Abundant living with John Arts Abundant Health

I recently spoke with a client who I first helped more than two years ago. He’s an ex-farmer who was having real trouble with osteoarthritis in his knees. Realistically, surgery was his only option.

My role as a nutritional medicine practitioner is to identify the dietary and supplement options that can help. There are many factors that can cause osteoarthritis. Genetics, injury, occupation and nutrition all play a part.

Direct injury to joints can set off a faulty biochemical chain that finishes with destruction of cartilage-secreting cells called chondrocytes, resulting in cartilage loss. Interestingly, the same basic faulty biochemistry is also triggered by nutritional factors.

A deficiency in antioxidants especially those made by the trace minerals selenium, zinc, copper and manganese leave chondrocytes exposed to oxidative stress, a technical term to describe free radical damage.

The end result is always the same. Chondrocytes are damaged or die, meaning cartilage cannot be repaired. Eventually cartilage thins, often replaced by bony spurs as our bone survival mechanism kicks in. The body then tries to heal the problem with inflammation, which just makes it worse.

Two years ago I created a personalised nutritional support programme for my client. This included dietary recommendation to support cartilage and to reduce inflammation. We added supplements, initially at higher doses.

This included my OA support supplement, which is a little different to most. While it includes glucosamine the real hero is the 800mg-1600mg of high grade chondroitin sulphate supported by meaningful amounts of curcumin from turmeric and fish oils to reduce inflammation.

This week I emailed him to ask how he was doing. His response was that he thinks he has delayed future surgery by 10 years.

John Arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, Adv.Dip.Nut.Med) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health Ltd. For questions or advice, contact John on 0800 423559 or email: john@abundant.co.nz Join his all new newsletter at: www.abundant.co.nz.