8 Ways To Avoid The Flu Naturally

Taste the rainbowEating a wide variety of fresh, wholesome foods packed with powerful vitamins and minerals is the first step to ensuring a strong immune system. Vitamins A, B6, C and E and the minerals zinc, iron, copper and selenium are critical for maintaining strength and immunity. Make sure that your diet consists of a rainbow of fruits and vegetables to ensure that you are getting all of the necessary nutrients. Supplementing your diet with a daily multivitamin will fill the gaps where your diet falls short and should be an essential part of your health regime. During cold and flu season, increase your dosage of vitamin C for added virus fighting benefits. Should you still become sick, studies have shown that the powerful antioxidants in vitamin C can reduce both the symptoms and duration of the flu.

I’ll have extra garlic, pleaseCertain foods can give you an extra boost and should be factored into your regular eating habits. Garlic is known for its antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties and can prevent infections from taking hold and spreading. A daily serving of two raw garlic cloves will provide you with the bulbous herb's healthy benefits. Tip: To avoid offensive garlic breath, cut the cloves into smaller pieces and then swallow them with water or herbal tea. Follow with a sprig of parsley.

A mushroom a dayMushrooms have been found to increase production and activity of white blood cells, improving your chances of fighting off infection. Both shiitake and maitake mushrooms provide the biggest immunity boost.

Have a tea partyJump-start your immune system each morning with a fresh pot of black tea. While the healthy properties in black tea have been known for centuries, a recent Harvard University study confirmed its healing effects. The study found that people who drank five cups of black tea a day for two weeks had 10 times higher levels of the cold- and virus-fighting chemical interferon than those who did not drink tea. Researchers suspect that green tea has the same effect.

Run awayExercising for 30 to 60 minutes daily can give your immune system the extra kick that it needs. A study conducted by David Nieman at Appalachian State University found that people who walked regularly for 12 weeks had half the number of colds and sore throats as people who were less active.

Exercise is also a great way to reduce stress and its harmful effects on the immune system. It has been estimated that 90 percent of illness and disease is stress related. But don’t overdo it! Too much exercise can have the opposite effect on your immune system. Exercising for more than 90 minutes a day could make you more susceptible to the flu virus.

Sleep on itGetting a good night’s sleep is essential for the immune system to recharge itself. An overly fatigued body doesn’t have the necessary strength to fight off infections. With eight hours a night of solid sleep, your body will be ready to face a new day and ward off pesky invaders.

Lather UpA strong immune system should be able to combat the flu virus, but washing your hands frequently can increase your health odds even more. Use warm water and soap and avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes to prevent the virus from entering your system.

Avoid the flu shotAccording to Dr. J. Anthony Morris, the former Chief Vaccine Control Officer at the FDA, "There is no evidence that any influenza vaccine, thus far developed, is effective in preventing or mitigating any attack of influenza." When you also consider the toxic mixture of chemicals found in the flu vaccine, the decision becomes a no-brainer. Among the vaccine’s ingredients are such toxins as ethylene glycol (a.k.a. antifreeze), formaldehyde (a known carcinogen), aluminum (linked to Alzheimer’s disease and known to produce cancer in mice) and thimerosol (a form of mercury, the most toxic of all heavy metals). Thimerosol has had so much scrutiny in the past decade that it has been banned in all childhood vaccinations in the United States, yet it still remains in the influenza vaccine today.

This year the flu season doesn’t have to get you down. Take good care of your body and you will be rewarded with a lifetime of good health. And just think of what you can do with all of those unused sick days!

Dr. Connealy, M.D., M.P.H. began private practice in 1986. In 1992, she founded South Coast Medical Center for New Medicine, where she serves as Medical Director. Her practice is firmly based in the belief that strictly treating health problems with medications does not find the root cause of the illness. Dr. Connealy writes monthly columns for Coast and OC Health magazines, and is a biweekly guest on Frank Jordan's "Healthy" radio show. She routinely lectures and educates the public on health issues.


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/019194.html#ixzz1hlbnz2ls

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

by MBF physical therapist Kyle Hensley

In recent years, modern medicine has done a very good job at treating disease and dysfunction.  Dysfunction can simply be defined by the body functioning abnormally.  We think there will be a shift in healthcare to emphasize the prevention of these diseases and dysfunction before they occur.  It has been said that an "ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" and we value that statement.  At Medically-Based Fitness we want to provide an assessment to identify dysfunctions in movement that are either affecting your quality of life now or potentially will affect your physical ability in the future.

