How to Put Arthritis in Remission

Resveratrol Get All the Facts

2007-09-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

As a consumer you should want all the facts. Especially about the supplements that you might be taking. Resveratrol is no different. Read up on the subject and try not to focus on any one study or point. Rather pool the information and evaluate it based on all the information not a fraction. A good starting point is Wikipedia. Although this is an open forum there is a wealth of information on the site that can link you up with many aspects of past and present research. Do not rely on a company's advertising bravado. If they make a claim be sure that it is backed with scientific evidence. If you are not sure then it probably is not true but a fine piece of spin. Don't be sold down the river by slick posts.

And by the I can not vouch for any of the advertisers that appear on this blog. Google pumps in the ads to keep this site free. Ads for lack of a better word are good. If you do not want to view ads get Securemaker from download.com.

I had a comment about which supplement that I used. I did not want to reveal the source but since you asked why not. First I want to say that evidence strongly points to trans-resveratrol as the active ingredient. If you can obtain reasonably pure resveratrol in the trans form this is probably the best. I am currently trying to find a reliable supplier for the trans form but the company that I ordered it from was unable to fill my order due to demand. The first resveratrol that I bought was from Costco under the Resvinatrol brand name. This is what I currently take but I would like to change for the following reasons.

1. From my studies the trans-resveratrol in the pure form seems like the best option.
2. The cost is significant especially when you are taking six caps a day under the resvinatrol brand name.
3. Another thing you need to keep in mind. Studies show that resveratrol breaks down very quickly in the blood stream and within 8 minutes the half of the absorbed amounts are depleted. This means taking smaller doses more often is better than talking one large does every day. I take some in the morning and evening and if I think about it in the afternoon as well. Try to take two caps at a time and if you drink or beer or glass of wine take some then too. Alcohol may aid in resveratrols uptake by your digestive system. The evidence is not clear but it can't hurt if you are taking the supplement anyway.
4. Try to reduce your cost while obtaining the same level of intake. Not all resveratrol is created equal. I am not even sure about the amounts of trans-resveratrol in supplement. It could be low even though the package says that it delivers 100 mg or resveratrol per capsule. Not all resveratrol is created equal.

Hope that this helps. Good luck to all you arthrits sufferers. I hope that resveratrol works for you.

Arthritis resveratrol Find out how to stop taking Cox-2 inhibitors

2007-09-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

Find out how and why I stopped taking Cox-2 inhibitors. Please read all the posts they all have valuable information in them. If you do not have the time then read my earliest post first.

When it comes to arthritis Cox-2 inhibitors are the best selling drugs. They are not cheap. If you read my earlier posts you found out how I put my Arthritis in remission with Resveratrol. The last article summarized a new study supporting resveratrol as a treatment for arthritis. Now I take the resveratrol as an arthritis treatment one step further by investigating another study. Read my past posts or email me for other tid bits of valuable information. By the way I wanted to let you know that I undertand the science behind resveratrol. I have a MS Microbiology and am currently seeking my PHD in Biosciences.

Did you know that it takes about fifteen to twenty years for new drugs to make it to market. That means drugs that were first discovered in the early 1990's are just making out it of the FDA. The reason is that it takes millions of dollars and many hours of research and study to jump through all the regulatory hoops that the government has set up to protect the public. This is the price paid for saftey and efficacy and still mistakes are made. Resveratrol is not a drug per se. It is a naturally ocurring compound found in the husks of grape skins and berries. It is often cited as the reason for the "French Paradox" and it is probably why research shows that drinking red wine is healthy.

Please read a small excerpt from the another study on Resveratro'ls effectiveness at reducing arthrits in rabbits. In a nutshell scientists tested whether resveratrol injected in the joints of rabbits reduced the amount of compounds that are found in the joiints of arthritis patients. If you want to know about the possible mechanism then read my previous article.
"Resveratrol (trans-3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene) is a phytoalexin found in high concentration in the skins of grapes and red wines which has been shown to have antiinflammatory, anticancerogen and antioxidant properties. Resveratrol is a potent and specific inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB). Resveratrol also inhibits COX-2 gene expression and enzyme activity. CONCLUSION: A characteristic parameter in arthritis is the progressive loss of articular cartilage. This study suggests that intraarticular injections of resveratrol starting at the onset of disease may protect cartilage against the development of experimentally induced OA."

Now there are many things why you might find fault with this study. However, this does lend support to my view that resveratrol is effective against rheumatoid arthritis. I know that it worked for me. It might work for you as well.

Arthritis and Resveratrol How it Works

2007-09-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

I wanted to follow up my last article with some evidence that resveratrol can help you overcome your rheumatoid arthritis. I have experienced significant reduction in pain and stiffness in my joints after taking 300 milligrams of resveratrol for about six months (please see the previous article). Now I wanted to follow that last article up with scientific research that supports my position. Please click on the link on the right called "Effects of Resveratrol on Inflammatory Arthritis."

In this study researchers used rabbits as a model to determine the effects of resveratrol on the induced simulation of arthritis. In arthritis patients a molecule called nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB)is over produced. Now let me throw some science at you to explain what NF-kappa does.

I will try and explain why this is important in simple terms without too much complicated biological jargon. Cells take all their commands from chemical signals that are produced from DNA. Management is attained by chemical regulators that govern how and when compounds from DNA are made and utilized. These substances are called transcription factors and they can turn on or turn off certain genes in your body. These factors are the reason that your cells can orchestrate the development of your body during childhood and in old age.

It is known that in arthritis patients that nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB), a transcriptional factor is over produced which turns on other genes known as TNF-alpha and IL-1beta. Studies show that in arthritis patients these genes are over active and the compounds they produce lead to inflammation and pain. Resveratrol works by inhibiting the production of nuclear factor kappa B and thus preventing the induction of the genes that they "turn on." In addition resveratol is also known to be an active COX-2 inhibitor.

