Sunday, September 25, 2016

Water

12 Reasons to Drink More Water

https://www.unitypoint.org/livewell/article.aspx?id=7c514da0-0100-4dcc-afba-95712f7313be

Did you know drinking two 12 ounce glasses of soda every day for one month means you will intake 8,000 calories and 5 pounds of sugar? While fine to drink on occasion, high-calorie, high-sugar drinks, like soda, can cause an array of negative effects to your body and wallet.
Swapping soda for water is one of the quickest and easiest ways to stay hydrated and improve your overall health in both the short- and long-term future – and not to mention, it’s free of charge! Still not convinced? Check out these 12 other reasons to drink more H2O:

1. Lose Weight

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for weight loss, the basic formula for trimming your waistline is to burn more calories than you eat. As an aid for weight loss, water will help you to feel full more quickly, so you will eat less and shed the pounds.

2. Burn More Calories

Drinking more water can help you to burn more calories by regulating your metabolism, which is your body’s ability to convert food into energy. By drinking 17 ounces of water per day, your metabolism could speed up by as much as 30 percent.

3. Exercise with Ease

Skip the energy drinks – drinking water while working out is the ultimate muscle fuel.  High-intensity physical activity can cause you to lose water through sweat and your muscles to become tired. For a boost of energy, drink water to reduce cramps and sprains, and push you through that final set of pull ups.

4. Have Clearer Skin

Studies show that people who drink more water tend to have clearer, younger looking skin. Water works to hydrate your skin and reduce toxin-induced blemishes, resulting in a healthy glow even your best moisturizer can’t achieve on its own.

5. Flush Toxins Out

You may have tried the latest juice cleanse to detox your body, but what about drinking a refreshing glass of water? Water helps to eliminate wastes and toxins from your body by encouraging healthy digestion and transporting nutrients to where they are needed.

6. Prevent Headaches

Everyone suffers for the occasional headache, and oftentimes they are caused by dehydration. Instead of reaching for medication next time your head hurts, try reaching for a cold glass of water to prevent or alleviate your headache symptoms.

7. Have Less Joint Pain

Water works as a lubricant for your joints, helping to reduce joint pain and protect against daily wear and tear. In fact, drinking more water can help to eliminate other pain in the body by supporting your lymphatic system, a network of nodes, tubes, vessels and fluid that move waste from your tissues.

8. Save Your Kidneys

Your kidneys perform the life-sustaining job of filtering and returning to the bloodstream about 200 quarts of fluid each day, so taking care of them is important. Drinking more water may help to significantly reduce your risk for chronic kidney problems; it may even help to prevent kidney stones from forming by flushing out the buildup.

9. Protect Your Spinal Cord

Traumatic injury to the spinal cord can cause neurological impairments that cause life-long complications. To protect your spinal cord and other sensitive tissues, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests drinking an adequate amount of water.

10. Boost Your Productivity

Your brain and nervous system send out electrical signals to function properly. Having a regular supply of water will help to increase electrical functioning in your brain for clearer thinking, so you will feel more efficient and productive.

11. Stay Awake

While your morning brew may keep you awake temporarily, its caffeine may dehydrate you, and consequently make you more tired, in the long run. Fortunately, sipping on a glass of water with breakfast can awaken and rejuvenate you, too, by hydrating your body to increase its power to work to its full capacity.

12. Feel Happier

Dehydration can affect your mood and make you feel sad, grumpy and confused. Stay hydrated and feel energized by drinking the recommended amount of water (typically eight 8-ounce glasses a day). Water stimulates the flow of nutrients and hormones that release those feel-good endorphins you need to feel happy.

12 Reasons to Drink More Water Infographic UnityPoint Health - Fort Dodge

BEST TIMES OF DAY TO DRINK WATER.(INFOGRAPHIC)

http://healthytipsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Staying-Hydrated-Best-Times-of-Day-to-Drink-Water1.jpg?8dd330

Staying-Hydrated-Best-Times-of-Day-to-Drink-Water1

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Friday, April 29, 2016

Stunting

https://catatanseorangahligizi.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/stunting/
dikutip dari http://www.gizikia.depkes.go.id

UMUR SAMA,,TINGGI BADAN BERBEDA…..
  Mengapa stunting menjadi penting? Selain karena jumlahnya yang cukup tinggi di Indonesia, ternyata stunting menggambarkan kejadian kurang gizi pada balita yang berlangsung dalam waktu yang lama dan dampaknya yang bukan hanya secara fisik, tetapi justru pada fungsi kognitif .
Apa yang dimaksud dengan stunting dan bagaimana cara mengukurnya ?


