Natural Remedies for Arthritis Anderson SC

Healthy Solutions - Natural Rx Replacements to Treat Arthritis and Foggy Memory

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By Victoria Dolby Toews, MPH

Aching knees? Instead of NSAIDs, try glucosamine and Phellodendron amurense.

What’s the problem?
Osteoarthritis is an unwelcome guest in the knees, hips, and other joints of 20 million Americans. This chronic disease, caused by the breakdown of joint tissue, generally sets in after age 40 and is the most common source of physical disability in adults.

What do doctors prescribe?
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the go-to medication for doctors treating osteoarthritis. NSAIDs come with a parcel of potential GI troubles, including nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and ulcers, as well as headache, bloating, and kidney and liver failure.

What’s a natural alternative?
A combination of 1,500 mg of glucosamine and 1,200 mg of chondroitin is as effective as one of the most expensive NSAIDs (Celebrex) for moderate-to-severe knee pain of osteoarthritis, according to results from a National Institutes of Health study involving more than 1,500 patients.

If you’re still not getting relief from your pain, you might consider trying a promising new option: an extract from the plant Phellodendron amurense (sometimes found under the name “Nexrutine” on supplement labels). Preliminary results show it may significantly ease pain and inflammation. For those who want to try it, 750 mg a day is a good place to start.

Foggy memory? Instead of Aricept, try Chinese club moss.
What’s the problem?
Memory starts an inexorable decline as early as the 20s, although it’s not usually noticeable until after age 60. The most extreme form of memory loss and mental confusion, Alzheimer’s disease, affects four and a half million Americans.

What do doctors prescribe?
Aricept (donepezil) belongs to a class of drugs known as cholinesterase inhibitors; it helps memory by promoting communication among nerve cells in the brain. “With cholinesterase inhibitors, the most common side effects are nausea, upset stomach, and diarrhea,” points out Daniel Kaufer, MD, director of the Memory and Cognitive Disorders Clinic at the University of North Carolina.

What’s a natural alternative?
“Chinese club moss has been used in China as a folk remedy to enhance mental abilities,” notes Dr. Kaufer, and “there have been a few small studies showing positive effects in patients with dementia and one small study in Chinese high-school students showing that they may have had benefit in doing their homework.” The National Institute of Aging funded a new national clinical trial, led by Dr. Kaufer, to test just how well Chinese club moss (also known as huperzine A) preserves mental function in older adults with dementia. Results from this study aren’t quite in yet, although Dr. Kaufer shares that “huperzine A seems to be generally well-tolerated and that some subjects seem to be doing better on it.” Huperzine A from Chinese club moss acts as a cholinesterase inhibitor; most studies have used 100 to 200 mcg taken several times a day.

Author: Victoria Dolby Toews, MPH

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