Your Wellness Lifestyle Starts HereTurmeric is a plant that grows mainly in India, Asia and Central America, and is related to the ginger family. The ground root of the plant is used as a spice, and turmeric is an ingredient in curry powder. Its main ingredients, curcuminoids, are yellow and are often used to color foods and products like cosmetics.
Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric and is used widely in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for many health conditions, including breathing problems, skin diseases, wounds, gastrointestinal distress, liver disease, inflammation, and pain. Other bioactive components include demethoxycurcumin, bis-demethoxycurcumin, and turmeric essential oils. The typical turmeric product used for treatment is an extract that is standardized to between 80% and 95% curcuminoids, most of it is curcumin.
Curcumin is a safe and effective natural compound for treating pain related to common musculoskeletal disorders. Turmeric and curcumin do not modulate COX-1 activity, but instead modify the action of COX-2 enzymes, affect NF-κB signaling, and reduce production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin and phospholipase A2.
Many studies have documented the efficacy of curcumin for pain relief and lowering inflammation. For example:
A study including 107 patients with knee osteoarthritis randomized to take 800 mg ibuprofen or 2 g curcumin daily for 6 weeks showed that curcumin was as effective as ibuprofen for reducing pain.
Three months of treatment with curcumin resulted in improvement in pain and mobility, and reduction in treatment costs for patients with osteoarthritis.
A study in which patients with knee osteoarthritis were randomized to take 500 mg curcuminoids 3 times per day or matched placebo showed that those taking curcumin had significantly greater reductions in pain and improvements in physical function as compared to those taking placebo.
A double-blind crossover study in which rheumatoid arthritis patients were randomized to take 1.2 g of curcumin per day or phenylbutazone (NSAID) for 2 weeks showed that curcumin was just as effective as phenylbutazone for reducing joint swelling and morning stiffness and improving walking time. There were no adverse side effects reported.
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies concluded that 8-12 weeks of treatment with 1000 mg/day of curcumin can reduce pain and inflammation for patients with arthritis, especially osteoarthritis, with improvement similar to the results of treatment with ibuprofen and diclofenac sodium.
Curcuminoids are considered by the FDA as GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) and clinical trials confirm that it is safe, even at high doses of up to 12,000 mg.
The most common drug treatments for joint and musculoskeletal pain are analgesics and NSAIDS, but these drugs have serious gastrointestinal and cardiovascular side effects. Curcumin is a viable alternative that is at least as effective without these side effects.
It is important to remember that a limitation of both drugs and supplements is that they do not resolve the cause of pain. Thus, in most cases, they should be temporary measures to provide relief while physical therapy, exercise and other modalities are used to permanently resolve pain.
The objective of Nurture Your Health is to learn how to remain or become a healthy person, rather than to remain or become a sick patient. Most people do not pay attention to their health until they are sick. It is important to prioritize learning about health and investing time and resources in adopting the right diet, engaging in the right exercise, and paying attention to other factors that lead to optimal health. Make learning about health interesting and fun. Use this information to take control of your health and make better and informed decisions about what you eat, which lifestyle choices you make, and the medical care you receive.
This information is not a substitute for medical advice.
Liz Fattore
Nurture Your Health
Licensed Food Over Medicine Professional
Peddaka KV, Peddaka KV, Shukla SK, Mishra A, Verma V. “Role of Curcumin in Common Musculoskeletal Disorders: a Review of Current a, Translational, and Clinical Data.” Orthop Surg 2015 Aug;7(3):222-231
Appelboom, T, Maes N, Albert A. “A new curcuma extract (flexofytol) in osteoarthritis: results from a belgian real-life experience.” Open Rheumatol J 2014 Oct;8:77-81
Prasad S, Gupta SC, Tyagi AK, Aggarwal BB. “Curcumin, a component of golden spice: from bedside to bench and back.” Biotechnol Adv 2014 Nov;32(6):1053-1064
Kuptnirasaikul V, thanakhumtorn S, Chinswangwatanakul P, Wattanamongkonsil L, Thamlikitkul V. “Efficacy and safety ot Curcuma domestica extracts I patients with knee osteoarthritis.” J Altern Complement Med 2009 Aug;15(8):891-897
registry of Merivac, a curcumin-phosphatidylcholine complex, for the complementary management of osteoarthritis.” Panminerva Med 2010 Jun;52(2 Supple 1):55-62
Pnahi Y, Rahimnia AR, Sharafi M, Alishiri G, Saburi A, Sahebkar A. “Curcuminoid treatment for knee osteoarthritis: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.” Phytother Res 2014 Nov;28(11):1625-1631
Deodhar SD, Sethi R, Srimal RC. “Preliminary study on antirheumatic activity of curcumin (diferuloyl methane)” Indian J Med Res. 1980 Apr;71:632–634.