Bila kita merujuk pada Keputusan Menteri Kesehatan Nomor 1995/MENKES/SK/XII/2010 tanggal 30 Desember 2010 tentang Standar Antropometri Penilaian Status Gizi Anak, pengertian Pendek dan Sangat Pendek adalah status gizi yang didasarkan pada indeks Panjang Badan menurut Umur (PB/U) atau Tinggi Badan menurut Umur (TB/U) yang merupakan padanan istilah stunted (pendek) dan severely
Dengan kata lain stunting dapat diketahui bila  seorang balita sudah ditimbang berat badannya dan diukur panjang atau tinggi badannya, lalu dibandingkan dengan standar, dan hasilnya berada dibawah normal. Jadi secara fisik balita akan lebih pendek dibandingkan balita seumurnya.


Bagaimana sebaran balita pendek di Indonesia ?
Pendek dan sangat pendek menggambarkan bahwa kita masih menghadapi masalah gizi kurang kronis.
Dari hasil Riset Kesehatan Dasar tahun 2010, walaupun prevalensi gizi kurang dan buruk telah mengalami penurunan dari 18,4% tahun 2007 menjadi 17,9% tahun 2010, namun kita masih memiliki 35,6% balita pendek. Prevalensi Balita pendek terdiri dari sangat pendek 18,5% dan pendek 17,1%. Penurunan terjadi pada balita pendek dari 18,0% menjadi 17,1% dan balita sangat pendek dari 18,8% menjadi 18,5%.
Kita masih harus bekerja keras mengatasi stunting ini, karena batas non public health yang ditetapkan WHO, 2005 adalah 20%, sedangkan saat ini prevalensi balita pendek di seluruh propinsi masih di atas 20%. Artinya semua propinsi masih dalam kondisi bermasalah kesehatan masyarakat.


Mengacu pada Rencana Aksi Nasional Pangan dan Gizi 2011-2015, sasaran pembangunan pangan dan gizi pada tahun 2015  yaitu menurunkan prevalensi gizi kurang balita menjadi 15,5% dan prevalensi balita pendek menjadi 32%, artinya sampai tahun 2015 kita masih harus menurunkan 3,6%.  Walaupun secara nasional belum mencapai target prevalensi balita pendek, namun sudah ada 11 propinsi yang sudah berhasil mencapai target yaitu Jambi (30,2%), Bangka Belitung (29,0%), Bengkulu (31,6%), Kepulauan Riau (26,9%), DKI Jakarta (26,6%), DI. Yogyakarta (22,5%), Bali (29,3%), Kalimantan Timur (29,1%), Sulawesi Utara (27,8%), Maluku Utara (29,4%) dan Papua (28,3%).
Apakah gizi buruk disebabkan stunting. Memang “Tidak”., karena prevalensi Stunting kita 35,6%, sedangkan gizi buruk 4,9%.Namun anak stunting bila tidak dipantau pertumbuhannya dapat menderita gizi buruk.
Bagaimana balita pendek berkontribusi terhadap prevalensi gizi kurang ?


Dari gambar di atas, kita akan tercengang melihat banyaknya anak pendek normal (25,3%), yang kalau dikaji berdasarkan berat badan menurut umur sebenarnya beratnya di bawah normal, artinya sebagai penyumbang underweight. Tetapi karena pendek, maka anak ini tetap dikategorikan normal. Bahayanya bila intervensi dan perencanaan kita berdasarkan berat badan menurut umur dan anak ini diberikan terus Makanan Pendamping ASI, maka dia akan masuk pada kategori pendek gemuk dan hal ini menjadi bumerang lagi buat kita, karena sudah menimbulkan masalah baru, yaitu kegemukan. Dalam gambar di atas terlihat prevalensi gemuk pendek (7,6%) hampir dua kali lebih tinggi dari normal gemuk (4,8%)
Bagaimana kronologis terjadinya balita stunting ?
Terjadinya stunting pada balita seringkali tidak disadari, dan setelah dua tahun  baru terlihat ternyata balita tersebut pendek Masalah gizi yang kronis pada balita disebabkan oleh asupan gizi yang kurang dalam waktu yang cukup lama akibat orang tua/keluarga tidak tahu atau belum sadar untuk memberikan makanan yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan gizi anaknya. Riskesdas 2010 menemukan bahwa ada 21,5% balita usia 2-4 tahun yang mengonsumsi energi di bawah kebutuhan minimal dan 16% yang mengonsumsi protein di bawah kebutuhan minimal. Dan bila ini berlangsung dalam waktu lama, maka akan mengganggu pertumbuhan berat dan tinggi badan.
Pada ibu hamil juga terdapat 44,4% yang mengonsumsi energi di bawah kebutuhan minimal dan 49,5% wanita hamil yang mengonsumsi protein di bawah kebutuhan minimal yang berdampak pada terhambatnya pertumbuhan janin yang dikandungnya.
Selain asupan yang kurang, seringnya anak sakit juga menjadi penyebab terjadinya gangguan pertumbuhan. Sanitasi lingkungan mempengaruhi tumbuh kembang anak melalui peningkatan kerawanan anak terhadap penyakit infeksi. Anak yang sering sakit akibat rendahnya perilaku hidup bersih dan sehat dapat menyebabkan gangguan pertumbuhan kronis dan berdampak anak menjadi pendek.
Dari hasil Riskesdas, 2010 lebih dari setengah (54,9%) masyarakat kita memiliki akses sumber air minum tidak terlindung. Hanya 55,5% masyarakat yang terakses dengan sanitasi, di perkotaan 71,4% dan pedesaan 38,5%. Penanganan sampah di masyarakat 52% dibakar dan penggunaan bahan bakar  arang dan kayu bakar 40,0%. Selain itu juga ternyata Dua dari 3 perokok kita (76,7%) merokok di rumah dan dampak dari semua ini berpotensi menyebabkan penyakit diare dan gangguan pernapasan pada balita.


