Re: Dietary advise for those with chronic pain from chondromalacia

[Guest guest]

:

I've been taking Omega-3 fatty acids, in my case from fish oil, for

years. I find that I function better, and require less sleep, when I

take them. I've also noticed that my dandruff is gone.

There are supposed to be anti-inflammatory benefits to taking Omega-

3's, but I can't personally vouch for any benefits since I don't have

any inflammation-related pain.

Dr. Barry Sears (the Zone guy) and Dr. Phil Maffetone (triathlete

coach and doctor of applied kinesiology) discuss the benefits of

Omega-3's in their books. I value both of their opinions.

As far as your knee-pain goes, that's great that the flax seeds help

with your pain, but that isn't getting to the root of your problem.

Your goal should be to be pain-free without the flax seeds.

- Doug

>

> Hi, I am at the point of being partially disabled from

chondromalacia.

> So I've tried everything the doctors have recommended and more.

> One thing I've found that helps is flax seed. Its supposed to

contain

> fatty acids with anti-inflammatory qualities. I'd be interested to

> hear what others have to say about their experiences with it.

>

> Here's a short article I wrote with more detail:

> http://www.angelfire.com/80s/flax_seed/index.html

>

>

> Since the medical community isn't terribly interested in

researching

> this condition, I think its important that we band together and

share

> information.

>

> hope to hear from you,

>

> -

[Guest guest]

occupato wrote:

Hi, I am at the point of being partially disabled from chondromalacia.

So I've tried everything the doctors have recommended and more.

Hi ,

I'm new here and was just diagnosed with CMP not long ago. I have talked

extensively to a nutritionist who is also a certified herbalist. She told me to

take Glucosamine Chondroitin and MSN. She also warned that eating things high in

refined sugars can actually INCREASE ones pain. If you have any type of

arthritis, things to stay away from are plants in the nightshade family like

potatoes, carrots etc. Sweet potatoes are ok though. One way you can find out if

they are aggrevating your condition is to stay away from any nightsahde variety

food for about 3 weeks. Then she suggests eating a big meal with eggplant (like

eggplant parm. and if your pain increases, then just stay away from those things

altogether to help mangae your pain.

I know that everyone is different, but non weight bearing excercise to

strengthen my quads has helped some....and although I didn't make as much

progress in PT as the dr had hoped I still am continueing to do things like that

on my own. Little progress is better than no progress in my book. he can give up

if he wants, but I will not.

I have started seeing a chiropractor, and though it's too soon to see a

difference yet, I'm confident that it will help with my cmp. You see, if you

have any problems with your spine being out of alignment, then you will start

seeing problems in other things too, joints included. I belive totally in

chiropractic, and alternative medicines. I'm starting to totally loose faith in

the medical community bc all they want to offer me is something to cover up the

problem and nothing whatsoever to fix it. I will also be looking into the

prolotherapy. I have found some info on the net, but would like to get some

books to read up on it as well.

nancy

---------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Regarding using flaxseed, I looked into this and it seems there really is

something to it. Thanks, ! There is evidence, not a lot, but some, that

suggests that omega-3 oils are good for osteoarthritis. But to the extent it's

not I don't mind because there are a *lot* of other health benefits associated

with omega-3 oils.

From what I've been able to determine, it looks to me that fish oil capsules are

the best source of omega-3's, along with fish 2-3 times a week. The problem with

eating fish is that fish is that most fish is contaminated with mercury so you

don't want to overdo it. It seems that some of the fish capsules may be

contaminated with mercury as well, but the reputable manufacturers

filter/process it out.

But it seems that ground flaxseed is also a good choice and I am eating a little

of that every day (as suggested by ) in addition to taking fish oil

capsules. I only started doing this a few days ago. It appears that flaxseed

oil (as opposed to ground flaxseed) should be avoided because it is linked to

prostate cancer. (in men that is, this is not a problem for you gals :-). There

is at least one study that suggests that supplementing with ground flaxseed

reduces the risk of prostate cancer. Also, the omega-3 oil in flaxseed is

different (and apparently not as good in some ways) as the two omega-3 oils

found in fish oil.

I found it easy to grind up flaxseed in an inexpensive coffee grinder (mine is

like a mini-blender--I imagine that any blender would work as well but haven't

checked). The ground flaxseed looks and tastes very similar to wheat bran--I add

it to my morning cereal or just eat a spoon or two of it plain.

I'm not an expert in any of this and this is just a very simplistic reduction of

a lot of stuff I read. For more information, see the footnotes to 's

article (link is below) and/or go to google.com and pubmed.com and do searches

on " omega-3 oil, " " n-3 fatty acids, " " fish oil " , " flaxseed oil " or any

combination thereof.

occupato wrote:

Hi, I am at the point of being partially disabled from chondromalacia.

So I've tried everything the doctors have recommended and more.

One thing I've found that helps is flax seed. Its supposed to contain

fatty acids with anti-inflammatory qualities. I'd be interested to

hear what others have to say about their experiences with it.

Here's a short article I wrote with more detail:

http://www.angelfire.com/80s/flax_seed/index.html

Since the medical community isn't terribly interested in researching

this condition, I think its important that we band together and share

information.

hope to hear from you,

-

[Guest guest]

> As far as your knee-pain goes, that's great that the flax seeds

help

> with your pain, but that isn't getting to the root of your

problem.

> Your goal should be to be pain-free without the flax seeds.

>

> - Doug

>

Doug, I've tried everything: exercises, stretches, diet, taking it

easy, and I'm reporting whats worked. The root of the problem is that

my knee cartilage is mangled. Since cartilage repairs itself very

slowly (and maybe faster with a certain diet (read the book " Pain

Free " )), there's only so much one can do. There is no magical cure

for me I'm afraid.

I think the reason why I noticed so much improvement when I started

using ground flax seed, is that previously I was getting virtually no

omega 3 fatty acids in my diet to balance out the ton of omega 6

fatty acids I was getting from eating too much starchy foods. The

latter causes pain and inflamation. The former reduces it. From what

I've read scientists are still researching what a good diet ratio is

for these acids.

http://www.angelfire.com/80s/flax_seed/index.html