We believe everyone should have a minimum movement ability that is not age specific.  Those that deviate from this movement baseline are at risk for "wear and tear" or injury.  There are a few reasons why someone lacks minimum movement ability.  This could be caused by pain that will not allow a normal movement pattern or be related to the body accommodating for unresolved deficits after an injury.  Another way that someone may not possess normal movement ability is a modification or deviation from varied normal activities.  That may mean someone has deleted a fundamental activity from their "activity diet" such as rolling that infants and toddlers do all the time.  Another reason proper movement is lost is through improper strategies to accomplish a task.  An example would be abnormally hiking up your shoulder while reaching overhead.  An additional way we have affected our ability to move is performing the same activity over and over while excluding a "balanced activity diet".  Sitting all day at work then at home in the evening keeps your hips in the same position most of the day.  Habitually flexed hips over time will limit mobility into the opposite direction which is essential for normal upright standing, walking, and running.  Cycling is a great form of cardiovascular exercise, but the activity is not varied enough to retain/enhance proper movement abilities such as full squatting and single leg balance.  These people may also be susceptible to repetitive type injuries due to the recurring movement pattern.  A varied exercise program that includes individualized corrective exercises helps to achieve a minimum movement quality.  People who possess proper movement ability usually function at a higher level and are at less risk for injury.

We recommend everyone take part in a preventative assessment bi-annually to attain minimum movement ability and prevent unnecessary problems in the future.  We can help by using a movement assessment that will identify deficits in movement quality.  This information can be used to formulate strategies in the form of exercises to address these deficits.  If subsequent visits are required they can be scheduled as appropriate. 

100-year-old Honored

On behalf of MBF, we congratulate Trudy on a healthy 100 years, and for her service during WW II.
_____________________________________________________________________________
100-year-old Boulder woman honored for Veterans Day
Trudy Brendecke served in Women's Army Corps during World War II By Brittany Anas
Posted: 11/09/2011 09:23:02 PM MST


A voice pierced the silence of the Women's Army Corps barracks on an August night in 1945, announcing a rumor in the courtyard: "The war is over -- Japan has surrendered."

Trudy Brendecke, now a 100-year-old World War II veteran who lives in Boulder, remembers the initial dead silence. Then, pandemonium.

Women dashed out to the balconies -- some still wet from showers with towels hastily wrapped around them, others in pin curls and pajamas. For that moment, cheers, songs and celebrations interrupted the proper and orderly barracks.

Though it was just a rumor that night, the Japanese surrendered five days later, on Aug. 15, 1945. Brendecke wanted to cry and laugh simultaneously, as she imagined the tremendous numbers of American men who would be spared injury and death.

Today, in advance of Veterans Day, Brendecke will be saluted by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, for her service in the Army during World War II. The ceremony will be at the Golden West retirement home in Boulder, and Polis will honor veterans living there.

Brendecke served in the Women's Army Corps from Oct. 18, 1943, to Oct. 22, 1945, and was assigned to serve under Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the Philippine islands. Her division's offices were across from MacArthur's residence and office, and Brendecke remembers snapshots of him pacing back and forth on the veranda, smoking his corncob pipe.

"She has an amazing life story," Polis said. "She heeded the nation's call for defense. ... This is what Veterans Day is all about."

Polis said Brendecke's friends at Golden West contacted him to tell her story. He said Brendecke served in an era when opportunities for women in the military were limited.

Brendecke remembers that at an Army orientation, a sergeant snarled at the enlisted women: "We didn't want you, so you'd better do a good job."

She said they must have done so because her campground grew to house hundreds of women, and after the war MacArthur thanked women for their military service.

The daughter of Montana homesteaders, Brendecke was living in lower Manhattan in New York City in 1941, and, on the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, she was visiting with a friend in the Bronx. She listened to the news of the attack over the radio.

"Our country was at peace, and the unprovoked attack was unthinkable," she recalled. "One thing I don't believe the Japanese counted on was the unifying effect this would have on our country. From that day on, we were one solid nation with one thought in mind: to defeat the enemy. It was a rallying cry for everyone."
Brendecke had been working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and her job included granting permits to importers of foreign plants and fruits. But by 1942, her workload had slowed because the government started commandeering the merchant ships for transporting military goods.

Her older brother commanded a Navy ship, and two of her younger brothers served in the Army's engineer corps.

