Arthritis - Fish Oil Connection

For many people, it seems that arthritis is a condition of
ageing that one simply can not avoid. The aches and pains
of life simply catch up with the patient over the course of
their lifetimes, resulting in achy and stiffened joints.
But what many people do not realise is that arthritis is a
condition that can be controlled with various drugs and
supplements – leaving the patient to lead a healthy and
pain free life.

What is Arthritis?

Though some myths about arthritis seem to still pervade
common thought – i.e. cracking one's knuckles can lead to
arthritic joints – science has shown that there is more to
the story. Arthritis is a condition in which the joints
swell, causing pain, swelling, and stiffness. Some cases
of arthritis are linked with the amount of activity that is
done over the course of a lifetime, while other cases are
the result of trauma to the joint. Ageing is another
direct cause of arthritis. As the joints begin to weaken
from the years of use, the joints can become damaged,
leading to the inflammatory response.

The problem with arthritis is that it can lead to a much
lower quality of life for those affected. Instead of being
able to move around easily, these patients can have bad
days in which they area unable to move well, causing them
to stay indoors and away from activities they enjoy.
Arthritis can also lead patients to avoid certain
movements. And this lack of activity can actually make the
condition worsened.

There are many forms of arthritis that can affect the
patient:

Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Gout
Juvenile arthritis
Septic arthritis

It's important to note that some forms of arthritis can
affect juvenile patients as well as those not in their
later years. Rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile arthritis
can affect very young patients, but become a lifelong
battle of pain control and mobility problems.

How is Arthritis Usually Treated?

For most patients, arthritis is treated with pain
medications as well as medications that help to reduce the
amount of inflammation in the joints. By adding physical
therapy and other forms of activity as well, you can
increase the mobility of the joints without causing more
harm to them in the process.

In extreme cases of arthritis in which the joint is
severely damaged, the joint may need to be replaced
entirely. This is often seen in the case of damaged knees
and hips, whether the condition was hereditary to begin
with or simply a case of ageing.

For more aggressive and painful forms of arthritis, like
rheumatoid arthritis, patients may need to have IV
medications on a weekly basis to help control the
inflammation.

Are There Other Ways to Stop the Inflammation?

This is a question that may have asked in the beginning
stages of arthritis. To answer this query, scientists have
begun studying the body to see how the inflammatory cycle
works and how it can be disrupted. There has been some
success with anti-inflammatory drugs like prednisone, but
these can have negative side effects that patients do not
enjoy. Prednisone especially can cause bloating and
excessive weight gain in the patient, which can be
uncomfortable as well as damaging to the patient's mental
status.

A team of researchers at Royal Adelaide Hospital found that
fish oil might be a good supplement for those suffering
from arthritis conditions. Though they were studying the
supplement for its effectiveness on cardiovascular
diseases, they noticed that not only were patients having
fewer arthritis flare ups, but that they were also being
protected from heart disease. In addition, they were not
experiencing the same side effects as their traditional
medications and were able to replace many of their
medications entirely.

As an added bonus, these researchers have also indicated
that fish oil might work well as a preventative measure
against arthritis.

How Can Patients Get Started?

While the benefits of fish oil for arthritis seem to be
clear, patients will still want to talk with their
physicians before adding this supplement regimen to their
life. Fish oil can not always replace other medications,
however, but it might be able to increase the effectiveness
of the current therapies.

Even if patients are not ready to go for completely
supplementation, they can try adding more foods with these
essential fatty acids in them. For example, eating more
fish and fortified foods can help to boost essential fatty
acid levels. You might also want to try other essential
fatty acids like those found in flaxseed and nuts and seeds.

Conclusion

While science is beginning to link the benefits of fish oil
for arthritis, some patients may still be wary of taking
these supplements. However, it is clear that adding a few
additional sources of essential fatty acids to the daily
diet is a good idea when you have inflammatory conditions.
As the benefits become clear to the patient, they can
always move onto higher levels of these fatty acids in the
supplement form.