Daily JW, Yang M, Park S. “Efficacy of Turmeric Extracts and Curcumin for Alleviating the Symptoms of Joint Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.” J Med Food 2016 Aug;19(8):717-729
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Lao CD, Ruffin Mt 4th, Normelle D et al. “Dose escalation of a curcuminoid formulation.” BMC Complement Altern Med 2006 Mar;6:10
Schnitzer TJ. “Update on guidelines for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain.” Clin Rheumatol 2006;25 Suppl 1:S22-229
Your Wellness Lifestyle Starts HereYou may have heard of the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule. It states that for many events, roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes.
The Pareto Principle can be applied to a variety of situations. Here are a few examples of how to apply this principle to help you form healthy habits.
The Pareto Principle can be applied to a variety of situations. Here are a few examples of how to apply this principle to help you form healthy habits.
- Relationships. Who are the few people that have the most positive impact on my life? Spend more time with them.
- Priorities. What are the few actions that have the most positive impact on my day? Prioritize them.
- Learning. What are the few information sources I learn from most? Focus on them.
- Stress. What are the few sources that cause most of the stress and friction in my life. Eliminate them.
Journal.: What are the current habits that are hindering your future progress?
Forming healthy lifestyle habits, including diet and exercise, requires deliberate effort on your part in crafting a health and wellness vision. In order to be successful, the habits must be accessible, sustainable, and defensible with science.
Wellness Forum Health has developed a process of educating others to make Informed decisions and I love helping others regain their health through better habits.
We should never need to explain our reasons for any of our choices, including our food choices. However, we should be able to - if asked - explain why we have decided to stop eating particular foods. Most important is the ability to do this, which represents an understanding of the reasons a choice has been made. Diet and lifestyle choices and more independent thinking about healthcare are more likely to "stick" if people know what they are doing and why they are doing it.
Liz Fattore
Nurture Your Health
Licensed Food Over Medicine Professional
Your Wellness Lifestyle Starts HereHow do you define health? Did you ever think of developing a health philosophy?
First, let's define philosophy. According to dictionary.com, it is the "rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct; the critical study of the basic principles and concepts of a particular branch of knowledge, especially with a view to improving or reconstituting them."
In this country, the health care system gives us our health philosophy. We give them the power to manage our health. The United States spends more money per capita on "health" care than any other country on earth, yet when the quality of our "health" care is compared with other industrialized nations, we rank near the bottom. Rates of many chronic diseases have only increased over time. Is the term "health" care a misnomer? Shouldn't it be called a disease care system?
Developing a philosophy of how you manage your health is just as important as how you manage your finances, insurance costs, and car maintenance.
Obviously, nobody wants to be sick and be in the constant care of a doctor. So, if your motivation is to not become sick, to remain a healthy person, then your health strategy or philosophy is tied to that outcome because it is important to you. The Wellness Forum Health Informed Consumer approach is a food forward, educational approach to a healthy lifestyle. The foods you consume can heal you faster and more profoundly than the most expensive prescription drugs, and more dramatically than the most extreme surgical interventions, with only positive side effects.
There are no short cuts, no magic pills. The new hot thing may not be the healthy thing. Be informed as a consumer. We teach you how to develop your own strategy to achieve success. As you start to examine what you are eating, how your habits affect your lifestyle, learn new, healthy habits and skills and change your behavior, you will build new pathways in the brain. For a lifestyle change to work, it must be accessible, sustainable, and defensible with evidence.
Optimal health is achieved and maintained when people practice proactive and intentional healthcare. This means prioritizing learning about health and investing time and resources in adopting the right diet, engaging in the right exercise, and paying attention to other factors that lead to optimal health. Doesn't that sound like a great health philosophy?
Liz Fattore
Nurture Your Health
Licensed Food Over Medicine Professional
www.lizfattore.com
Inflammation is a natural processIt is triggered when body tissues are damaged due to physical trauma or injury. The inflammatory response facilitates the removal of debris and pathogens and is also essential for the repair process.
My inflammation class focuses on the damage caused by acute inflammation inside the body.
Here are some tips to manage inflammation due to injury on the outside of the body.
Symptoms of acute inflammation include:
- pain (due to swelling caused by fluid build-up which places pressure on nerve endings)
- redness (due to capillaries which are filled with more blood)
- immobility or loss of function in the inflamed area
- heat due to increased blood flow
The inflammatory process starts with the production of inflammatory chemicals like histamine, kinins, prostaglandins, and lymphokines. These promote dilation of small blood vessels at the site of injury and increase the permeability of capillaries. This facilitates the delivery of immune cells to the site that destroy pathogens; stimulates local blood clotting which creates a physical barrier to the spread of infection throughout the blood stream, promotes tissue repair, and removes debris from the site of the injury.
So, if inflammation is a natural response to injury or trauma, and it is needed for healing, what happens if a person takes an anti-inflammatory drug such as an NSAID as soon as an injury occurs to reduce inflammation, swelling and pain?
A recent research study reveals the answer to this question and also offers some insight as to why some people who are injured have long-term chronic pain while others recover and have no residual pain.
The authors of the study reported that patients who had lower back pain along with higher inflammation levels were more likely to experience resolution of pain within three months than patients who had lower levels of inflammation. The researchers reported that blocking the inflammatory response with medication can prolong musculoskeletal pain.
