Synthetic vs Whole Food Vitamins - for Arthritis

I think everyone will agree that you need a degree in chemistry to read the labels on bottles.  What happen to plain whole nutrition supplements?  Well the companies found out it was cheaper to manufacture them in the lab.  What does this mean to us? These are called synthetic vitamins.  Synthetic vitamins do not perform the same way in the body as does whole food nutrition.  Synthetic vitamins stress the kidneys, and cause the body to take other nutrients from the body to make up for the isolated vitamins.

     Examples of Synthetic Vitamins 

Ascorbic Acid  -  It Is not vitamin C at all.  It is the outer layer of  vitamin C.  The body searches for the other factors and co-factors and enzymes to make up vitamin C complex and what can’t be used is secreted in the urine.                  

DL-Alpha -Tocopherol    AKA  vitamin E.   Read this article I found on synthetic versus natural

Whole Food Nutrition

Are extracted from vegetable, animal or mineral sources that have little or no processing.  For example, fish oil, garlic, kelp, and minerals to name a few.  This is a rule of thumb I tell my  clients if  you can’t say it don’t eat it.  The bottle should be easy to read and start forward with the ingredients.  No talc, propylene glycol, or mineral oil.  Those are just fillers and make them cheap to manufacture.  There is no requirement for truth in labeling with vitamins!   I have people come to me and say supplements are worthless.  They have been taking them for months a feel no better.   Right away I guessed where they bought them; grocery stores, discount stores and wholesale catalogs.   When you see 300 capsules for eight bucks, remember, you get what you pay for.  Do the research, pay the extra money and you will notice a difference.

Supplements for Arthritis 

Now that you have had a crash course in supplements this is what you need to take.

Rheumetoid Arthritis    Peppermint essential oil constitute some of the most effective treatments for arthritis pain. It has been studied for its ability to kill pain by blocking substance P and calcium channels*.  Where arthritis is caused by infectious organisms, such as Lyme Disease and Salmonella, essential oils may counteract and prevent infection, especially when diffused or applied topically.  Those oils are mountain savory, rosemary, melaleuca alternifolia and oregano.  These oils pass into the bloodstream when applied directly**.  MSM  is one of the most effective natural supplement for reducing pain.

Osteoarthritis    Natural anti-inflammatories ( chamomile, wintergreen) combined with cartilage builders(glucosamine/chondroitin) are powerful aids in arthritis.  Others would include omega 3’s and coconut oil. Calcium with magnesium, potassium is another good suggestion. And sulfur is another for pain it helps equalize the water in the cell thus helping with the pain.

Diet

Remember a diet plays a huge part in this detoxing the body is important.  For more information on diet please read my post on acidic diets and arthritis.    Enjoy your fourth of July  and remember  If you can’t say it don’t eat it!

*Gobel et al., "effect of peppermint and eucalyptus oil  on neurophysiological  and experimental algesimetric headache parameters." Cephalalgia 1994 Jun:14(3):228-34;discussion 182

** Oils referred to in this article are therapeutic grade essential oils and not essential oils from health food stores.  Please do not use essential oils on the body that are not therapeutic grade

Some information from this article came from Essential Oils desk reference by Essential Science Publishing

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