How to cure Arthritis & Gout

Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness around joints. This causes joint pain, stiffness, redness and reduced joint movement and this typically worsens with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis causes cartilage — the hard, slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones where they form a joint — to break down. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the synovial membrane - the lining around the joints. This then causes bones to rub on each other and wear off. 

The underlying reason for arthritis is the collection of toxins around the joints. Therefore, arthritis can be overcome by following a regimen which aims at releasing toxic waste from the body.  Gout is a similar disease which happens due to the formation of uric acid crystals. Our body is 80% alkaline and 20% acidic. Disease generally happens when there is a disbalance in this proportion. In naturopathy, our treatment of arthritis and gout is therefore geared towards the following 2 objectives:

1. Release of toxins from the body.

2. Increased intake of alkaline foods and reduced intake of acidic food. 

General cure - some very important things to take care of

1. Avoid taking anything cold. Cold things lead to contraction and can cause pain in the joints. In arthritis, toxins are usually stored below the joints. Consumption of anything cold will contract the body and push the toxins against the joints, causing pain and swelling. Besides, they unnecessarily take up energy from the body in bringing the temperature of the substance back to body temperature. If at all you have to eat anything from the refrigerator, ensure that it is kept out in the open for a while before you consume it. 

2. Avoid all acidic foods and increase intake of alkaline foods - All things made of maida (white flour), besan (gram flour), white sugar, milk and milk products, processed foods, proteins, cold drinks, tea, coffee, etc should be avoided. Instead increase intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

3. Avoid anything that causes a build up of toxins - Anger, hypertension, negativity and ill feelings towards others, processed foods, etc.   

More specifically, this is what you need to do to cure arthritis:

1. Live in fresh air. It is best to avoid fans and coolers. However, do note that an air conditioner should be strictly avoided as it tends to cause joint pains. 

2. Spend as much time in sunlight as possible. Sunlight helps the body produce Vitamin D3, which in turn helps the body absorb calcium, which helps strengthen bones. The morning Sun rays would be most effective. If possible, take a full body Sun bath. 2 things that we need to keep in mind:

   1. Drink about 1 to 2 glasses of lukewarm water before sunbathing so as to generate some heat in the body.

   2. Cover the head with a soaked towel so that the heat does not go into the head. 

3. Keep a very positive frame of mind. Anger, hypertension and negativity lead to a build up of toxic waste.

4. Issues related to drinking water

   1. First of all, water should not be colder than body temperature. Even better, have lukewarm water. Cold water would cause contraction and can cause pain in the joints.

   2. Because of the above, water kept in the fridge or a matka (earthen pot) should be avoided.

   3. Do not stand and drink water. It is believed that this tends to weaken the knees. 

   4. Drink water very slowly. Keep it in your mouth and roll it for some time so that it mixes with saliva. Human saliva is alkaline in nature and therefore helps reduce acidity in the body. Once the water mixes with saliva, it becomes medicinal. 

   5. Drink water at least 45 minutes before meals and at least 1.5 hours after meals. Drinking water during meals should be strictly avoided. This could cause digestion problems and therefore a build up of toxins in the body. 
      
      

5. Issues related to food

   1. Avoid all processed foods. 

   2. Increase intake of foods that are alkaline in nature. This includes all fruits, juices, vegetables and salads. However, do note that if one is suffering from weak digestion, then bananas should be avoided. 

   3. At one time, take only 1 type of fruit / juice. It is not good to mix fruits or juices. 

   4. Food should be as close in form as is provided by nature, if not raw. Owing to this, it is preferable to eat:

      1. Boiled vegetables with no masala (spices). If possible, also avoid salt. 

      2. Aata (flour) that has been ground using a hand operated chakki. Else, ensure that it is relatively thick (mota pisai) and the chokar (fibre) has not been thrown away.  

      3. Chew your food well before gulping it down. This makes it easy for the body to digest the food. 

      4. Take anjeer / munakka (dried grapes) in the morning. Soak the anjeer / munakka in water the night before as that tends to make digestion easier.  You could have as much as 50 grams of anjeer / munakka at one time, depending on one’s appetite. If one is not suffering from constipation, then s/he can eat the munakka along with the seeds as that tends to give energy to the body. Alternatively, you can remove seeds from half the munakka to balance out the effect. 

      5. Lemon is acidic in nature. However, once it mixes with hydrochloric acid in the stomach, it turns alkaline and therefore is very good to get rid of all acidity in the body. Therefore, one could take lemon and honey mixed in lukewarm water first thing in the morning as soon as you wake up. 