At age 31, Brendecke joined the Women's Army Corps.

She reported to basic training and then advanced training -- where the women went through many of the rigorous drills that the men did, including obstacle courses with low wires and mud, five-mile hikes wearing gas masks and learning to detect poisonous gases.

She was deployed to New Guinea and received orders from MacArthur's headquarters in Hollandia -- a picturesque region covered with rugged mountains on one side and a view of Lake Sentani on the other side.
Wearing skirts and short sleeves in the South Pacific was not allowed because of the mosquitoes and the risk of malaria. Instead, the Army allowed the women to wear men's pants -- as long as they removed the zipper from the front and placed it on the side.

Brendecke recalls the war in the South Pacific was staged mostly in the jungle. The Japanese hid in the tops of palm trees and would string jungle vines across pathways, then bury knives with the blades facing up so that when American soldiers tripped on the lines, they'd impale themselves on the weapons, Brendecke said.
The barracks where they stayed was a former boys' school destroyed by bombs. She could hear guns booming day and night, and it became routine to climb into the air-raid shelters out back. To this day, she turns up her nose remembering the bugs that lurked in the shelters.

In December 1944, a Women's Army Corps choir performed a 15-minute concert of Christmas carols that was broadcast over the radio in the U.S. on Christmas Eve. With the help of GIs, the women put on a Christmas party for 250 Filipino children that year --recycling socks, rags and parachutes to craft rag dolls for the kids.

In August 1945, Brendecke said, she was scheduled to move into Japan. She awaited her orders and had all of her shots when the war came to an end.

"I stayed in long enough to win the war," Brendecke said. "And then I went home."

She earned several honors, including an Asiatic-Pacific Theater ribbon with three bronze service stars, a Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one bronze service star and a good conduct medal.

Susan Sullivan-Lefton, an activities coordinator at Golden West, has helped organize the Veterans Day celebration.

"Not too many women can say they've served in World War II or that they've lived to 100," she told Brendecke on a recent afternoon.

"I'd prefer you say 50-50," Brendecke quipped. Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at 303-473-1132 or anasb@dailycamera.com.
Trudy is one of our participants at MBF in our Golden West Manor facility. ____________________________________________________________Camera Staff Writer

Happy Halloween!

The Claim: Candy Can Hinder Athletic Performance

By ANAHAD O’CONNOR from the New York Times Web site

Published: June 8, 2009

THE FACTS

Lamar Odom, the star forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, is known for his outsized love of candy, sometimes downing entire bags of chocolate and jelly beans on game day.

Last week, a doctor and Lakers fan wrote an essay linking Odom’s sweet tooth to his “erratic” and sometimes lethargic play. Odom countered that if anything the excessive sugar helps his performance.

But what do studies have to say?

According to research, candy before exercise can enhance performance, but only to a point. Studies have shown, for example, that when athletes eat a 180-calorie candy bar and then ride a stationary bike for an hour — sprinting for the final 15 minutes — they perform better than on days when they drink only water beforehand. But on days when the subjects eat a solid meal a few hours earlier and then have sugar before riding, they do better than on just the sugar alone.

Candy can be as efficient as healthier options like fruit, and because people typically secrete little insulin during exercise, crashing is unlikely, said Nancy Clark, a sports nutritionist. But candy lacks nutrients that are critical to things like bone strength and post-exercise recovery.

For best results, pre-exercise meals should combine protein and easily digestible carbohydrates.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Sugar can work as quick fuel for exercise, but nutrient-rich foods are better.

Exercise To Fight Cancer!

Article from www.news-press.com

Staying active can improve lives of patients, survivors

In the past, doctors told cancer patients to rest.

Not any more. There is a new directive and it's all about exercise.

The American College of Sports Medicine panel revised the group's national guidelines this year regarding exercise and cancer survivors. It officially wants them to move.

The group determined that exercise training is safe during and after cancer treatments and improves physical functioning, quality of life, and cancer-related fatigue. They concluded that cancer patients and survivors should strive to get the same amount of exercise recommended for everyone else, about 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise.

Exercise has a lot of benefits, said Dr. William Harwin, a Fort Myers hematologist and oncologist.

"A lot of these studies show that exercise provides a modest protection against breast, colon and pancreatic cancer," he said. "There is also some evidence it reduces the risk of recurrence."

Harwin recommends a regular exercise routine for all of his patients once they finish treatment, he said. He has seen first-hand how it helps combat fatigue and improves the quality of life for his patients.

