Arthritis

Arthritis is an inflammation of one or more joints in the body, though the term is used to describe almost all problems associated with the joints. You may have heard of arthritis referred to as rheumatism. Rheumatic disease refers to any type of arthritis, rheumatism or musculoskeletal disease. There are over 100 conditions altogether, some rare and some common. Arthritis can affect anyone of any age, including children; however arthritis tends to affect women more than men.

How many types of Arthritis and Rheumatism are there ? There are many forms of arthritis and rheumatism. The most common forms of rheumatic disease are :

Osteo-Arthritis : This is the most common form of arthritis. It is also known as degenerative joint disease. Osteoarthritis is more common after the age of 45 and is also more common in women. Osteoarthritis commonly affects weight bearing joints such as knees, hips, spine and feet. You may also get osteoarthritis on smaller joints like fingers, called Heberden' s nodes (painful, bony growths usually at the end of the fingers) that can make the hands appear knobby and sometimes out of shape. Osteoarthritis of the hands is more common in women as they go through the menopause.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) : This is a type of inflammatory arthritis and is a common disorder, which causes inflammation, pain and stiffness in the joints. RA typically affects small joints, like the hands, wrists, elbows and feet. However, RA affects any joint and can be the most disabling type of arthritis. RA is usually symmetrical - if a joint is affected on one side of the body, the other side is also affected. Occasionally, RA causes inflammation in other body organs like the heart and lungs. It is known that RA is an autoimmune disease, which means the body's immune system reacts to something abnormal in the body and tries to remove it. In RA the immune system attacks the layers of healthy tissue that line the joint (known as the synovium). The synovium produces a thick lubricating fluid called synovial fluid. This fluid acts like an oil, which lubricates the joint allowing free movement. In RA, the synovium becomes much thicker and produces larger amounts of fluid, causing the joint to become painful, stiff and inflamed. If left untreated, the joint becomes permanently damaged, resulting in deformity.

Gout : Gout is a painful type of arthritis that can attack both large and small joints, though it usually attacks one joint at a time. The condition usually begins with pain in the big toe. Other joints that are affected include the wrists, fingers, ankles, knees and elbows. Gout is caused by high levels of a substance in the bloodstream called uric acid. This condition is known as hyperuricaemia. Uric acid normally forms when the body breaks down a natural chemical in foods called purines. Uric acid is also formed by breakdown of body's own tissues, like blood cells. Uric acid is usually removed from the body by the kidneys and taken out of body in urine. Uric acid levels can become raised if the kidneys, though healthy cannot get rid of uric acid fast enough or the body begins producing too much uric acid, due to an inherited tendency. Uric acid levels will also tend to be higher if you have kidney disease. When uric acid builds up in the bloodstream it overflows and forms sharp crystals that collect in the joints and soft tissues. Majority of people who have hyperuricaemia (high uric acid levels) will not develop gout.

Fibromyalgia : Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder that causes fatigue and widespread pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons (the fibrous tissues in the body), but not the joints. The pain affects all areas of body, however tender points are usually in specific areas, such as the back of head and neck, spine, hips, elbows and shoulders. Scientists are unsure of the cause of fibromyalgia. Research indicates that people who suffer sleep disturbances regularly can develop fibromyalgia, for example if you suffer with arthritis and the pain disturbs your sleep you may go on to develop fibromyalgia (this is called secondary fibromyalgia). Fibromyalgia may also be triggered off during periods of stress or after a major trauma, such as a car crash or an operation, though usually the condition develops without any obvious trigger.Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or lupus for short is a connective tissue disease, which means it affects tissues throughout the body. Lupus commonly affects skin, joints, heart, kidneys, lungs and occasionally the brain.

There is another form of lupus called Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (D.L.E.), which usually affects the skin only. This type is less serious and causes itchy red patches or lesions on the skin. These rashes usually occur on the face and neck but appear on palms of hands, soles of feet, scalp, elbows and fingertips. Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which means there is a fault in the body's immune system. Normally the body produces certain chemicals called antibodies, which help body fight infections such as viruses. However, if you have an autoimmune disease, your body's immune system attacks its own cells and tissues. In lupus these antibodies, known as auto-antibodies are produced in large amount causing the inflammation of tissues throughout the body.

Juvenile Arthritis : Juvenile arthritis refers to all types of arthritis that affect children. However, it is fortunately quite rare.

Poly-Arthritis : This type affects five or more joints and is more common in girls. This type commonly affects smaller joints like the hands and feet, though larger joints may also be affected. It often affects the same joint on both sides of body.

Back Pain : This is a common problem and can have a number of causes. Back pain is very common and a major cause of disability and people having days off work. Majority of back pain problems is not serious and only last a few days or weeks and will usually sort themselves out. Back pain might also be referred to as lumbago. Pain in the back usually comes from muscles, ligaments and joints not moving as they should.

What are the symptoms of arthritis and Rheumatism ? The symptoms you experience depend greatly on the type of arthritis or rheumatism you are suffering with. The following symptoms indicate that you have arthritis or rheumatism:

Swelling in one or more joints.
Stiffness around the joints.
Joints that look red and can be warm to the touch.
Constant or recurring pain in a joint that has no obvious cause.
Sudden difficulty in moving or using a joint.

Any joint in the body can be affected by arthritis and rheumatism. The knees, fingers and hips are the joints most commonly affected. If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you may also experience a mild fever and loss of appetite or energy. Symptoms of arthritis tend to be worse in the morning and sometimes in cold, damp weather. When the affected joints are moved, you may hear a click or crack.

Cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme and Arthritis

Pain, redness, heat, and swelling which are the markers of inflammation, follow the release of prostaglandins. Aspirin and similar non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) reduce prostaglandins by blocking an enzyme which helps to produce them, called cyclooxygenase (COX).

In recent years some exciting studies are published that shed light on how to safely combat arthritis. There are actually two COX enzymes in the body. They are COX-1 and COX-2. COX-1 is called the good COX enzyme, while COX-2 earned the unflattering name as the bad enzyme. COX1 is easily identifiable and is important in regulating cell function. COX2, on the other hand, is generally undetectable in most tissues, but increases to high levels during acute inflammation. The COX2 enzyme is largely responsible for causing pain and inflammation. Injury, disease and trauma cause COX2 enzyme to produce prostaglandins, which cause pain and inflammation. In contrast to the COX-2 enzyme, COX-1 enzyme is responsible for protecting the body's stomach lining and kidneys. COX-1 enzymes continually produce protective prostaglandins.

COX-1 is essential for blood clotting and for protecting the stomach. COX-2 is the key player in inflammation, pain, and fever. NSAIDs and other arthritis medications steeply decrease the body's production of both enzymes, thereby decreasing inflammation while at the same time causing harm to stomach and its lining. The ideal situation would be to find a substance that inhibited only COX-2, but did not significantly affect COX-1.

Role of Noni in Pain and Arthritis

Noni and pain : Noni is a selective COX-2 inhibitor. There are several other ways in which Noni alleviates the undesirable symptoms of arthritis. Pain is the number one complaint with arthritis.

Researchers at an independent research facility found that indeed Noni was a selective inhibitor of COX-2 enzyme. In addition, the Noni did no damage to the COX1 enzyme. When scientists compared the Noni COX2 inhibition ratio of prescription arthritis medications, they found that Noni compared “very favorably” to the prescription medications. Yet, Noni exhibited none of the negative side effects that the prescription medications are known to cause. Next researchers compared the Noni COX2 inhibition ratio to the COX2 inhibition ratio of NSAIDs. In this category, Noni far out-performed the over-the-counter medications. And again, the Noni did not exhibit any of the negative side effects associated with NSAIDs.

Role of Scopoletin present in Noni in Arthritis and Inflammation

Another reason for Noni's pain fighting qualities stems from several of its constituents. Noni contains Scopoletin, which has anti inflammatory effects. Scopoletin is needed in the body for smooth joint movement. It also produces anti-histamine effects. A laboratory in France conducted a study that showed mice, given a liquid form of Noni, increased pain tolerance as reflected by their reaction time to a hot plate. The researchers concluded that Noni helped the mice better deal with the pain from the hot plate.

Noni in Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS) are more than just psychological problems. Researchers discovered that patients with fibromylgia have abnormalities in the brain and central nervous system. For example, a fibromyalgia patient has significantly less blood flow to the parts of the brain that deal with pain, and they have twice the level of the brain chemical called Substance P, which helps nervous system cells communicate with each other about painful stimuli.

Noni allows the body to produce more Nitric oxide, which has been shown clinically to improve blood flow. From one study, of the 2,399 Noni users that suffered from Fibromyalgia and CFIDS, 78% of them reported lessened symptoms after taking Noni juice.

The primary cause of Fibromyalgia is the oxidative stress in human body by which our body is loaded with free radicals and that are not the only cause of fibromyalgia but the origin of uncountable health elements. A good nutritional supplement rich in all antioxidants can save you from this disease. Only Noni contains lots of the most useful and all necessary micro nutrients and its powerful anti oxidant properties help to root out the disease and its unique property of pain reducing and other pharmacological property help a lot to manage the disease in acute cases.

The way in which Noni helps those suffering from this debilitating disease is by its perfect immune modulating and high antioxidant properties. There are several theories. For instance, an increase in energy after taking Noni juice was reported by 90% of the 12,199 people in a survey of Noni juice users. Since many Fibromyalgia and CFIDS folks suffer from loss of energy, an increase in energy from Noni is a very positive effect from the juice.

Noni and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Autoimmune diseases are the most complicated and obstinate types of disorders which does not have any successful treatment plan in the present standard treatment line. The Rheumatoid arthritis is one among them. In this disease, the body immunity system begins to attack the cartilages and the synovial linings of joints. As a result, an unbalanced inflammatory process causes significant destruction of healthy tissue. Studies also indicate that free radical production is 5 times higher in RA. A good proper nutritional supplement will be effective in removal of free radicals from the body. Noni is the best nutritional supplement provider and also a powerful immune modulator of our body. In all auto immune diseases, especially in rheumatoid arthritis, it needs to activate body immune system to work in an optimal level so that we prevent and treat the disease. Rheumatoid arthritis and SLE are such types of diseases linked with body immune system. In those diseases, Noni helps a lot by modifying body immune system. The inflammatory process found in that disease can successfully be handled by use of Noni. All the essential fatty acids present in Noni help in this aspect.

The micronutrients present in Noni

The Noni contains xeronine, all the vitamins, all necessary minerals and 17 amino acids out of 20 and 150+ nutraceuticals providing the body's required micronutrients for a smooth and harmonious function of all our systems.

Recommended Dosage

Divine Noni Concentrate

5ml morning and 5ml evening for 3 days. Then

10ml morning and 10ml evening for next 3 days. Then

15ml morning and 15ml evening for next 8 months.