Cause: Immune system dysfunction.

Useful Supplements: Black Currant Seed Oil, Borage Oil, Boron, Copper, DHA, DMSO, EPA, Evening Primrose Oil, Fish Oil, Glucosamine Sulfate, SAM, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin E, Zinc.

Useful Herbs: Boswellia, Cayenne, Devil’s Claw, Ginger, Horsetail, Sarsaparilla, Turmeric, White Willow.

Further information: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammation of the joints and surrounding tissues. While the exact cause is unknown, suspected factors include infection, genetic predisposition, and endocrine disorders.
Initial symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include fatigue, appetite loss, weakness, and muscle ache. As the disease progresses, joint pain occurs, accompanied by swelling, tenderness, and stiffness of the affected joints. Rheumatoid arthritis starts by affecting just a few joints, but usually spreads to affect most major joints. It usually spreads in a symmetrical pattern, affecting both sides of the body equally.
Other parts of the body may be affected in addition to the joints. These include the eyes, lungs, and most seriously, blood vessels.
While there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, treatment may help ease the pain associated with the disease. Treatments include pain and anti-inflammatory medication, physical therapy, and, in severe cases, surgery.
Low fat diets appear to ease the problems associated with rheumatoid arthritis.¹ Pure vegetarian diets also appear helpful.² Some doctors suggest avoiding meat, dairy, eggs, sugar, and processed foods as a means of treatment.³ Eliminating foods which contain solanine (tomatoes, white potatoes, peppers, eggplant, and other foods in the nightshade family) may also bring relief.⁴
In some cases, food allergies exacerbate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.⁵ In these cases, eliminating certain foods may provide relief.
Low impact exercise may help strengthen joints and ease the discomfort associated with rheumatoid arthritis.⁶

The following supplements and herbs may be helpful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis:

There appears to be a link between deficiency of Boron, which affects calcium metabolism, and arthritis.⁷ Taken daily for two months, it appears to relieve some of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.⁸

Copper, which acts as an anti-inflammatory, is often deficient in people with rheumatoid arthritis.⁹ When taken with prescription or over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications, it appears to heighten their effectiveness.¹⁰ Wearing copper bracelets also appears to help ease pain in wrist and hand joints.¹¹

DMSO, when applied directly to the skin, appears to act as an anti-inflammatory and relieve pain.¹²

The fatty acids EPA and DHA, which are found in Fish Oil, have anti-inflammatory properties¹³ which help relieve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.¹⁴ It may take several months before the effects of these fatty acids become apparent, however.

Evening Primrose Oil converts to prostaglandin E1, which has an anti-inflammatory effect. Taken in a dose of 6 grams daily, Evening Primrose Oil significantly decreases morning stiffness.¹⁵ Used in combination with Fish Oil, EPO is extremely effective.¹⁶ Borage Oil and Black Currant Seed Oil have similar effects to EPO.¹⁷

Glucosamine Sulfate contains components that aid the repair of joint cartilage. Patients who take a supplement of 500 mg three times daily may notice that their arthritic symptoms lessen.¹⁸

SAM acts as an anti-inflammatory and pain relief agent, as well as promoting tissue healing in joints.¹⁹ Studies show that it can help increase the growth of healthy tissue,²⁰ and that it reduces pain and swelling as well as medications such as ibuprofen.^21,22

One form of Vitamin B3, niacinamide, appears to increase joint mobility, improve muscle strength, and decrease muscle and joint fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis patients.²³ 250 mg taken at least four times daily appears to show results in three to four months.²⁴

Some research suggests that patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis may be deficient in Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid).²⁵ Supplementation with 2000 mg can help ease morning stiffness and pain.²⁶

Vitamin D, taken in a dose of 400 IU daily, slows the development of arthritis in the knee.^27,28

When joints become inflamed, they often suffer a depletion of Vitamin E.²⁹ Supplementation with this vitamin may help ease some of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.³⁰

Zinc metabolism is altered by rheumatoid arthritis, and supplementation may be helpful.³¹

Boswellia appears to be beneficial in the treatment of pain, stiffness, and joint mobility related to arthritis.³²

Cream containing cayenne pepper, applied topically, can help relieve joint pain.³³

Herbs which act as anti-inflammatories or analgesics may be helpful in the treatment of osteoarthritis. These include Devil’s Claw, Ginger, Horsetail, Sarsaparilla, Turmeric, and White Willow. Studies of their efficacy have not been done, however.

