Just when you think you are starting to get your normal life back your rheumatoid arthritis flares up again. Now you have to deal with the pain, inflammation, frustration, and discomfort of all your RA symptoms. You think to yourself “If only there was a way to prevent this from happening.” You begin to think about starting up your prescription medications again but you dread dealing with all the side effects and risks associated with them.

All you want is a safe and healthy way to control your rheumatoid arthritis without the having to deal with the additional things that come along with your prescription medications. What you and many may not know is that you can actually prevent and control your flare ups and protect yourself from joint damage with natural and alternative therapies.

Why Flare Ups Occur

You know what it feels when a flare up happens but have you ever stopped to think why it is happening? Many researches and specialists are now starting to question the reasons for flare ups and have found that one reason may be because of diet or dietary changes.

According to the Midwest Arthritis Center, how and what someone eats can greatly influence their arthritis as well as the frequency and degree of their flare ups. It has been discovered that people that lack vitamin C and other important nutrients tend to be more prone to frequent and painful flare ups. It was also found that those people that ate a diet that had plenty of omega-3 fatty acids had less frequent and severe flare ups. (1)

A second factor that the Midwest Arthritis Center says can influence the frequency and severity of flare ups can be your weight. It was found that those who are overweight or obese naturally put more pressure on their joints and muscles which in turn does cause more severe and frequent flare ups. (1)

A third factor that can influence flare ups is whether or not you have a fever. When you have a fever your body heats up causing more calories, proteins, and nutrients to be burned thus leaving the body without the proper amount of nutrients. The body does need the proper amount of nutrients to protect against flare ups and joint damage. (1)

Natural Ways to Prevent Flare Ups

You would be amazed of how many natural ways there really are to help you control your RA symptoms. Some of the more common therapies include acupuncture, meditation, diet control, exercise, and physical therapy. The best thing about these therapies is that there are no negative side effects associated with them or additional medical risks.

Natural supplements have also been extremely effective in preventing and treating RA flare ups and joint damage.

References:

(1) http://www.midwestarthritis.com/html/diet___arthritis.htm

Written by Mary Sanders for MicroNutra Health™

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 6:16 am and is filed under Rheumatoid Arthritis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.