"I'm a big believer in exercise," he said.

So is Sue Symes, 66, of North Fort Myers. She was diagnosed with breast cancer nine years ago and has been exercising regularly ever since. She attends Zumba three times a week, plays golf frequently, bowls with her friends on Saturday nights and walks two to four miles throughout the week with her husband.

"I know exercise relieves stress and stress is not a good thing, especially if you are a cancer survivor," Symes said.

Other exercise benefits for cancer patients and survivors include reduced fatigue. Aerobic activity has been found to lessen the need for drugs to increase production of red blood cells because of chemo damage. The loss of red blood cells is responsible for much of the crippling fatigue that people often feel while undergoing cancer treatment.

There's also a reduced loss of muscle and bone mass. Evidence has found that regular workouts can reduce the wasting away that comes both from the cancer itself and cancer treatments.

Although it is too early to draw any strong conclusions regarding physical activity and breast cancer survival, some studies have shown that women who exercise three to five hours per week after a diagnosis of breast cancer - especially those with hormone-responsive tumors - have improved survival rates compared with less active women, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Improving survival rates is a goal of a group who teach a class called Movin On!, a free exercise and movement program for breast cancer survivors sponsored by Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The gentle exercise classes are held in Naples, Cape Coral, Port Charlotte and Fort Myers. They are designed for those in any stage of survival or out of treatment for decades, said Claire Hauenstein, president of Lymph edema Resources Inc., which oversees the program.

"Energy level is a big thing especially for people with massive doses of chemo," she said. "You think your body is a mess and you will never recover. Exercise is a key to getting back to normal day healthy living."

Getting back to normal is exactly what Symes will enjoy as she joins more than 100 of her neighbors at Del Tura Country Club in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk this weekend. In 2006, Symes helped organize a dozen walkers for the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in Fort Myers and each year the group has grown.

Breast cancer survivors Gail Flynn, 63; Bonnie Paser Klos, 64; Louise Wilcox, 55; Connie Carter, 72; and Joyce Cuffe, 67 will wear their best pink walking clothes and move toward improved health. Carter plans to wear a pink boa and a pink bra.

"Exercise is good for you," Carter said. "But it's even better when you are surrounded by the most wonderful women in the world."

Exercise Can Help Keep Cancer At Bay

Written by

Liz Szabo

USA Today

From www.coloradoan.com

Exercise has given Lu-Ann Doria more energy, confidence and strength. It may also help her stay cancer-free, doctors say.

Doria, 57, began working out for the first time three years ago, after recovering from breast cancer therapy. At first, she was so fatigued she had to nap before dance class.

Now, Doria is exercising five days a week. She has tried step aerobics, a dance class called Zumba, even weightlifting.

"I feel like I can do things; before, I was talking myself out of things," said Doria, of Rye, N.Y., who works with a personal trainer at the YMCA through a joint program with Livestrong for cancer survivors.

And, even with rheumatoid arthritis, Doria said, "I sleep better. I don't feel stressed. Two weeks ago, I went to my rheumatologist, and she lowered my medication. She said, 'I don't feel any inflammation in your body. Keep doing what you're doing."'

Researchers have known for years that people who are active and trim are less likely to develop cancer. And survivors who exercise and keep a healthy weight are less likely to relapse.

Only recently, however, have scientists begun to untangle how staying active helps keep cancer at bay.

While exercise may not change the inner workings of a tumor cell, physical activity may change the cell's neighborhood - the surrounding tissue, blood vessels and immune cells - known as the "microenvironment," said Patricia Ganz, a breast cancer specialist at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"It's a new frontier for cancer research," said Pamela Goodwin, professor of medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto.

Healthy neighborhoods are as important to cells as they are to children, said William Li, president of the Boston-based Angiogenesis Foundation, which funds research in cancer and other diseases.

He compares a lone tumor cell to a "bad kid" living in a good neighborhood. Even an aspiring juvenile delinquent won't be able to cause much trouble if he's surrounded by watchful parents, neighbors and local police. Exercise helps improve the neighborhood, keeping cancers in check, Li said. Failing to exercise - and putting on a lot of weight - damages the neighborhood, making it easier for cancers to wreak havoc.