Pendidikan ayah ternyata berdampak pada status ekonomi keluarga. Dari gambar di atas terlihat bahwa keluarga dengan pendidikan SD, pekerjaan tani, nelayan dan buruh serta status ekonomi paling rendah sangat berhubungan dengan tingginya prevalensi balita pendek. Artinya selain status gizi ibu yang pendek, faktor pendidikian yang berdampak pada status ekonomi keluarga sangat terkait dengan kejadian balita pendek. Keluarga yang berpendidikan akan memiliki kemampuan untuk memanfaatkan sarana pelayanan kesehatan, sehingga lebih terakses terhadap informasi khususnya yang berkaitan dengan kesehatan dan gizi keluarganya.
Untuk status gizi orang tua, ternyata status gizi ibu yang sangat berkaitan dengan kejadian balita pendek. Terlihat dari ibu yang pendek sekalipun ayah normal, prevalensi balita pendek pasti tinggi, tetapi sekalipun ayah pendek tetapi ibu normal, prevalensi balita pendek masih lebih rendah disbanding ibunya yang pendek. Artinya status gizi ibu yang akan menjadi ibu hamil yang sangat menentukan akan melahirkan balita pendek.


Stunting merupakan indikator keberhasilan kesejahteraan, pendidikan dan pendapatan masyarakat.  Dampaknya sangat luas mulai dari dimensi ekonomi, kecerdasan, kualitas, dan dimensi bangsa yang berefek pada masa depan anak.
Hampir 70% pembentukan sel otak terjadi sejak janin masih dalam kandungan sampai anak berusia 2 tahun. Jika otak mengalami hambatan pertumbuhan, jumlah sel otak, serabut sel otak, dan penghubung sel otak berkurang. Dilihat dari tingkat keparahannya, anak usia 3 tahun yang stunting severe (-3-2).


