Abundant Life with John Arts | abundant.co.nz

I’ve spoken to many farmers whose osteoarthritis started when they came off second best in an incident with livestock. Builders, mechanics, nurses and similar roles are also physical. We know that repetitive joint strain and trauma is a contributor to osteoarthritis.

There are also may people who develop osteoarthritis who’ve had more sedentary occupations. This indicates ‘wear and tear’ is not necessarily the reason for cartilage loss. An X-ray of a farmer or teacher with knee osteoarthritis look much the same despite significant differences in occupation.

X-rays do not show cartilage. All they show is the space between the bones. Cartilage is calculated on the size of the joint space. If wide, this means cartilage exists. If little or none, this means the cartilage has largely disintegrated.

It may surprise you that cartilage is not lost by wear. It is lost by disease processes. Cartilage is maintained by cells called chondrocytes. Each chondrocyte is responsible for maintaining a patch of cartilage. Chondrocytes are damaged by a combination of free radicals and destructive enzymes. Adding 800mg+ of chondroitin sulphate can be very effective because it stimulates chondrocytes to secrete cartilage.

Nutritional therapy for osteoarthritis can be very effective. Last year I had a call from someone with pain from osteoarthritis in both his hips and knee. I started him on intensive doses of chondroitin sulphate (1600mg) glucosamine sulphate (1600mg) and 100% water-soluble curcumin extract (400mg). He noticed a difference within a few months and now reports significant benefits. Please email me if you’d like a copy of my osteoarthritis programme.

John Arts (Adv.Dip.Nut.Med) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health Ltd. For questions, contact John on 0800 423559 or email: john@abundant.co.nz. Join his newsletter at: www.abundant.co.nz.