In particular, exercise helps to prevent chronic inflammation, a process that can fuel cancers by changing the neighborhood around a tumor cell. Exercise helps lower levels of both insulin and sex hormones, such as estrogen, which release growth factors that let tumor cells survive and spread, Li said. And, as Doria has learned, exercise also helps relieve psychological stress, which may further reduce inflammation, Ganz said.

But smoking, heavy drinking, being obese and eating processed foods all increase inflammation.

Doctors still have lots to learn, of course, and they're quick to note that many unknown factors may cause cancer.

"We don't want women with breast cancer to feel like they caused their breast cancer or that they caused it to come back," Goodwin says.

Still, doctors are discovering a growing number of ways the tumor environment can stop cancers before they start, or help them spread, Ganz said. Doctors already target the tumor neighborhood with drugs such as Avastin, which cut off a cancer's blood supply. Learning more about the microenvironment might provide new tools, such as drugs that curb inflammation to prevent cancer or treat it more effectively, Ganz said.

"The microenvironment, in some cases, may make the difference between a tiny little cancer that doesn't hurt you, and one that becomes a major danger to your life," said Lynn Matrisian, a cancer biologist at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville.

"It's an entirely new way of thinking about cancer," Li said. "The microenvironment actually protects us from cancer in ways we don't fully understand."

Hidden cancers

Scientists believe the body may be battling hidden cancers all the time.

With 10 trillion cells in the human body, "we are all developing microscopic cancer cells continuously," Li said.

Most of the time, these cancers never grow beyond the size of a pinprick, or grow too slowly to cause trouble; people who have them live long lives and die of other causes, Li said.

Autopsy studies, for example, show that most old men have cancer cells in their prostates, and most women have malignant cells in their breasts, even if they've never been diagnosed with cancer. And by age 70, virtually everyone has cancer cells in their thyroid glands, Li said.

Interestingly, while Japanese men also develop microscopic malignancies in the prostate, they are much less likely to be diagnosed with a noticeable prostate cancer, Ganz said. That suggests something about their lifestyle, such as their diet or physical activity, may keep their tumors under wraps.

There are many ways the microenvironment could drive cancer, said researcher Robert Weinberg, of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and a biology professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For example, insulin and a related protein, called insulinlike growth factor, can interfere with a cancer cell's efforts to commit suicide, Weinberg said. A cell's internal security system often goes on alert when cancer genes become active, ordering the cell to self-destruct.

Can exercise help lower cancer risk?

( From the Las Angeles Times)

Though working out and losing weight haven't conclusively been shown to reduce a person's risk of cancer there is some evidence that they are steps in the right direction.

March 07, 2011|By Karen Ravn, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Whether or not you drop pounds, you can at least get more active. Though the evidence that this will lower your cancer risk is inconclusive so far, there are encouraging signs.

For instance, in a study published in 2006, researchers considered the effects of a 12-month program of aerobic exercise. The participants were 100 women and 102 men, ages 40 to 75 years, all healthy and having undergone a colonoscopy within the last three years. Before the study, they had led lives of sedentary ease, and now half were asked to continue their normal exercise habits, such as they were.

But the other half worked up to working out six days a week, for 60 minutes a day, mostly on treadmills and stationary bikes. Men who successfully completed the program showed a significant lowering of two biomarkers associated with colon cancer risk — increased proliferation of cells in the lining of the colon and an extension of the zone where such proliferation takes place. For women, there was no change.

The study couldn't show that people actually reduced their cancer risk — it only measured signs that have been associated with cancer risk. But these signs pointed in the right direction.

Better news for women comes from another 12-month study of exercise effects, published in 2004. Participants — 173 postmenopausal women who were formerly sedentary and overweight — engaged in moderate-intensity exercise for 45 minutes a day, five days a week. The exercisers showed a decline in estrogens that have been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer — though only if the exercise led to a decrease in their percentage of body fat by at least 2%.

The difference between simply losing weight and losing body fat is critical, says Jennifer Klemp, an assistant professor of medicine and associate director of the Breast Cancer Survivorship Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Westwood. "You can be skinny and still be fat."

Some evidence for that comes from a 2006 study that looked at estrogen along with two other hormones that are known to be risk factors for postmenopausal breast cancer. Levels of these hormones were found to be significantly higher in women who had both a high body-mass index (29 or more) and low physical activity compared with women who were either of fairly healthy weight, active, or both. These results suggest that an overweight but active woman may possibly be at lower risk for postmenopausal breast cancer than an overweight couch potato.

How Common is Cancer?