Hal ini mengakibatkan penurunan intelegensia (IQ), sehingga prestasi belajar menjadi rendah dan  tidak dapat melanjutkan sekolah. Bila mencari pekerjaan, peluang gagal tes wawancara pekerjaan  menjadi besar dan tidak mendapat pekerjaan yang baik, yang berakibat penghasilan rendah (economic productivity hypothesis) dan tidak dapat mencukupi kebutuhan pangan. Karena itu anak yang menderita stunting berdampak tidak hanya pada fisik yang lebih pendek saja, tetapi juga pada kecerdasan, produktivitas dan prestasinya kelak setelah dewasa, sehingga akan menjadi beban negara. Selain itu dari aspek estetika, seseorang yang tumbuh proporsional akan kelihatan lebih menarik dari yang tubuhnya pendek.
Strategi apa yang paling tepat untuk mencegah terjadinya balita stunting ini ?
Berbagai upaya telah kita lakukan dalam mencegah dan menangani masalah gizi di masyarakat. Memang ada hasilnya, tetapi kita masih harus bekerja keras untuk menurunkan prevalensi balita pendek sebesar 2,9% agar target MD’s tahun 2014 tercapai yang berdampak pada turunnya prevalensi gizi kurang pada balita kita.
Bagaimana caranya ?
Dalam keadaan normal, tinggi badan tumbuh bersamaan dengan bertambahnya umur, namun pertambahan tinggi badan relatif kurang sensitif terhadap kurang gizi dalam waktu singkat. Jika terjadi gangguan pertumbuhan tinggi badan pada balita, maka untuk mengejar pertumbuhan tinggi badan optimalnya masih bisa diupayakan, sedangkan anak usia sekolah sampai remaja relatif kecil kemungkinannya.  Maka peluang besar untuk mencegah stunting dilakukan sedini mungkin. dengan mencegah faktor resiko gizi kurang baik pada remaja putri, wanita usia subur (WUS), ibu hamil maupun pada balita. Selain itu, menangani balita yang dengan tinggi dan berat badan rendah yang beresiko terjadi stunting, serta terhadap balita yang telah stunting agar tidak semakin berat.
Kejadian balita stunting dapat diputus mata rantainya sejak janin dalam kandungandengan cara melakukan pemenuhan kebutuhan zat gizi bagi ibu hamil, artinya setiap ibu hamil harus mendapatkan makanan yang cukup gizi, mendapatkan suplementasi zat gizi (tablet Fe), dan terpantau kesehatannya. Selain itu setiap bayi baru lahir hanya mendapat ASI saja sampai umur 6 bulan (eksklusif) dan setelah umur 6 bulan diberi makanan pendamping ASI (MPASI) yang cukup jumlah dan kualitasnya. Ibu nifas selain mendapat makanan cukup gizi, juga diberi suplementasi zat gizi berupa kapsul vitamin A. Kejadian stunting pada balita yang bersifat kronis seharusnya dapat dipantau dan dicegah apabila pemantauan pertumbuhan balita dilaksanakan secara rutin dan benar. Memantau pertumbuhan balita di posyandu merupakan upaya yang sangat strategis untuk mendeteksi dini terjadinya gangguan pertumbuhan, sehingga dapat dilakukan pencegahan terjadinya balita stunting.
Bersama dengan sektor lain meningkatkan kualitas sanitasi lingkungan dan penyediaan sarana prasarana dan akses keluarga terhadap sumber air terlindung, serta pemukiman yang layak. Juga meningkatkan akses  keluarga terhadap daya beli pangan dan biaya berobat bila sakit melalui penyediaan lapangan kerja dan peningkatan pendapatan.
Peningkatan pendidikan ayah dan ibu yang berdampak pada pengetahuan dan kemampuan dalam penerapan kesehatan dan gizi keluarganya, sehingga anak berada dalam keadaan status gizi yang baik. Mempermudah akses keluarga terhadap informasi dan penyediaan informasi tentang kesehatan dan gizi anak yang mudah dimengerti dan dilaksanakan oleh setiap keluarga juga merupakan cara yang efektif dalam mencegah terjadinya balita stunting.
FOKUS KITA
Jika kita berhasil menurunkan prevalensi pendek (TB/U) 1% akan diikuti penurunan prevalensi berat kurang (BB/U) 0,5%, sehingga pada untuk tahun 2011-2014 dengan penurunan 4% prevalensi balita pendek dapat menurunkan 2% prevalensi balita berat kurang. Artinya pada tahun 2015, target MDG’s prevalensi balita pendek sebesar 32% dapat tercapai, karena kita berhasil menurunkan 35,6% menjadi 31,6%.
Renungan bagi kita, apakah upaya yang kita lakukan sudah “fokus” ?

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Saturday, April 9, 2016

19 Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do Literally Anywhere

19 Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do Literally Anywhere

No gym? No weights? No problem.

Posted by Women's Health on Friday, 1 April 2016

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Labor Process

And this is how mums give birth, amazing!

Posted by Small Steps Magazine on Saturday, 17 October 2015

World Health Day - Beat Diabetes

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Blood Pressure Chart

http://www.ahealthblog.com/blood-pressure-chart.html

The blood pressure chart is further down the page, as well as a blood pressure quiz, which may be completed before or after reading the article and viewing the blood pressure chart.

There are always two pressures expressed in blood pressure ranges, the systolic and the diastolic pressure. Blood pressure ranges are usually written using the systolic number before or above the diastolic number, for example 120/80 mmHg. The systolic pressure, which is the first number shown, the 120 in the chart below, is the pressure reading as the heart pumps blood out from the ventricle into the veins. The diastolic pressure, 80 as illustrated in the blood pressure chart, is the resting pressure, which is between beats when the pressure decreases before the next heart pumping action.

For young adults aged 20 to 40, the normal, healthy blood pressure ranges are 120/80 but there is also normal to high, 130/85 and normal to low, 110/75. The high blood pressure ranges for this age group progress in stages from 140/90 up as high as 210/120. The low blood pressure ranges go from 90/60 to a dangerously low level of 50/33.

By the age of 50, the average, normal blood pressure ranges have risen to 129/85 and at 60, there is a further increase in the average normal range to 134/87.

High blood pressure is termed hypertension, low blood pressure is hypotension. If there is no obvious cause for hypertension, which is often the case, it is called primary hypertension. Secondary hypertension, the term given to only 5 to 10% of cases, can be caused by a number of factors, amongst them kidney or heart disease and hardening of the arteries.

The first or blue section of the blood pressure chart below explains the systolic and the diastolic pressure, the two pressures used for expressing blood pressure ranges. As shown in the blue section of the chart, blood pressure ranges are typically shown with the systolic number before or above the diastolic pressure, e.g. 120/80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury). The systolic pressure is the reading when the heart pumps blood out of the ventricle into the veins. The diastolic pressure is the resting pressure, between heartbeats as the pressure goes down ahead of the next heart pumping action. The second section of the chart shows the different blood pressure range categories and their corresponding readings. More information on blood pressure ranges.