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Dave McEvoy is an expert in omega 3 fish oil EPA with over
20 years experience; for more information about fish oil
and how it can help come and visit.
http://www.mind1st.co.uk/arthritis-fish-oil.asp

Eating A Healthy Diet

Eating a healthy diet is one of the best and most important
things you can do for your body. It's your diet that
affects your weight and increases risk for heart disease.
You see it all over the news today. Maintaining a healthy
diet is easier said than done because it is too tempting to
eat less healthier foods, and supermarkets and fast food
chains don't help matters much either. Different people
decide to maintain different healthy diets because you
might follow a certain kind of diet while others just
cannot stand the food you are eating and find something
different. Health experts are here to help us in this area
to tell us which foods are healthier than others.

The Principles of Healthy Eating:

The main thing to know is what healthy food is and how you
should eat.

When following a healthy eating plan, you should remember
the following:

1. Eat a Variety of Different Colored Food

Remember that different foods have different nutritional
values. Food can be rich in antioxidants or Vitamin C. When
you go to do your regular food shopping, try and see what
different naturally colored foods you can pick up.

Down the fruit and vegetable aisle you should see greens,
yellows, oranges and reds. You should have as much of a
color variety in your shopping cart as you can. For
example, when picking out fruit, pick up strawberries,
oranges, pineapple, apples, blueberries and bananas and you
will notice what a large color selection you actually have.
This goes for vegetables too. So, basically, more color
means more nutritional value and a healthier type of food.

2. Eat Foods from All The Main Food Groups

The problem with many diets is the fact that they tell you
to cut certain foods from certain food groups, or out of
the diet altogether. When this is done, you lose important
nutrients and don't eat as healthy as you could be. So, the
answer to a healthy diet is to eat a variety of different
foods.

Generally, fruit and vegetables should make up the main
portion of your diet but you still need carbohydrates such
as potatoes, fish or meat and a little bit of fatty foods,
like flaxseed oil, which many experts recommend as part of
a good fat diet. Flax is very good and full of omega-3, the
good kind of fat. Diversion of all the food groups is what
is needed for a healthy diet!

3. Snack When You Need To But Do It On Healthy Foods

This doesn't mean that just because you want to lose
weight, that you'll have to skip your snack. In fact,
snacking can actually be quite good for you, just as long
as you are eating the right foods.

Usually, when we want to eat snacks, we "snap into a slim
jim" or grab a small bag of potato chips. But, if you want
to eat a healthy snack, then you will have to swap that
kind of snack for seeds, nuts, or fruits and vegetables.
That way you will get the energy you need as well as be
full until your next meal, and it will be completely
healthy.

Since only you know what foods you like and what you don't,
you really have to decide for yourself what your own
healthy eating plan will be. The afore mentioned healthy
eating tips above can help you to choose the best dieting
plan for you.

You don't need to deprive yourself of foods you love to eat
when you do it in a healthy way. Practicing a sensible
weight loss campaign is not just taking a diet pill - you
should strive for a long-lasting healthy lifestyle.

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If you finally do decide to switch to a healthy eating
plan, then Proactol can help you do this. Proactol is a
fairly new, clinically proven weight loss product that can
help you cut down your fat intake by up to 28% when taken
after food. For more information on Proactol, maintaining a
healthy diet and other weight loss tips, visit
http://www.NewWeightLossReview.com

Why diets and weight loss products never work?

Obesity, perhaps the most important nutritional disease in
the United States and in Europe, results, usually from
excessive caloric intake. Virtually all chronic
degenerative diseases that plague today's world are caused
or exacerbated by the deterioration of the modern diet.

It is vitally important that your diet include the right
types of each class of macronutrient:

-The right carbohydrates are either complex carbohydrates
or fiber, and have a low-GLYCEMIC INDEX. Complex
carbohydrates and fiber generally supply additional healthy
trace elements and phytonutrients, as well as energy.

- A healthy diet includes a variety of protein sources
including complete proteins, which contain all of the
essential amino acids.

- Beneficial fats are high in essential fatty acids and low
in saturated fatty acids. No more than 10 percent of your
total daily calories should be derived from saturated fat.

The glycemic index is a way of measuring the rate at which
carbohydrates are broken down and appear in the blood as
simple sugars. Those foods that result in a rapid rise in
blood sugar have a high-glycemic index. Carbohydrates that
are broken down slowly and cause only a moderate increase
in blood sugar have a low-glycemic index. Some
carbohydrates fall in between.