This same result was found in mouse studies. Blocking inflammation with dexamethasone (a steroid drug) or diclofenac (an NSAID) relieved pain within the first week but resulted in more sustained pain over time. Mice given a saline control or pain medications that did not lower inflammation levels had pain resolution in a significantly shorter period of time than mice that were treated with anti-inflammatory drugs.
People all over the world reach for anti-inflammatory drugs when they are injured to relieve pain, and most people think all inflammation is bad. Doctors reinforce this idea by prescribing drugs for inflammation and pain in response to injury. But there is a difference between acute inflammation due to injury and chronic inflammation that is due to poor health. Acute inflammation plays a role in healing, while chronic inflammation contributes to disease onset and progression.
The next time you have an injury – due to a fall, a car accident, bumping into something – it’s best to just let it heal. Pressing through and dealing with the discomfort now is the best chance of not having chronic pain in the future.
Alejandro Manjarrez PhD. "Early Inflammation Protects Against Chronic Pain, Study Finds." The Scientist May 12 2022.
Pam Popper, Wellness Forum Health
The objective of Nurture Your Health is to learn how to remain or become a healthy person, rather than to remain or become a sick patient. Most people do not pay attention to their health until they are sick. It is important to prioritize learning about health and investing time and resources in adopting the right diet, engaging in the right exercise, and paying attention to other factors that lead to optimal health. Make learning about health interesting and fun. Use this information to take control of your health and make better and informed decisions about what you eat, which lifestyle choices you make, and the medical care you receive.
This information is not a substitute for medical advice.
Liz Fattore
Nurture Your Health
Licensed Food Over Medicine Professional
Are you getting your rest?
I just returned from the Shenandoah mountains of Virginia. It was a restful week, with some hiking and trail riding, good dinners and great conversations with my daughter, and some time to read, journal and reflect on life. The picture is my view of the evening sunset during the week.
I won't lie, I brought my laptop, fully intending on doing some writing, planning, and tweaking of classes. I am so glad that God had other plans. So, I wrote some notes in my calendar (yes, I brought that as well) and put it away.
Do you find it difficult to stop and let go of the "have-tos"? I love what I do and love the planning and tweaking but had to admit that I do need to stop and look up at times. Even though I make a point of taking a weekly sabbath, I am not on a "full stop." There are still things swirling around in my head that I need to put away in order to get the restful sleep that I need.
When we are to the point of having foggy brain and soul fatigue, and just plain tired, then we need to actively work on soul rest, which facilitates mind rest, which in turn, facilitates body rest. We were created with this connection: body, mind, spirit. Rest in one area impacts the others.
In her book "Rest Girl", Jamie Amerine says "When our minds feel defeated and we live a restless existence, that is what we see and experience." She states that more than sleepless nights and busy schedules, the source of exhaustion has more to do with our deep-seated beliefs and our mindset based on those well-intended beliefs, and that fear is the thief of real rest.
What are you thinking about when your head hits the pillow? All of those what-ifs are basically fears of the unknown. Then you make the mental to-do list and wonder what you forgot or should have done. Then, when you finally do get out of bed in the morning, the weight of it all bears down on you, causing you to feel defeated before you even start.
Practicing mindfulness and spirit rest is a worthwhile endeavor and helps us bear the weight of life's challenges. Emotional and mental weariness can be harder to overcome than physical tiredness.
"Have you considered the difference between soul rest and self-care? These two concepts often overlap. When we need rest, we tend to think about self-care or even self-comfort solutions. Self-care has to do with caring for our physical, mental, and emotional needs. Soul care happens when we trust Christ with our needs, relying on his presence and help to sustain us." (Ginger Harrington)
Escaping by binging Netflix is not soul care. It might be a quick fix, but not a solution. Rest is important. The bible mentions it 548 times!
Here are practices that you can try:
1. Do a daily "soul check". A journal is a handy tool for this. Ask yourself, what are my burdens? What am I carrying that does not belong to me? Can you release it and trust God? What is the worst that can happen if something doesn't get done? Address your barriers.
2. Close out your day. Before bedtime, write down anything on your mind, what did not get done, what needs to be done the next day, who needs what, who you need to call, etc. Then close the calendar. Close the book on it!
3. Plan everything but be flexible. I have found that using my calendar with nice size blocks facilitates tracking what I need to do. I write down everything! Appointments, calls, classes, errands, exercise times, etc. It is much better than using your phone calendar.
4. Connect with others. Conversations with close friends and like-minded, positive people encourages and builds our strong values and ethics. Connections with others is a component of optimal health.
5. Inhale some essential oils before bedtime. I like Lavendar, Cedarwood and Orange.
6. Practice breathing exercises. We have taught this in some of our classes.
Mindset and habit change facilitates building new pathways in the brain as you develop new and better habits for yourself. I will be scheduling the Forming and Maintaining Optimal Habits class soon, so stay tuned. This class will give you more tools to learn how to strategize your daily habits.
Remember to breath, rest and not be hard on yourself because you are worth it.
Liz