  Blood Pressure Chart and Blood Pressure Quiz
Image via: Blood Pressure Chart and Blood Pressure Quiz


8 Seemingly Innocent Habits That Could Take Years Off Your Life

Home
http://www.prevention.com/health/healthy-living/everyday-habits-risk-your-life-and-age-you?cid=soc_PreventionMag_TWITTER_Prevention__
ANNE SMYTH

Innocent Habits That Could Take Years Off Your Life

You know the biggies: Don't smoke, stay out of the sun, and go easy on the processed food. But if you really want to maximize your chances of living forever (or, okay, if not forever than just for a really long time—and healthily), you need to pay attention to some lesser-known culprits, too. Here are 8 habits to start avoiding:
Obsessing about your age.
Does the thought of another birthday make you bristle? Believe us, you aren't alone. But it's best to check your attitude, because dwelling on it can have serious implications for the aging process. Fixating on the negative parts of getting older, like mental decline, could actually make you feel older, according to research from Purdue University. The good news? The secret to feeling younger is within your control: it’s as easy as believing that you are younger. (Need age-embracing inspiration? Check out what dozens of women have to say about the best parts of getting older.)
A nut-free diet.
Photo by Mitch Mandel
Unless you're allergic, you may want to add nuts to your snack rotation. Results from two long-term Harvard studies show that daily nut-eaters were less likely to die of cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease—in a 30-year study follow-up they were found to be 20% less likely to die overall. Whether it's walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, or another variety (preferably unsalted), a handful or two a day will do the trick.
Acting stingy.
Here's one more reason that it's better to give than receive: Altruistic acts could promote longevity. A study published in the American Journal of Public Health suggests that helping others reduces stress and, ultimately, lowers your risk of dying. Generosity really is the gift that keeps on giving.
Sitting all day long.
If you spend most of the day in the seated position, it's time to take a stand. A study published in journal BMJOpen found that sitting for more than three hours a day can reduce life expectancy by two years. But what if you have a desk job? Do your best to get up periodically throughout the day to take a quick walk, get on your feet while you take phone calls, and see if your company can provide you with a standing desk. Every little bit helps.
Staying up all night.
Photo by Getty Images
Whether you work the graveyard shift or just happen to hit your stride when the sun goes down, there's a dark side to rising with the moon. Sleeping too little or consistently sleeping against your body's biological clock raises your risk of type 2 diabetes, obesityheart attack, and stroke, all to varying degrees. Less sleep is also thought to accelerate the brain’s aging process, according to research from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School's Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. And the list of reasons to catch more zzzs continues. (If you have trouble sleeping, these 20 simple tips can help.)
Being down in the dumps.
A lingering gloomy attitude isn't just a bummer—it could also endanger your health. Women who are jealous, anxious, or moody and distressed in middle age may be at higher risk for developing Alzheimer's later in life, according to a nearly 40-year study published by the American Academy of Neurology. The silver lining is that reducing your risk is as simple as working on your attitude. If you can't get out of a funk yourself, consider talking to a therapist.
Walking slowly.
Photo by Getty Images
Pounding the pavement at any pace is a great form of exercise, but a study of 39,000 walkers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that over a decade, the death rate was highest among the slowest strollers, even if they expended the same amount of energy as someonewalking briskly for a shorter time period. You want to aim for 23 minutes per mile or faster to lower your mortality risk; use a pedometer on your next walk to pick up the pace.
Living with sexual frustration.
A study published in Biological Psychology found that people who recently had sexual intercourse had lower blood pressure than those who didn't. And a study from the University of Michigan Health System suggests that sex could be one of the secrets to youth, well-being, and a longer life. In the study, male fruit flies that were exposed to the sexual pheromones of their female counterparts without the opportunity to mate experienced increased stress and ultimately lived shorter lives. Granted, this study was performed on fruit flies, so we can't make any promises. But isn't it worth a try?

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Inspiring Account of How to Put Rheumatoid Arthritis into Remission

Mercola.com
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/08/09/rheumatoid-arthritis-remission.aspx?x_cid=20160220_ranart_rheumatoid-arthritis-remission_facebookdoc
By Dr. Mercola


How to Put Rheumatoid Arthritis into Remission





If you or someone you know has rheumatoid arthritis (RA), you'll want to watch this video. In it, Sarah Allen, who is a former patient of mine, shares how she put rheumatoid arthritis into remission, and it's a remarkable success story.
Rheumatoid arthritis was a passion of mine while I was still in active practice. I treated over 3,000 patients with this disease. I estimate 80 to 85 percent of them experienced significant recovery, if not remission, like Sarah did.
I ran into Sarah after giving a presentation recently in Orlando, where she happened to be in attendance. After talking to her, I decided we needed to share her important story as it would provide hope for so many who struggle with this disease.
She first came to see me in August of 2003. Even though she was only 28 years old at the time, she'd been experiencing symptoms of RA for about three or four years.
"I thought I was very healthy,' she says. 'I was young. I was a competitive triathlete. I believed I had a pretty good diet. So, I didn't really understand why I was experiencing so much pain in my fingers and in my feet.
I had migrating pain, and a lot of tendonitis issues all throughout my body. It took the Western doctors a long time to diagnose me. It took about three years going to different doctors before they knew what was wrong.
It didn't show in my blood; I didn't have the RA factor, and my C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were normal. But it showed up on an X-ray.'"

