(Excerpts from “Beating Arthritis and Beating Osteoporosis” by Dr. Rex E. Newnham.) 

The word ‘arthritis’ comes from two Greek words; ‘Arthro’ which means ‘joint’, and ‘itis’ which means ’inflammation of’. So the word simply means ‘inflammation of a joint’. The word rheumatism is more the layman’s term for the same complaint. In some parts of the world these two terms can be interchanged, but rheumatism is more related to Rheumatoid Arthritis, especially in America. 

Medical experts will say that by the age of 55 or 65 or 75 you will get arthritis, or that there is a 99% chance that you will. It is a well know fact that osteoporosis also occurs in most people over 70, and in many women over 50. This may not be arthritis, but it is a similar and closely related disease of bones. This certainly applies in most developed countries, but not in the more primitive countries. Sir Robert McCarrison showed in his book ‘Nutrition and Health’, that some tribes of the north-west of India enjoy marvellous health, right up to the age of 120 or even more, and this is because of the good healthy food that they grow and eat. Sir Robert McCarrison was Director-General of the Indian Medical Service, and did most of his work between 1920 and 1950. He gave the cause of the good health of these people to the fact that every bit of organic waste matter was returned to the soil. This gave good humus in the top soil, which in turn grew good health giving food so the people were all healthy. (1). 

Health depends on good nutrition and ill health or disease thrives on poor nutrition. So we are what we eat. Medical people expect us to develop disease at a certain age, so we can be sure that it is due to poor nutrition. In many cases it is the result of many years or a lifetime of eating certain things that may not give a proper balance in our bodies. Maybe a mineral or a vitamin was lacking or was unbalanced. If medical doctors would spend some of their time in the study and application of nutrition, then we could expect to be able to live a long life without disease. If medical doctors of today don’t become nutritionists, then the nutritionists of today will become the doctors of tomorrow. 

Because arthritis is so common a complaint in our society, it is essential that we know something about it. Without this information you are very likely to become a victim. Doctors are taught in medical school that arthritis is the normal result of reaching a certain age, and that it cannot be cured. They say they do not know what causes arthritis, and most accept this as being all truth that cannot change. This cannot be true as I have successfully treated patients from age 9 months to 95 years. We must distinguish between the various types of arthritis. I am a doctor of nutrition and just seek to improve a persons’ intake of good nourishing food and this includes supplements. 

There are nearly 200 different joints in the human body and they make it possible for you to move around, to walk, skip, dance and use your hands and arms. Each joint consists of two opposing bony surfaces, and these are covered with a gristle-like material called cartilage. The whole joint is covered with a capsule called the synovial membrane and inside this is an oily-like material called the synovium, or synovial fluid. When joints are damaged they can repair themselves like any other part of the body. There are over 100 so-called joint diseases or arthritic diseases. Some diseases show an inflamed joint and some just show wear and tear. In some diseases the inflammation occurs in the tendons that join muscles to the bones. Sometimes crystals will become deposited in joints, and sometimes it is the muscles that are inflamed. Some joints such as those between the teeth and the jaw bone do not move and these are fibrous jonts rather than synovial joints. The joints of the spine are cartilaginous in which there is a pad of cartilage between each vertebrae. There is little movement here but there is much strength. 

Some people seem to develop arthritis when they live in certain houses but not in other places. So we must look at the differences in such places, and it has been found that some people are worse when there is gas in the home, or when there are new carpets or new furniture, or new wood panelling. It has been found that household gas or chemicals given off from newly laid carpets or wooden materials do upset some people. This is an allergic reaction and very many arthritic people do have allergies. Other people may only have arthritis when they have been in the tropics and this has been traced down to parasites injected into them by mosquito bites or bites from other insects. So there are a number of things that can seem to bring on arthritis. 

Some other people know that they are better when away from home and eating things they do not normally eat, and this can be due to allergens in their normal food. An allergen is a substance that will cause an allergy in a person. These people are well advised to try and sort out and find what foods they could be allergic to, and to avoid that food. There are cases on record where children had runny noses and hives, both classic allergy problems. Then later in life there were severe headaches, severe fatigue, joint pains and asthma, not necessarily all at once, but they varied and were sometimes worse if driving behind a diesel truck or sitting on certain chairs. These are all classic allergy problems due to environmental gases. Is this a cause of arthritis or just another symptom of the whole body disease of which joint pains were just one symptom? 

References
(1)McCarrison, Sir Robert, Nutrition and Health. Faber & Faber, London, 1964.