Natural Arthritis Remedies

I looked for natural arthritis remedies when I was caring for my Dad, but since then I decided that it would pay to research this deeper. Now, about ten years later, I'm finding symptoms of arthritis showing up in my life. I come back to this page for help, and see that I need to update it.

Too many people are suffering from rheumatism and arthritis, and I'd like to have some intelligent and helpful answers ready for them as well as for myself. One or two good tips could make such a difference, giving us relief from arthritic pain. Better yet, let's get rid of it!

So much money is going into prescription arthritis treatment, and a lot of that only compounds the problems and the pain. Natural arthritis remedies need to be brought front and center. The sooner the better!

First, some clarifications of the terms used. Rheumatism and chronic gout (the old-fashioned term) are really very similar, although the symptoms are different. Arthritis is the pain that sets in after an acute attack of rheumatism, or gout. Arthritis is another form of the same thing, and dear old Jethro Kloss was convinced they can be treated the same way.

Jethro Kloss story

An elderly minister came to him, all stiffened up and full of aches and pains. He begged Jethro to do something for him.

Jethro wrote, "I gave him an enema and some herbs to cleanse his system thoroughly. I put him in a tub of hot water, keeping him there several hours, rubbing his body while in the water, and at the last, gave him a vigorous salt glow, using half epsom salts and half common salt. I gave him several glasses of water to drink while in the bath, then gave him some herbs for his rheumatism. In a few days he went about his work." ( Back to Eden, page 20).

The Root Cause

What is the root cause of all this suffering and awful pain? The many different answers really boil down to this one thing; there is an obstruction of acids and waste material in the body of an arthritis sufferer. Being cold and wet connects with that obstruction like an electrical current or magnetic field, and pain begins.

Where do those obstructions come from? A wrong diet and a sluggish bowel which is not eliminating the poisons as faithfully and regularly as it should leads to your system filling with uric acid and poisons. They usually collect in the joints and bodily tissues, from where the organs such as the liver, kidneys and bladder are suppose to filter and cast off the sludge. When arthritis sets in it means these organs are failing in their duty. Ignorance, or feelings of helplessness lead people to accept and resign themselves to these small - at first - aches and pains, believing they will go away if they are just patient for a few more days. Or weeks.

Symptoms

What to expect or notice? Rheumatism and arthritis cause enlarged and painful joints generally in the extremities like hands and feet first. But other joints can get arthritis too. These joints look red, feel hot, and and are very tender to the touch. Most often, if not treated, they will become stiff, and eventually you get those gnarled, locked fingers and toes or hips and knees that are characteristic of chronic arthritis and rheumatism (gout).

For some people the pain of arthritis comes and goes. They have bad days, and then some days when the pain lets up. For others arthritic pain is constant, never letting up, and they either learn to live with it or take a steady diet of painkillers. Those painkillers can cause other problems. Eventually, the muscles near the affected joints shrink and wither and become useless. Exercise can postpone that. My Dad found that if he forced himself to get up and go for a long walk, his achy knees would limber up, and be more comfortable.

Natural Arthritis Remedies

The first occasional joint pain should be like a flashing warning light on the dashboard of our life. Unfortunately, most people wait until the pain is really urgent before they start looking for a cure or treatment. Usually they expect it to go away in a day or two. The longer you wait the harder it is to get that arthritis-producing poison out of your body.

In fact, the best preventative remedy would be to resolve early in your life that you will avoid all foods and drinks that cause such acids and poisonous sludge in your body. That means, avoid coffee, black teas, liquor, and anything cooked or baked with white (demineralized) flour and white sugar. Add to that list all greasy, fried foods and especially meats like pork and bacon. Do this even before looking for natural arthritis remedies.

(And I've been doing that the last 20 years or more - since I first learned this. But when I eat out, which is not that often, I tell myself one meal where I eat what others do won't hurt me. The next day or two, I can tell my digestive system is unhappy with me. Fortunately, I can usually restore my gut's good health in a day or so of self-discipline, and sometimes bowel cleansers.)

If you already have arthritis or rheumatism or gout, cut all those foods and drinks out of your life, but you will also have to work to cleanse your body of the toxic poisons already settled in there. As long as you are eating the twentieth century convenience or junk foods your red blood corpuscles will not be able to carry away the garbage alone.

