I am starting the Spring with a massive flare-up of my old lower back injury and osteoarthritis in my Sacroiliac Joint (SI Joint) which has had me at bed rest and unable to stand and walk for 3 days. This all started with a traumatic back accident at 7 years old. My SI joint and pelvis are very unstable, the SI joint is dysfunctional and the bone injury permanent. I developed osteoarthritis young and have bone spurs around the area and herniated disc. I learned how to manage my condition by eating to reduce pain, staying mobile by exercising daily and building very strong and balanced muscles to brace my back and joints in place. I am a sucker for corrective training and have really reduced the occurrence of my flareups. They're once a year instead of monthly. Can I do better? I sure can! Every time I have a crisis, I learn something new about "why", the triggers and make a new commitment to further improve my lifestyle and diet. I learned new thing this time about range of motion of my movements, warming up "enough" (that will be a future newsletter) and how pizza can start a crisis!
I suspect you too may suffer from joint pain in your body. More than 55 millions Americans suffer from osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and related conditions, including fibromyalgia, gout, lupus, Lyme disease, psoriatic arthritis, bursitis, scleroderma, Reiter's syndrome, Sjogren's syndrome, and ankylosing spondylitis (also an issue of mine in my upper thoracic spine). Indeed, arthritis and other diseases of the muskuloskeletal system are the rimary source of disability in the United States today. And guess what, arthritis can be reversible and in some cases, curable with proper diet and lifestyle changes. These simple changes can not only relieve inflammation and pain but stop degeneration and rejuvenate the affected joints. And I have decided to board this train starting May 22nd, after my move.
I have decided to challenge myself to stop my bone degeneration and rejuvenate my SI joint and attempt to CURE my arthritis in one year. I spent the past 3 days going back to my nutrition school manuals, scanning the recent research about cases of completely cured arthritis and deformities that were reversed. I read about hands that were crippled and bone spurs that reverted. Personally, I have had one instance of bone spur in my knee that got reverted 2 years ago after working on my lifestyle and diet and introducing certain corrective training exercises. I don't know why I did not think earlier that I maybe could maybe do the same for my back.
As I am stuck in my antigravity chair icing my low back and taking 1,000mg pure vitamin C every 30 minutes, I am devising my new "Arthritis Reversal" diet, which is taking my current diet from good to great and making changes to my supplements. I also have a superstar back specialist in my corner, Dr. Andrew Illig (www.oasmd.com), who's been in my corner every time I find myself immobilized. He specializes in orthopedic care, pain management and rehabilitation of back and neck injuries. He understands the importance of diet and exercise. His motto is always "the more you move, the better you feel" in cases like mine. One day without exercise and I stiffen and hurt. He is also conservative and thinks that surgery should really be last resort and what I am doing should keep me away from the scalpel for another 40 years!
Funny how the progressions in my career as a holistic health and nutrition coach have followed personal crisis, a little like the quote by Christopher Harrison above.
- Stage 1 of my coaching practice was healing an auto-immune thyroid disorder and learn about how to reset and boost the immune system.
- Stage 2 of my coaching practice was learning how to create a successful career in competitive Corporate America while remaining peaceful and happy. Which meant mastering time management tools, re-framing the mind around key managerial concepts, stress management tools, preventing lack of self-esteem, gaining weight, lack of sleep. burning out. It was the Eat, Sleep and Exercise Your Way to the Top and my Feeding Success Lab.
- Stage 3 of my coaching practice is going to be about growing younger in my 40's through my 80's, and preventing/stopping arthritis, bone and joints degeneration and deformities, managing pain without medication (I am taking none for my back now) and well, I'd like to feel like I am growing younger!
Here's a highlight about some dietary changes I am putting in place now as I "soft-launch" my new "Reverse Arthritis" experimental diet:
- Eat more sulfur-containing foods. Sulfur is needed for the repair and rebuilding of bones, cartilage and connective tissue. Examples include asparagus, eggs, garlic, and onions.
- Eat a lot more fresh organic vegetables (Personally I will try for 80%), especially leafy greens which supply vitamin K. Including one or two green juices or smoothies a day. I start my day with Zenberry but I will also add a freshly pressed juice (I prepare it before I go to work in the morning and carry both in a small cooler my backpack)
- Reduce salt in my diet (and ask salt free food at restaurants) and none in my home cooking. During the Spring Detox I lead in March we experimented 7 days without salt. My flexibility was never as good as that week!
- Do not take iron supplements or a multivitamin containing iron. Iron is suspected of being involved in pain, swelling, and joint destruction. Consume iton in foods instead like blackstrap molasses, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, fish (avoid toxic fish filled with heavy metals and mercury), peas, etc. A specific supplement cocktail can help regenerate joints. The quality of supplements also matter.
- Watch for UTI and cure them. My research showed that the bacteria Proteus Mirabili may be a cause for arthritis. View this short video here. Very inspiring!
- Eat an alkaline diet. If the blood is too acidic, the cartilage in the joint might dissolve. The joints lose their normal smooth sliding motion, bones rub together and the joints become inflamed causing pain. That's where pizza, which was my dinner out the night before my crisis the next morning was a BAD idea all around... I typically eat an alkaline diet but I can and will do much better to regenerate joints
There are many more rules than those I am currently outlining. It is a simple strategy but it will take motivation and support to stick with it. One thing that is very exciting about my new "Reverse Arthritis" diet is that it also is a fountain of youth. My liver, skin and hair are going to love this. Nothing wrong about beach readiness as a side benefit. My exercise regimen is also going to change a bit and include new activities that hydrates the joints like antigravity workouts which I just got certified to teach last week and will be teaching at Crunch Fitness and hopefully in Nyack, NY where I'll be moving to part-time in two weeks.