References:

¹Lucas CP, Power L. Dietary fat aggravates active rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Res 1981;29:754A [abstr].
²Kjeldsen_Kragh J, Haugen M, Borchgrevink CF, et al. Controlled trial of fasting and one_year vegetarian diet in rheumatoid arthritis. Lancet 1991;338:899_902.
³Warmbrand M. How thousands of my arthritis patients regained their health. New York: Arco Publishing, 1974.
⁴Childers NF. A relationship of arthritis to the solanaceae (nightshades). J Internat Acad Pre Med Nov 1982:31–7.
⁵Darlington LG, Ramsey NW, Mansfield JR. Placebo_controlled, blind study of dietary manipulation therapy in rheumatoid arthritis. Lancet 1986;i:236–8.
⁶Harkcom TM, Lampman RM, Banwell BF, Castor CW. Therapeutic value of graded aerobic exercise training in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthrit Rheum 1985;28:32–8.
⁷Newnham RE. The role of boron in human nutrition. J Applied Nutr 1994;46:81–5
⁸Travers RL, Rennie GC, Newnham RE. Boron and arthritis: the results of a double-blind pilot study. J Nutr Med 1990;1:127–32.
⁹DiSilvestro RA, Marten J, Skehan M. Effects of copper supplementation on ceruloplasmin and copper_zinc superoxide dismutase in free_living rheumatoid arthritis patients. J Am Coll Nutr 1992;11:177_80.
¹⁰Medical News. Copper boosts activity of anti-inflammatory drugs. JAMA 1974;229:1268–9
¹¹Walker WR, Keats DM. An investigation of the therapeutic value of the ‘copper bracelet’—dermal assimilation of copper in arthritic/rheumatoid conditions. Agents Actions 1976;6:454–9.
¹²American Medical Association. Dimethyl sulfoxide. Controversy and Current Status—1981. JAMA 1982;248:1369–71.
¹³Lee TH, Hoover RL, Williams JD, et al. Effect of dietary enrichment with eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids on in vitro neutrophil and monocyte leukotriene generation and neutrophil function. N Engl J Med 1985;312(19):1217–24.
¹⁴Kremer JM, Lawrence DA, Petrillow GF, et al. Effects of high_dose fish oil on rheumatoid arthritis after stopping nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Arthrit Rheum 1995;38:1107_14.
¹⁵Brzeski M, Madhok R, Capell HA. Evening primrose oil in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and side_effects of non_steroidal anti_inflammatory drugs. Brit J Rheumatol 1991;30:370_2.
¹⁶Belch JJF, Ansell D, Madhok R, et al. Effects of altering dietary essential fatty acids on requirements for non_steroidal anti_inflammatory drugs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a double blind placebo controlled study. Ann Rheum Dis 1988;47:96_104.
¹⁷Leventahn LJ, Boyce EG, Zuerier RB. Treatment of Rheumatoid arthritis with blackcurrant seed oil. Brit J Rheumatol 1994;33:847–52.
¹⁸Drovanti A, Bignamini AA, Rovati AL. Therapeutic activity of oral glucosamine sulfate in osteoarthritis: a placebo_controlled double_blind investigation. Clin Ther 1980;3(4):260_72.
¹⁹Schumacher HR. Osteoarthritis: The clinical picture, pathogenesis, and management with studies on a new therapeutic agent, S-adenosylmethionine. Am J Med 1987;83(suppl 5A):1–4 [review].
²⁰Konig H et al. Magnetic resonance tomography of finger polyarthritis: Morphology and cartilage signals after ademetionine therapy. Aktuelle Radiol 1995;5:36–40.
²¹Caruso I, Pietrogrande V. Italian double-blind multicenter study comparing S-adenosylmethionine, naproxen, and placebo in the treatment of degenerative joint disease. Am J Med 1987;83(suppl 5A):66–71.
²²Montrone F, Fumagalli M, Sarzi Puttini P, et al. Double-blind study of S-adenosyl-methionine versus placebo in hip and knee arthrosis. Clin Rheumatol 1985;4:484–85.
²³Kaufman W. The use of vitamin therapy to reverse certain concomitants of aging. J Am Geriatr Soc 1955;11:927.
²⁴Jonas WB, Rapoza CP, Blair WF. The effect of niacinamide on osteoarthritis: A pilot study. Inflamm Res 1996;45:330–4.
²⁵Barton-Wright EC, Elliott WA. The pantothenic acid metabolism of rheumatoid arthritis. Lancet 1963;ii:862–3.
²⁶General Practitioner Research Group. Calcium pantothenate in arthritic conditions. Practitioner 1980;224:208_211.
²⁷Gloth, F. Vitamin D deficiency in home-bound elderly persons, JAMA, 274: 1683-6, 1995.
²⁸McAlindon, T. Relation of dietary intake and serum levels of vitamin D to progression of osteoarthritis of the knee among participants in the Framingham study, Annals of Internal Medicine, 125: 353-9, 1996b.
²⁹Fairburn K, Grootveld M, Ward RJ, et al. Alpha-tocopherol, lipids and lipoproteins in knee-joint synovial fluid and serum from patients with inflammatory joint disease. Clin Sci 1992;83:657–64.
³⁰Scherak O, Kolarz G. Vitamin E and rheumatoid arthritis. Arthrit Rheum 1991;34:1205_6 [letter].
³¹Simkin PA. Oral zinc sulphate in rheumatoid arthritis. Lancet 1976;ii:539–42.
³²Singh GB, Singh S, Bani S. New phytotherapeutic agent for the treatment of arthritis and allied disorders with novel mode of action. 4th International Congress on Phytotherapy, Munich, Germany, Sep 10–13, 1992.
³³Deal CL, Schnitzer TJ, Lipstein E, et al. Treatment of arthritis with topical capsaicin: A double-blind trial. Clin Ther 1991; 13:383–95.