At Least One-Quarter of Americans Have Arthritis

[Guest guest]

http://mercola.com/2004/jun/2/arthritis.htm

 

At Least One-Quarter of Americans Have Arthritis

About one-quarter of American adults have been diagnosed with arthritis, a

musculoskeletal disease that is the leading cause of disability in the United

States. What’s more is that another 17 percent may be suffering from the disease

but have yet to be diagnosed, and the rate is expected to increase.

 

In a 30-state survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, it was found that people with a form of arthritis, rheumatoid

arthritis, gout, lupus or fibromyalgia ranged from 17.8 percent in Hawaii to

35.8 percent in Alabama in 2002. On average, close to 28 percent of those

surveyed had one of the above-mentioned conditions. Another 20 percent had

chronic joint pain, aching or stiffness, which could indicate arthritis.

 

Along with the pain and suffering caused by this disease, arthritis is also

making a significant financial impact.

 

It is estimated that costs, both direct and indirect, of arthritis and related

rheumatic disease was $86.2 billion in 1997, or about 1 percent of the nation's

gross domestic product. During this time Americans spent $51.1 billion on

medical treatment and lost earnings due to hospitalization, illness and

disability to the tune of $35.1 billion.

 

Experts say diet, weight control, exercise and medical treatment are effective

methods to control the occurrence and severity of arthritis.

 

CNN May 14, 2004

 

 

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

 

Arthritis is taking a large emotional, physical and financial toll on Americans.

If you read the above article you will see that at least 25 percent of Americans

have arthritis or a related disease and another 20 percent are suffering from

chronic pain and stiffness that could be caused by arthritis.

 

If you or someone you know has arthritis or a related disease, it’s important

that you know there are relatively simple approaches that have worked for

thousands of patients I have treated with this problem. The basis for these

approaches stems from Dr. Thomas Brown, who passed away 14 years ago. He

developed an innovative alternative to the traditional approach to the treatment

of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) more than 50 years ago.

 

He believed that RA was due to an infection with an organism called mycoplasma

and used antibiotics as an alternative to treatment with the miracle drug of his

time, prednisone.

 

He was able to help more than 10,000 patients recover from RA during his career.

I have revised his protocol with diet, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and NST

strategies and have helped nearly 3,000 patients recover from RA. However, I

have always been seeking to avoid using the antibiotics to treat this problem.

 

Although the antibiotics frequently worked and the six-month period of worsening

that was part of Dr. Brown’s protocol was virtually eliminated, I always felt

like I had failed because I had to resort to the use of antibiotics.

 

Well, last year marked a transition in my version of the antibiotic protocol.

The major change has to do with the use of metabolic typing. Since we have

integrated metabolic typing with full use of EFT to address the stressors that

seem to be universally present in RA, we have been able to cause RA to routinely

go into remission without the use of antibiotics.

 

To say I am excited is a serious understatement.

 

If you are skeptical I encourage you to read this patient’s story, as she was

able to achieve great success in overcoming dermatomyositis, a disease with many

similarities to RA, by following the program.

 

 

 

If you would like to find out your own metabolic type, I have included a basic

test that allows you to do so in my new book. Alternatively, you could come to

my clinic located outside of Chicago if you are looking for a drug-free,

effective and rapid solution to most cases of RA. At the very least, I highly

encourage you to carefully read through the Physicians' Protocol for Using

Antibiotics in Rheumatic Disease.

 

There are some general principles that seem to hold true for all people,

regardless of metabolic type, and these include:

 

Eliminating sugar and grains

Having unprocessed, high-quality foods, organic if possible

Eating your food as close to raw as possible

Having omega-3 fish oil

 

Also, most people with RA seem to have some sort of precipitating emotional

trauma. The emotional trauma weakens the immune system, which is what allows the

infection to get in. As I mentioned above, EFT is a useful technique has

resulted in profound improvements in patients with RA.

 

Related Articles:

 

Helpful Tools for Rheumatoid Arthritis

 

Arthritis Drug May Worsen Congestive Heart Failure

 

Asthma Symptoms Linked to Infection

 

Nearly One Third of Rheumatoid Arthritis Severe After 20 Years

 

Arthritis Drugs Have New Warnings, but Will the Doctors Listen???

 

Silicone Implants Can Cause Arthritis Like Condition

 

 

 

 

 

Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Messenger