Half of all men and one-third of all women in the US 

will develop cancer during their lifetimes.

Stay tuned for Cancer Awareness info  throughout the month of October!

Arthritis Education (Con't)

Info From http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002223/

Arthritis

Joint inflammation

Last reviewed: February 14, 2011.

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more joints. A joint is the area where two bones meet. There are over 100 different types of arthritis.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Arthritis involves the breakdown of cartilage. Cartilage normally protects a joint, allowing it to move smoothly. Cartilage also absorbs shock when pressure is placed on the joint, such as when you walk. Without the normal amount of cartilage, the bones rub together, causing pain, swelling (inflammation), and stiffness.

Joint inflammation may result from:

·         An autoimmune disease (the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue)

·         Broken bone

·         General "wear and tear" on joints

·         Infection, usually by bacteria or virus

Usually the joint inflammation goes away after the cause goes away or is treated. Sometimes it does not. When this happens, you have chronic arthritis. Arthritis may occur in men or women. Osteoarthritis is the most common type. See: Osteoarthritis

Other, more common types of arthritis include:

·         Ankylosing spondylitis

·         Gonococcal arthritis

·         Gout

·         Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (in children)

·         Other bacterial infections (nongonococcal bacterial arthritis)

·         Psoriatic arthritis

·         Reactive arthritis (Reiter syndrome)

·         Rheumatoid arthritis (in adults)

·         Scleroderma

·         Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

Symptoms

Arthritis causes joint pain, swelling, stiffness, and limited movement. Symptoms can include:

·         Joint pain

·         Joint swelling

·         Reduced ability to move the joint

·         Redness of the skin around a joint

·         Stiffness, especially in the morning

·         Warmth around a joint

Signs and tests

The health care provider will perform a physical exam and ask questions about your medical history.

The physical exam may show:

·         Fluid around a joint

·         Warm, red, tender joints

·         Difficulty moving a joint (called "limited range of motion")

Some types of arthritis may cause joint deformity. This may be a sign of severe, untreated rheumatoid arthritis.

Blood tests and joint x-rays are often done to check for infection and other causes of arthritis.

Your doctor may also remove a sample of joint fluid with a needle and send it to a lab for examination.

Treatment

The goal of treatment is to reduce pain, improve function, and prevent further joint damage. The underlying cause cannot usually be cured.

LIFESTYLE CHANGES

Lifestyle changes are the preferred treatment for osteoarthritis and other types of joint inflammation. Exercise can help relieve stiffness, reduce pain and fatigue, and improve muscle and bone strength. Your health care team can help you design an exercise program that is best for you.

Exercise programs may include:

·         Low-impact aerobic activity (also called endurance exercise)

·         Range of motion exercises for flexibility

·         Strength training for muscle tone

Physical therapy may be recommended. This might include:

·         Heat or ice

·         Splints or orthotics to support joints and help improve their position; this is often needed for rheumatoid arthritis

·         Water therapy

·         Massage

Other recommendations:

·         Get plenty of sleep. Sleeping 8 to 10 hours a night and taking naps during the day can help you recover from a flare-up more quickly and may even help prevent flare ups.

·         Avoid staying in one position for too long.

·         Avoid positions or movements that place extra stress on your sore joints.

·         Change your home to make activities easier. For example, install grab bars in the shower, the tub, and near the toilet.

·         Try stress-reducing activities, such as meditation, yoga, or tai chi.

·         Eat a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, which contain important vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin E.

·         Eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acides, such as cold water fish (salmon, mackerel, and herring), flaxseed, rapeseed (canola) oil, soybeans, soybean oil, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts.

·         Apply capsaicin cream over your painful joints. You may feel improvement after applying the cream for 3-7 days.

·         Lose weight, if you are overweight. Weight loss can greatly improve joint pain in the legs and feet.

MEDICATIONS

Medications may be prescribed along with lifestyle changes. All medications have risks, some more than others. It is important that you are closely monitored by a doctor when taking arthritis medications.

Generally, over-the-counter medications are recommended first:

·         Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is usually tried first. Take up to 4 grams a day (two arthritis-strength Tylenol every 8 hours). Do not take more than the recommended dose or take the drug along with a lot of alcohol. Doing so may damage your your liver.

·         Aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that can relieve arthritis pain. However, they have many potential risks, especially if used for a long time. Potential side effects include heart attack, stroke, stomach ulcers, bleeding from the digestive tract, and kidney damage.