Jethro Kloss adds in Back to Eden (p. 537) that you should also eat your food dry, that is, don't wash it down with drinks, instead chew it very well. This will stimulate your saliva and digestive juices so they can properly absorb the food you eat and turn it into something healthy for your body. This will also alkalinize your body - or cancel the acidity. If food is not properly digested, it turns into waste matter. That in turn, becomes toxic.

Kloss recommends a fruit diet for two or three weeks to help cleanse the body. One can add a potassium broth, French toast and mashed potatoes, if made very thin. A slippery elm tea is also very nourishing and strengthening. Go back to solid foods very gradually when done.

I have tried this and found this to work. I cared for my mother when she was dying and it was very stressful. Afterwards I was constipated, and had tremendous pain in my back and severe sinus headaches too. This kind of cleansing raw fruit diet for a couple of weeks brought life back into focus for me.

NOTE:

Helen has an even more Excellent and thorough article with arthritis remedies.

Another piece of good advice I have found is from Sherry Brescia of Holistic Bends in her book, "Great Taste, No Pain" - where she explains that eating fruit and vegetables at the same meal will make your digestion acidic and cause all kinds of problems. Sherry suggests a simple remedy; eat one or the other at a meal, but not at the same time. Allow 2-3 hours between the different foods groups. That works!

It's time to turn our attention to more natural arthritis remedies.

Additional Remedies

Kloss goes further to recommend high herbal enemas. I'm sure they will help too, but they are not so easy to do by yourself. We may discuss that another time.

Yet another suggestion is herbal teas. Using the same measure for each of these herbs, combine them together and mix well. Then follow the recipe. First you need a good mix of black cohosh, gentian root, angelica, columbo, scullcap valerian, rue, and buckthorn bark. How big a batch you have is determined by the measure you use. From this quantity, use one heaping teaspoon of the herbs to one cup of boiling water. Steep this and drink three or more cups per day. It is probably best to stick with just half a cup at a time at first, until you see how quickly and thoroughly these natural arthritis remedies work on you.

You can also prepare a poultice for specific swollen joints. A poultice is a thick, folded cloth with a paste of herbs smeared on it, and then laid down over the joint so the effects of the paste can absorb through the skin and to the knee or elbow or whatever. The poultice paste should have two tablespoons of mullein, three tablespoons of granulated slippery elm bark one tablespoon of lobelia, and a very small teaspoon of cayenne. Mix these well together and add just enough water to make a stiff paste. Spread that about a quarter of an inch thick on the cloth. Lay that cloth, spreaded side down on the joint. It will give off considerable warmth and comfort and ease up the pain for quite a while. Maybe a little messy, but this is one of the better crisis natural arthritis remedies.

Yet another natural arthritis remedy is a massage oil. Mix equal amounts of oil of origanum, oil of lobelia and a few drops of oil of capsicum. That latter is from a red pepper. If you don't have the oil, you can always sprinkle a tiny bit of cayenne pepper into the herbal mix. (You should still be able to count the specks with your eyes - that few). You can use this oil for massage at full strength, or if you want it to go a bit further, mix in some coconut oil too.

When you are looking for newer herbal remedies, or want to concoct your own, study up one these particular herbs and see that you incorporate at least some of them; bitterroot, buckthorn bark, burdock, saw palmetto berries, black cohosh, wintergreen, yellow dock, sassafras, scullcap, and bearsfoot. (Write them down on a little card and carry them with you when shopping for natural arthritis remedies).

Here's one more. I didn't know that bay leaves came from a bay tree, and that it also has berries. I have not seen bay berries, but apparently you can extract oil from them. A tea made from the bay berries, or the oil extracted from them, will also be a good natural arthritis remedy for relieving those aches and pains.

Just remember, it is not just the pain of rheumatoid arthritis you want to ease, you really ought to get rid of the toxins in your body that are causing the pain in the first place. If you can do that, I believe you will consider yourself cured of arthritis. Well, if you keep your bodily system fairly clean, that is.

Question is: how much do you want to be rid of arthritis pain? If you do, there are natural arthritis remedies out there.

Incidentally, I just checked my favourite online place to order supplements. Puritans Pride has several items that could help a lot for easing arthritis pain.




Aloe Heat Lotion I often keep a Aloe Heat Lotion tube in my purse, so that wherever I am I can apply a dab when I have an itch or pain. You'll find it in my Forever Living store!