Arthritis–18 Tips and Tricks

18 Natural Tips-Tricks for Arthritis

By Dr. Denice Moffat

There are lots of herbs and supplements on the market for arthritis.  Over the years I have found a few basic herbs/supplements for Arthritis that work better than all of the fancy combinations that come out every month. Here they are:

• Glucosamine Sulfate—specifically the Integrative Therapeutics brand. It’s time released and very pure and works a great deal better than any other brand (so my clients tell me.)
• MSM– Works well when the body needs it for humans and dogs, cats do not tolerate this product very well. If the body is showing sulfur deficiency signs, this is probably a great choice.
• Knox Gelatin, plain—a supportive supplement, but not effective enough to use as the only supplement.  A good choice if your nails and hair are thin and weak.  Dose: One-two packets/day in juice
• Burdock Root (Arctium lappa):  Helps take calcium out of the little bone spurs and put it back to where it should be. This is a long term thing, but a good one.  Good choice if there are liver challenges as well such as glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, anger and resentment issues, cancer or alcohol consumption.
• Turmeric (Curcuma longa): The active ingredient of Turmeric is Cucurmin which is very penetrating for rheumatoid arthritis. has long been used as a powerful anti-inflammatory in both the Chinese and Indian systems of medicine. It is an antioxidant that is 150 times stronger than Vitamin C and is also used in cancer therapies. I would use this if you have some of these other symptoms: including flatulence, jaundice, menstrual difficulties, bloody urine, hemorrhage, toothache, bruises, chest pain, and colic. Turmeric comes in capsules filled with powder, in bulk (it is used as a spice in many kitchens) and as a liquid-filled capsule. The dose is 3-6 capsules per day.
• Wobenzym: These enzymes are kind of spendy, but I hear they work well. Wobenzym is the most thoroughly researched systemic enzyme supplement available to support your good health.
• Yucca root (Yucca aloifolia) capsules:  Great for inflammation and swelling associated with arthritis.
• Frankincense (Boswellia carteri): Ayurvedic practitioners use this in arthritis for its pain-killing and antibacterial effects.
• Celery Seed powder (Apium graveolens): Helps break down bone spurs over time (like months to years.)
• Baldrain Plus is a special preparation of valerian root that is in coated tablet form. It is pretty effective for low back pain. I don’t know why it’s more effective than plain old valerian in a capsule. (It smells better than regular valerian, too!)
• Digestive enzymes such as Bromelain and papain are also very good for arthritis cases as many times the core cause of arthritis is poor digestion and absorption of food over a very long period of time. You can get these from foods (fresh pineapple and papaya) or in capsule and pill form. Papaya enzyme tablets are very cheap and taste great. Several with each meal are sometimes needed—especially if the meal has a combination of several types of foods.
• I have a special formula for old dogs, which I call my “Old Dog Formula” that works well for humans as well. It contains equal parts of Yucca, Siberian Ginseng and Ginkgo biloba.  Makes an old dog new.

Also essential for minimizing arthritic pain:

• Exercise is very helpful in keeping the lymphatics moving and the joint fluids thin and lubricating. Swimming and water aerobics and hot tubbing are all good as these types of activities take the stress off the joints while allowing the muscles to work.
• Water—Drink lots of pure, unchlorinated water.
• Castor oil and clay packs can be used for drawing out toxins from spot places on the body.
• Essential Fatty Acids to the diet through fish oils, nuts, and flax seed oil. If you want to take a supplemental oil, I would recommend Udo’s Choice Oil Blend. It seems to work better than some of the other oil supplements.
• Eating for your blood type (https://dadamo.com) will lessen the inflammation and increase the detoxification.
• Magnetic Therapy: Get whatever you can afford including a magnetic mattress, appropriate joint wraps, spot magnets, and super mini magnets by Nikken—their magnetic bracelet works great for wrists and hand discomfort.
• Minimizing sugar intake and cut back on coffee and sodas which rob the body of minerals.
• Regular massage is really great to move toxins. The best massage oils to use for arthritis according to Edgar Cayce (one of the original intuitive healers) are peanut and castor oil.
• Far Infrared (FIR) heat is very healing and penetrating for arthritis of all kinds. Do saunas, get some sunshine, or use FIR wraps.
• Keep up with a great diet which is high in raw fruits and vegetables and cooked vegetables.
• Toftness Technique: This is a very special technique done by some chiropractors where they have a little drum coated with a light layer of talcum powder. They rub the drum to find the muscles in your body that need balancing and when the drum stops squeaking, it means everything is OK. This technique is awesome for back pain and scoliosis and for keeping your body in alignment so that arthritis doesn’t worsen. You’ll have to ask around for a practitioner that does this as they do not always advertise that they do this technique.

The trick is to find the right combination for you or the person or pet that you love and stick with it. When a treatment or herb therapy works, it usually is a staple for your lifestyle for the long term.

Dr. Denice Moffat is a practicing naturopath, medical intuitive, and veterinarian working on the family unit (which includes humans and animals) through her phone consultation practice established in 1993. She has a content-rich website at https://naturalhealthtechniques.com