John Arts Abundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz

What do fat, cartilage, bone and blood have in common? Surprisingly they are all classified as connective tissue. The connective tissue that causes us the most grief is the cartilage in the discs of our vertebrae and the padding in our knees and hips.

The main purpose of cartilage is to prevent bone on bone contact while providing cushioning and support for the joint. Cartilage is a matting of fibrous tissue generated by cells called chondrocytes. These specialised cells are responsible for forming and holding the cartilage matrix together including the collagen fibres that provide cartilage with its strength and cushioning ability.

Though cartilage is very tough its major weakness is it takes a long time to repair if damaged by accidents or disease such as osteoarthritis. If the damage is caused by free radical damage to joint cells this can cause osteoarthritis which is a little like cartilage rust – slow at first but eventually can thin cartilage to where bones contact bone and yes it hurts! The slowness of repair is caused by there being relatively few cartilage forming cells and that the lack of direct blood supply.

Cartilage is very susceptible to unwanted inflammation. The 'itis” in 'arthritis” just means inflammation. When cartilage is damaged through trauma or disease white blood cells in cartilage increase the production of various inflammatory chemicals. This is the first stage of healing and is needed before tissue starts to regrow. The weakness with this system is when the problem is one the body cannot fix it leading to a permanent state of inflammation.

For those who like to adopt natural health solutions there are many compounds that are really beneficial to protect and heal cartilage. Firstly cartilage needs to be protected from corrosion caused by free radicals damaging joint cells causing thinning of cartilage. All the antioxidants play a role but the compounds found in grape seeds, acai berries and turmeric reign supreme as these have an additional anti-inflammatory function. Other important compounds are the Omega 3 fats EPA and DHA from oily fish and glucosamine and MSM. The real trick of course is to get these in the right doses and right combinations. If you cartilages are groaning they just may be sending you a nutritional SOS.