Hallmark Signs of RA

One of the hallmark symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis is pain in your hands and/or feet. It tends to affect the proximal joints more so than the distal ones, i.e. the joints closest to your palm, for example, opposed to the joints further out in the fingers.
So, if you have pain there, especially if it's symmetrical (affecting the same joints on both hands or feet), then almost by definition you have rheumatoid arthritis or an RA variant. It really doesn't matter what the blood work shows.
RA is far less common than osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease, which is not as crippling. It's actually easy to treat degenerative arthritis if you understand the components of a healthy lifestyle.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a far more complex disease. It's an autoimmune disease; your body is destroying itself, and it can be terminal — some people have even been known to commit suicide from the crippling pain.
It's quite notable that less than one percent of people with the disease have a spontaneous remission. Some disability occurs in 50 to 70 percent of people within five years after onset of the disease, and half will stop working within 10 years.

RA Is Typically Treated with Toxic Drugs

Traditional care also doesn't have a lot of good hope for RA sufferers. All they do is ameliorate or treat the symptoms — typically using highly toxic drugs, including prednisone, methotrexate, and drugs that interfere with tumor necrosis factor, like Enbrel.
This is why I'm so passionate about spreading this information because as Sarah can attest, there's an alternative, and this drug-free strategy really works. You don't have to suffer needlessly in a conventional treatment model.
Once diagnosed, Sarah went to a well-known rheumatologist in Milwaukee who told her she needed to stop running, or risk becoming permanently disabled. He prescribed a low-dose of methotrexate, which is actually an anti-cancer drug.
While it can be effective, the complications and the side-effects are atrocious. Sarah had to check her liver status every month, and even though she was only on a low dosage for about three months, she started losing some of her hair.
A rheumatology researcher at the Mayo Clinic whom she went to see told her to keep taking the drug, but expect it to shave 15 to 20 years off her life...
"I was really afraid of what that drug was going to do to my body,' Sarah says. 'The physical therapist who recommended I get tested for RA said there was a lot I can do naturally. So I read a lot of books about rheumatoid arthritis and different alternative treatments.
I read there's a possibility of it being connected with an infection, and that a low dose of antibiotics was being prescribed. I then came across your name in a book. I looked you up, found you in Chicago, and made an appointment.'"

Dr. Brown's Protocol

The book she's referring to is The Road Back: Rheumatoid Arthritis, its Cause and its Treatment, written by Dr. Thomas McPherson Brown and Henry Scammell. Dr. Brown was a well-respected board-certified rheumatologist (he passed away in 1989), but he was a rebel.
He didn't agree with the use of prednisone, which was the standard of care for RA in the '40s and '50s. He believed RA was an infection caused by mycoplasmas, so he used the antibiotic tetracycline instead.
Eventually, he modified his treatment to more potent discriminating forms of tetracycline, such as minocycline. Dr. Brown ultimately helped bring over 10,000 patients into remission. I first saw his work in a 20/20 special done shortly before he died in 1989, and it really inspired me. I decided to study his work, began using his protocol on RA patients in my practice, and was really impressed with the results. Eventually I modified the protocol to the point where I abandoned antibiotics altogether.

Sarah's Treatment

When I first saw Sarah, we discussed her diet, and I suggested there might be a genetic influence involved as she's Scottish-Irish. Many of her family members also had autoimmune problems, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Her genetic background suggested she may have an intolerance of wheat and gluten.
"You said I should eliminate that out of my diet as well as processed foods and sugar. You also did a metabolic typing. I did a very thorough questionnaire about how I metabolize food, about my energy levels, and about the stress in my life.
Along with my blood type, I was given a very special protocol of which foods would help me heal... I did a lot of vegetable juicing, which really helped me. I juiced probably 48 ounces a day of green juice.
I also ate a lot of organic grass-fed beef, ostrich, bison, free-range chicken and raw dairy. You even recommended raw eggs and raw egg yolks. Because I was in Wisconsin, I found an organic farm close to me. I got most of my meat, raw milk and my eggs from there. I bought all my fresh vegetables from local farmers markets. I got to know area farmers and learn about their farming practices.
I would buy a variety of vegetables and meats from them because I knew how they grew their food and raised their animals. I even used to meet the ostrich farmer in a parking lot across from the co-op where she used to sell her meats and buy it direct at a lower price. I also incorporated a lot of probiotics in my diet, and increased my vitamin D levels. Instead of suppressing my immune system with drugs to control my disease, I was using food to redesign my immune system and make it as strong as possible.
Apart from diet, the other important issue you advised me to address was the level of stress in my life. At that time, I was a teacher, new and passionate about the field. I worked very long hours, beyond what was healthy. Additionally, I dedicated several hours per week to triathlon training, and had some emotional stress in my life is well.
Dr. Mercola emphasized how stress and emotions impact immunity and now that I am studying Eastern medicine I have learned it is one of the primary causes of disease. I still question whether it was the amount of work and stress in my life which triggered the onset of my disease.
After I began seeing Dr. Mercola, I cut back on the amount I was working and doing, and made more time for rest and enjoyment. Dr. Mercola also taught me Emotional Freedom Technique, a method of tapping along traditional energetic acupuncture meridians to help relieve emotional issues. I began incorporating EFT into my daily life, which was a simple and time-effective method to help me better deal with everyday stress and anxiety.