In the study mentioned earlier, arthritis was induces in rabbits and then resveratrol was directly injected into the joints of the rabbits to see if it would inhibit nuclear factor kappa B the transcriptional that turns on those other "bad" genes leading to arthritis. As it turns out resveratrol knocked out the production of kappa B leading to significantly reduced joint deterioration in the studies rabbits. Now most scientists would tell you that this is only one study and you can not hang your hat on just one study. And they would be right. Hundreds more would be required and finally human subjects would have to be tested for efficacy.

If you read my last article you know that resveratrol worked for me! It put my arthritis in remission. I found this out my accident and only later found that there was scientific evidence for my arthritis' remission. Resveratrol in found in the husks of red grapes and is known to be one of the reasons why it is healthy to drink red wine. This means people have been taking resveratrol in small doses for thousands of years. Now in the study much higher doses were used. However, I will say that I took about 300 milligrams equivalent a day for six months. A regular glass of red wine has about 160 micrograms. You would have to drink about 20 glasses of wine or five bottles to get an equivalent. Take the route I did and buy the light and heat protected supplements on the Internet. It is both cheaper and more convenient. Try it today, you never know what could happen.

How I Put My Rheumatiod Arthritis in Remission

2007-09-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

It is difficult to explain to someone the pain and stiffness that you experience when you have rheumatoid arthritis. Excercising every day used to be a painful event that felt more like self mutilation than self enrichment. Celebrex took away the bulk of my pain and suffering.

So I resigned myself to the fact that Aleve or naproxem sodium would be my best friend for life. That was until reading about research concerning a compound found in red wine called resveratrol. Although I was taking resveratrol for other reasons it ended up having a profound affect on my arthritis. In fact today my joints feel twenty years younger and physical excersion that once would have made getting up from a quiet position almost impossible is now commonplace. The laughable part is that discovering this treatment and my subsequent recovery was by accident.

Rheumatoid arthrits is an autoimmune disease that affects over 4 million individuals in the US including myself. The human immune system consists of a powerful set of cells and messengers that are very effective at finding and eradicating foreign invaders. When these tools are mistakenly directed towards the body itself the result in the case of rheumatoid arthritis, is the direct destruction of joint connective tissue and significant pain, stiffness and swelling.

My grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis and it was a good possibility from a genetic standpoint that it would affect me as well. Originailly it was my belief that all my joint pain and stiffness was a direct result of my frequent exercise and age. A sports injury to my shoulder and a prescription for Celebrex changed my mind. After a few days on Celebrex my joint pain diminished significantly and missing even one day of the drug resulted in pain and stifness remission. I was resigned to take a couple Celebrex or naproxem sodium for the rest of my life.

About one year ago while reading the New York Times a certain article caught my eye. The article talked about how scientists were investigating a compound found in red grapes known as resveratrol. For many years scientists have been trying to understand why the French population eats rich foods without high rates of heart disease and diabetes when compared to Americans. Researchers discovered a compound called resveratrol that when fed to mice in significant amounts resulted in profound effects. Mice that were fed a rich diet high in fat developed diabetes and other diseases related to a high fat content diet. The mice on resveratrol did not develop the same types of disease and lived significantly longer than their non resveratrol counterparts.

Resveratrol is readily available on the Internet in supplement form. Basically large amounts of red grape husks are dried and mashed and put into capsules. Instead of drinking five bottles of wine every day just take pill. I decided why not. Research already showed that red wine was good for you and now it could be taken in larger doses without all the alcohol. The first batch of resveratrol was purchased and taken sporadically. Occasionally my web surfing would turn up other articles about resveratrol and all were positive except for one. The article said that resveratrol was heat labile and denatured at relatively low temperatures. This meant that the resvertrol that had been stored in my car was useless.

Further investigation turned up a supplier that packaged resveratrol in blister packs and recommended they be kept in the dark at room temperature or lower. I took this new supply of resveratrol consistently and hoped for some results. I was still popping a couple of naproxem every day and was keeping healthy exercising. Then something unexpected happened. After being on resveratrol for about six months it came to me. I was forgetting to take the naproxem and there was no pain or stiffness. At first the results were not appreciated so my exercise routines became more rigorous. Then I decided to play full court basketball to see how my joints would hold out. In the past playing even for a short period caused significant pain and stiffness. This time there was the some muscle tightness and pain just like it would have been if I was twenty years younger. This startled me. Being a scientist I investigated whether resveratrol was known to have any affects on arthritis.

Resveratrol is being investigated as a treatment for arthritis. Researchers working with rabbits found that resveratrol shut down the production of HLA-DR4 the compound known to lead to joint deterioration in arthritis patients. Could it be true? Had I found a treatment by accident? The answer was an emphatic, yes. The results amazed me and have inspired me to write this article so this information can be shared with others.

Now it needs to be made clear that the resveratrol was taken for over six months before any results were realized. If you do have arthritis it has developed slowly and your joints are deteriorated. My theory is that it takes time to begin to heal all that damage. Now it may be something other than resveratrol that resulted in my arthritis remission. However, you can not convince me otherwise. Others may or may not experience the same results as myself and for older individuals resveratrol may have little or no effect.

In closing let me add that I do not sell resveratrol or have some ulterior motive for writing this article other than to share my experience. All arthritis sufferers should consider giving resveratrol a shot. Who knows what could happen. The only side effect is that my wallet is bit lighter. It is expensive and the blister packs are recommended because you do not want to run the risk that the product will be denatured by heat or light. This is my way of paying it forward. Please share this information or article with someone who can really use it, an arthritis sufferer.