      6. Kheera (cucumber) and lehsun (garlic) are very beneficial for joint pains. For best results, have them raw.

      7. All foods containing Vitamin A, B, C, D & E, especially pineapple should give very good results. 

      8.  Laddu made with equal quantities of moth, ghee and gud (jaggery) shall also be very effective. 

DIET 

6. 1. Have about a litre of lukewarm water mixed with lemon and honey when you wake up. Lemon is rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants. Besides, it helps the body absorb calcium. 

   2. After some time, you can have any one of the following:

      1. Raw black or white sesame (til) seeds. 

      2. Soak a small portion of jaggery (gud) in the night. Mix that with a very small amount of chuna the size of a wheat kernel. Sieve the mixture before drinking it the next morning. Both sesame and chuna are rich in calcium and so should be very helpful. 

      3. Soak some danamethi in the night and have that in the morning. Danamethi is very good for people with joint pains, diabetes and blood pressure. Also drink that water in which the danamethi was soaked. 

      4. Powder made from the babool phali. I have used this personally and has been very helpful in relieving pain in my knees. You can even have this about an hour after breakfast and lunch. Start off with half a teaspoon a day. This tends to cause constipation to some people. If that is not the case, you can increase the intake to 1 teaspoon twice a day. If it does lead to constipation, you can drop it off from your diet. 

      5. Aloe vera should be very helpful in relieving joint pains. It would be best if you have it raw (after removing the thorns) either in the morning or along with your meals. If that does not sound good, you can either make a vegetable out of it or have it in juice form. 

      6. Moth laddus, to be made in the manner mentioned above.

Breakfast

6. 2. 7. Raw lauki (bottle gourd) and apple would be good. If the lauki is rather thick in size, it will not be bitter. If that does not appeal to you, then you could just eat apple. 

      8. Have soaked anjeer / munakka. Dry fruits are rich in phosphorus and help absorb calcium, which will strengthen your bones. Eat it very slowly so that:

         1. You chew it properly.

         2. It mixes well with saliva.

      9. Boil harshringar flowers and when the mixture has just about half the water left, sieve it and drink the water. This is very helpful in relieving joint pains. This could also be had in the evening.

      10. If harshringar flowers are not available, have Kadha with giloy, kali mirch (black pepper), laung (cloves), tulasi (basil), dalchini (cinnamon) and gud (jaggery).

Lunch

6. 2. 11. Around 11 o’ clock, have salads and then boiled vegetables and roti made with aata, without the chokar (fibre) thrown away.

      12. Kheera (cucumber) would be very helpful.

      13. Avoid palak (spinach) and tomatoes.

      14. At 3 / 4 o clock, have some fruit juice / vegetable soup. 

Dinner - Around 6 / 7 in the evening, have dinner consisting of roti, boiled vegetables and salads. Take your dinner at least 2 - 3 hours before you sleep.

Before sleeping, take 2 - 4 cloves of raw garlic, with lukewarm water. 

7. Natural Treatment - Natural treatment would be very helpful in alleviating arthritis and gout. The primary cause of arthritis and gout is collection of toxins and acid.  And natural treatment with the help of enema, various baths, etc, does exactly this - it releases toxins from the body. Specifically, this is what should be done:

   1. Pour about 2 litres of water over the knee and massage it a bit so that you dry all the water with your hands. Also, wipe your stomach with a wet cloth, or even better take kati snan (hip bath). Then go out for a walk, do some asanas and pranayama. While walking, breathe deep so that you take in the maximum amount of oxygen. 

   2. Take a hot cold fomentation (garam thanda sek) or mud pack (mitti ki paati) and enema for at least 3 days at a stretch so that all accumulated toxic waste exits the body.

   3. Cold water Kati snan (hip bath) in the morning and evening would be very helpful in setting digestion right, improve blood circulation and thereby lead to release of toxins from the body. Please note that one must warm the body after kati snan either by way of walking or by doing yogasanas.    

   4. Hot feet bath (garam per snan) or a full body hot water bath in the morning would be very helpful. 

   5. Steam bath twice a week. 

   6. Wet sheet pack the day after the steam bath. This will help relieve toxic waste from the body. 

   7. Lapet over your stomach and legs twice a day for about an hour. This could also be done in the night. Put on the lapet before sleeping and take it off when you wake up the next morning.

   8. Mashing raw potato and applying that on the joints should be very helpful in alleviating the pain. Alternatively, boil water with potatoes and pour this water over the joints. 
      
      

Yogasanas  

The following yogasanas will be very helpful:

7. 9. Pawanmuktasan

   10. Ardha Matsyendrasan

   11. Garurasan

   12. Padmasan

   13. Sarwangasan

   14. Vajrasan & Supt Vajrasan

   15. Matsyasan

   16. Yog Mudra

   17. Dhanurasan

   18. Gomukhasan

   19. Pashchimottanasan

   20. Utkatasan

   21. Ushtrasan

NOTE: Please seek advice from your Doctor for any of your ailments before acting upon any advice given in this article.