ARTHRITIS

From recent literature: Vitamin D is now recommended for everyone at 1,000 IU per day. Vitamin D and fish oil are effective in reducing arthritis inflammation and pain. And dark fruit, like cherries, helps to relieve arthritis pain!

Also please see chelation therapies

Based on Nutrition 15th ed chapter 14 in books:

First suggestion is high dose of vitamin C. Those who consumed double the RDA had less than half as much arthritis in the Framingham Osteoarthritis study.

beta-carotene was also helpful in another study, reducing the risk of disease progression when people got double the level, getting 9,000 IU per day.

Framingham study also showed vitamin D was important, at least 400 IU per day had a 3 to 4-fold lower risk of disease progression than those getting less than 200iu. Milk has 100 IU per glass, and many multivitamins have 200IU. But too much vitamin D can be hazardous, leading to calcification of other parts of the body, like the throat. So beware of high dosage vitamin D supplements.

Body weight plays a big role. Climbing down steps increases weight effect 6 fold, so a 150lb person puts 900lb pressure on the knee joint. Stairs are great exercise, but too much may be hazardous in the long run. In one study, women considered medically obese were 10 times more likely to have knee osteoarthritis as thinner women.

Unsaturated oil can also be helpful, specifically DHA and EPA, which are omega-3 oils [fish oils, canola, olive, and soybean oils, beans, and nuts] which are anti-inflammatory as opposed to omega-6 oils which are pro-inflammatory. Humans used to consume a 1:2 ratio of these oils until the 1900s when the ratio went to 1:10 (reference), which may contribute to many ailments today. Saturated fats compete with the omega-3s for uptake by the joint cells.

-information taken especially from Tufts Health and Nutrition Newsletter

And the latest development with substantial evidence of benefit is SAMe. Please read about this!