The Importance of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a really important component. It stimulates 200 to 300 anti-microbial peptides that are even more powerful than antibiotics, which help improve and regulate your immune system and fight infections. Sarah, as many others with RA, noticed her symptoms were at their worst during the winter, and would often dissipate during the summer. This is what you call a giant clue that vitamin D is at work...
Invariably, unless you're aggressively addressing your vitamin D level with sun exposure or supplementation, your blood levels of vitamin D will drop to dangerously low levels sometime in January, February, or March, when sun exposure is at its lowest. Optimizing your vitamin D is extremely important, I typically recommend RA sufferers to get their levels checked every month, in order to fine-tune the dosage they're taking.
Essentially, if you're using a supplement, you need to take whatever dosage is required to reach and maintain a therapeutic level of 50 to70 ng/ml. Nourishing your gut microbiome is another important component. In addition to eating more fermented foods, it's equally important to cut out sugar from your diet as it will feed pathogenic microbes and decimate your immune system, leaving you susceptible to autoimmune diseases of all kinds.
 "I learned how to ferment my own vegetables and dairy products. I made my own kombucha, yogurt, cultured butters, milk kefir and coconut kefir. It took almost two years to get my system in balance, but right away, I noticed a difference. In about two weeks my cravings for wheat, breads, and sugar diminished...You did a live cell analysis before and after the diet. My live cell analysis showed I had leaky gut and digestive proteins in my bloodstream.
I came back three months after being very strict with the diet. I felt better; I'd lost about 10 pounds. I had so much more energy and felt lighter. But when they did the live cell analysis and showed me on the screen that my blood cells were perfectly round, strong, and healthy — when I saw that my blood completely changed — that's when I really believed that food was medicine...
I was able to resume my regular activities... I was able to return to racing. That year, after following your protocol for about a year, I actually won an entire triathlon... So I went from being told I'd never run again to winning a race. Slowly, slowly the symptoms diminished. After two years of being very strict [with my diet], my symptoms went to complete remission, and they've stayed that way. It's been over 10 years.
I still work out. Right now, I train Brazilian capoeira, which incorporates martial arts, dance, and acrobatics. I'm still able to do gymnastics. I can still do back flips at age 43. I still run occasionally. I still swim and bike. I do yoga and cross-country skiing when I'm in the north. So, I'm very active and very healthy. In fact, I feel that by you helping me, it really extended my life. I feel much younger than my age."

There IS Hope for RA Patients

I don't see patients anymore so this is not an encouragement for people to see me — in fact, you can't. But I'm committed to sharing this type of information, and hope to inspire not just patients, but also other physicians to adopt these strategies. It can quite literally change (and save) lives. It can also help other autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease, which have a similar disease process.
I'm really grateful Sarah decided to give me an update and share her story. I rarely have the opportunity to get feedback from people whom I've treated in the past, so it was a delight to hear how well she's doing. I also thought it would be a powerful inspiration to many others, to see that there is hope; there are alternatives to toxic drugs, and it really can work. Sarah's recovery is a powerful testimony to the self-healing ability of your body, provided you give it what it needs, and support it with a healthy lifestyle.
"If I would've just listened to the Western doctors, and stayed the course, where I would be today? I hate to imagine it,'Sarah says. 'But even when I told the doctor [about my improvement], he almost acted disappointed or angry that I dared try that method.
He said he wanted me to stay on methotrexate, and he still didn't believe in diet even though it worked for me. I went to another rheumatologist later just to check how I was doing. She said, 'That disease is going to come back in 10 to 12 years, and just explode in your body possibly.' She recommended I also stay on the drugs even though I was completely symptom free!'"
Many don't have the courage to do what Sarah did. They're either stuck in the conventional paradigm, or they're afraid to go against their doctor's "orders," or they can't or don't want to spend the extra money. Even though I was a practicing DO — hardly out of the norm of convention — Sarah's insurance company refused to pay for any of my tests or treatment visits. She went so far as to appeal her insurance's denial of reimbursement, but all they would pay for was the drug she was initially prescribed.
She ended up spending about $2,000-3,000 out of pocket at the time. But after a couple of years she never had to see me again. Nor did she need to continue seeing other specialists, or take a toxic drug for the rest of her life — which by the way was virtually guaranteed to be cut short by a decade or two. So overall, it was certainly money well spent.
"It was an investment," Sarah says. "To buy the foods that I needed to buy, I had to spend a little bit more money. I also spent a lot of time in my kitchen (about 2 -3 hours/day), but it was definitely worth it. It really changed my life. I grew really close to food. I look at it as magic.
If you look at it from an Eastern perspective, our bodies are microcosms of the universe and our universe provides us with all that is necessary to heal. There is energy or chi in food that builds and moves the energy and blood in our bodies to promote balance and health. Food is so powerful, I think it's one of the most important gifts we have in life."