High-glycemic foods provide quick energy, but it is usually
short lived and hunger soon returns. Low-glycemic foods
provide greater satiety and sustained energy, which makes
eating less and losing weight easier.

High-glycemic diets also have been linked to obesity, type
II diabetes, insulin resistance, and heart disease.
Virtually all convenience foods and many meal replacement
and diet products on the market today are unfortunately,
high glycemic.3

It isn't necessary to starve yourself to lose weight. In
fact, consistently eating less than 1,000 calories a day
may actually slow down your metabolism and make it harder
to lose weight. You do, however, need to make smarter
choices about what you eat. When you eat high-glycemic
foods it can cause your body's blood glucose levels to
quickly spike and then crash, leading to feelings of hunger
sooner and seemingly uncontrollable cravings.

A better choice is to eat low-glycemic foods which keep
blood glucose levels more stable, helping to reduce
carbohydrate cravings, leave you feeling satisfied longer,
and control your appetite more easily.

In the nutritional supplements market there is a variety of
products that allows you to start a low glycemic diet.
Remember that in order to have good results in a weight
loss diet you most search for the best options in the
market of low-glycemic products and foods. After all it's
your health.

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Get more information about a 5 day's low-glycemic program
(RESET) that allows to loss weight at
http://www.facts.usana.com

5 Diet Myths

Excess weight is a common topic of discussion at coffee
tables, amongst friends, family members, at work... Let's
have a look at the most common weight loss myths people
believe in:

Myth 1: Food eaten in the evening contributes more to
weight gain.
Wrong: It is the amount of calories accumulated throughout
the day, but the time of the day you consume those calories
is of minor significance. If you were on low calories
during the day you can afford a dinner without worries.

Myth 2: To skip breakfast or lunch is good for staying slim
or reducing weight.
Wrong: It is a bad idea to skip breakfast as your cravings
for food will increase so much till lunch time that you
will probably forget all you have pledged and eat a lot
more than you should. The same applies to skipping lunch.
If you still manage to stay away from all snacks and sweets
during the afternoon but your hunger will be out of control
latest at dinner time. Thus you will add more calories than
you would with regular meals.

Myth 3: Five meals instead of three are a better way to
lose weight.
Wrong: It makes no difference how many meals you have a
day. Important is that you limit the total amount of
calories. If you have more meals it might be easier for you
to control hunger. But on the other hand, if you are having
a hard time to resist eating more food than you should, you
might be better off with three meals only. It is giving you
more control while providing less temptation.

Myth 4: The metabolism of people over 40 is slowing down,
thus putting on weight is unavoidable.
Wrong: True is that muscle mass gradually decreases with
age if people do not exercise. As a result, increasing fat
deposition develops a risk factor for your health. Regular
exercise can help you to prevent that. A higher age is
therefore no excuse for putting on weight. It only takes
more effort to keep up your exercise routine and maintain a
healthy level of fitness.

Myth 5: If sport activities and regular work out keeps you
fit and slim, so you don't have to care about your choice
of food.
Wrong: The number of calories being burnt during workout is
mostly overestimated. To burn 300 calories one has to swim
for 40 minutes. Besides that, somebody wanting to loose
weight has to burn the daily calories of the food eaten and
additional calories from stored fat cells. That's a hell of
a task. One kilo of fat is equal to 7000 calories. To burn
such an amount one will have to work out on his home
trainer for 12 hours. This means, losing weight merely
through exercise is hardly achievable. But it is important
to maintain a regular exercise routine. It helps you to
build up muscle and increase metabolism, which in return
burns more calories. Besides this you will also feel a lot
better. But there is no way around limiting your calorie
intake. A combination of both will bring you a step closer
to your goal.

One last word: Most weight loss efforts collapse quite
quickly because people set unrealistic goals. Go for small
steps, easy to achieve and a glitch once in a while is
nothing bad. Just get back on track and never give up!

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Rudy Tiefnig, is an expert in the area of fitness and diet,
creating nutrition and diet plans for fitness and weight
loss and guiding people to achieve a fit, slim and healthy
body. To read more, go to: http://www.fit-slim-healthy.com