeric).  After only a few months she had much less pain both in the daytime and at night and was able to enjoy gardening and other things that had become difficult.

I see healing a three step process. The first is to gather important information and an honest appraisal of the situation. We then create an action plan based on healthy eating, appropriate supplements and lifestyle changes. The third is re-evaluation to make sure that the client is getting the best possible results.

John Arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, Adv.Dip.Nut.Med.) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health. If you have questions or need help you can contact John 0800 423559.  You can email John at john@abundant.co.nz.

Please note that the health advice given through this column is for general educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any health problem. © John Arts 2019