Summary of Crucial Lifestyle Changes if You Have RA


There is no doubt in my mind that the protocol described above is highly effective for the treatment of autoimmune arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis. I strongly encourage anyone with this disease to adopt it. In my experience, conventional rheumatologists have very little to offer except dangerous drugs that only relieve symptoms and do nothing to address the underlying cause of the disease, which continues to ravage your body and cause crippling joint deformities.
In summary, here's a summary of the nutritional principles Sarah implemented, as per my drug-free RA treatment protocol. If you or someone you know or love has rheumatoid arthritis I could not encourage you more strongly to share this article and protocol with them as it might radically change their life as it did for Sarah.

Eat REAL food. Eliminate processed foods, sugar, especially fructose, and most grains. For most people it would be best to limit fruit to small quantities. In my experience, if you're unable to decrease your sugar intake, you're far less likely to improve. Eat unprocessed, high-quality foods; organic, and locally grown if possible.Get plenty high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fats. Krill oil seems to be particularly helpful as it appears to be a more effective anti-inflammatory preparation than regular fish oil. It's particularly effective if taken concurrently with astaxanthin, which is a potent antioxidant bioflavonoid derived from algae.
Eat your food as close to raw as possible. Vegetable juicing is also highly recommended.Astaxanthin at 4 mg per day is recommended. It's been shown to effectively reduce pain associated with inflammation. In one study, RA sufferers experienced a 35 percent improvement in pain levels, and a 40 percent improvement in their ability to perform daily activities after receiving astaxanthin for only eight weeks. 

It's particularly important for anyone placed on prednisone, which can reduce vision and cause blindness. Astaxanthin offers potent protection against cataracts and age related macular degeneration.
Optimize your vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is strongly associated with the development of RA. From my perspective, it is now virtually criminal negligent malpractice to treat a person with RA and not aggressively monitor their vitamin D levels to confirm they're in a therapeutic range of 50-70 ng/ml.Eat 4 to 6 ounces a day of fermented veggies, which will supply about 10 trillion beneficial bacteria, which is about 10 percent of the population of your gut. The best way to learn how to prepare them properly is to get the GAPS book or listen to my interview with Caroline Barringer.
Incorporate regular exercise into your daily schedule.If you struggle with RA pain, I would encourage you to trylow-dose Naltrexone (LDN). (Sarah did not need it). LDN is inexpensive and non-toxic, and I have a number of physician reports documenting incredible efficacy in getting people off of all their dangerous arthritis meds with it. Although this is a drug and strictly speaking not a natural therapy, it has provided important relief and is FAR safer than the toxic drugs typically used.

Other Natural Pain Relievers

One of the primary problems with RA is controlling pain. If this is not achieved, you can go into a depressive cycle that can clearly worsen your immune system and cause the RA to flare. The goal is to be as comfortable and pain free as possible with the least amount of drugs. In addition to low-dose Naltrexone, which has a good success rate, here are a few other non-toxic dietary supplements that can be helpful for the treatment of RA pain:
  • Curcumin (turmeric) in particular has been shown to be effective against both acute and chronic pain. Curcumin is most known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties. It has been shown to influence more than 700 genes, and can inhibit both the excessive activity and the synthesis of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX), as well as other enzymes that have been implicated in inflammation. In experiments on rats, turmeric appeared to block inflammatory pathways associated with rheumatoid arthritis.
    A study1 published in April 2012 revealed that a highly bioavailable form of curcumin was more effective in alleviating RA symptoms, including tenderness and swelling of joints, than the NSAID drug Voltaren. Not only that, those who were taking the curcumin only actually experienced the most improvement across the board
  • Boswellia, also known as boswellin or "Indian frankincense" is another herb I've found to be particularly useful against arthritic inflammation and associated pain
  • Ginger also has anti-inflammatory properties and can offer pain relief. Fresh ginger works well steeped in boiling water as a tea or grated into vegetable juice