Re: Eating fruit may help stave off joint problems

[Guest guest]

Yesterday, I took my 94-year-old mother-in-law for an ear test. I had

to be with her in a sound-proof booth to translate instructions from

the ear specialist. As I turned my head to various positions, I was

amazed to hear many crackling noises in my neck vertebrae. These

noises are so faint that they are virtually inaudible in a room with

normal environmental noise.

As far as I know, I have normal cartilage and no osteoarthritis, but

all those little noises make you think.

Tony

>

> THE QUESTION Wear and tear on the joints is most often blamed for

> osteoarthritis. Might the nutrients in foods have a protective effect?

>

> THIS STUDY involved 293 generally healthy adults (average age, 58)

who had

> no knee pain. The nutrient content of each participant's diet was

determined

> at the start of the study. Ten years later, their knee cartilage and

bone

> were examined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). People who reported

> consuming the highest amounts of vitamin C, primarily from eating fruit,

> were the least likely to have developed bone changes associated with

> osteoarthritis. Little or no link was found between bone changes and

vitamin

> E or most carotenoids.

>

> WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? Adults. Osteoarthritis affects an estimated 21

million

> Americans. The risk increases as people age.

>

> CAVEATS Data on supplement use, which might have affected the

findings, were

> not included in the analysis. Information on diet was based on the

> participants' recall. The study did not indicate how many people

received an

> osteoarthritis diagnosis during the 10-year period.

>

> FIND THIS STUDY July online issue of Arthritis Research & amp; Therapy.

>

[Guest guest]

The medical term for that is " crepitus " . May be due to gases released

in the soft tissue with movement and cartilage degeneration on the

articular surfaces of the joints. Cam be present in any joint such as

a knee joint, vertebral joints esp. the neck. You may not have any

overt radiographic signs of osteoarthritis, and that's great, but

virtually everyone has some degree of joint surface degeneration that

gives rise to crepitus as we age. I've said it before that it is

important to place ALL the joints through a full range of motion on a

daily basis to maintain and improve their health.

> >

> > THE QUESTION Wear and tear on the joints is most often blamed for

> > osteoarthritis. Might the nutrients in foods have a protective effect?

> >

> > THIS STUDY involved 293 generally healthy adults (average age, 58)

> who had

> > no knee pain. The nutrient content of each participant's diet was

> determined

> > at the start of the study. Ten years later, their knee cartilage and

> bone

> > were examined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). People who reported

> > consuming the highest amounts of vitamin C, primarily from eating

fruit,

> > were the least likely to have developed bone changes associated with

> > osteoarthritis. Little or no link was found between bone changes and

> vitamin

> > E or most carotenoids.

> >

> > WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? Adults. Osteoarthritis affects an estimated 21

> million

> > Americans. The risk increases as people age.

> >

> > CAVEATS Data on supplement use, which might have affected the

> findings, were

> > not included in the analysis. Information on diet was based on the

> > participants' recall. The study did not indicate how many people

> received an

> > osteoarthritis diagnosis during the 10-year period.

> >

> > FIND THIS STUDY July online issue of Arthritis Research & amp; Therapy.

> >

>