My parents, in their sixties, complain about muscle and joint pain each morning when they climb out of bed. They say their first steps are painful and halting with tingling in their feet and hands. As they walk around the house and brew their first cup of coffee, the stiffness slowly subsides and they are able to go about their busy day. What’s causing this and how can I help?
Mom and Dad are probably experiencing the pain of osteoarthritis caused by inflammation. Are copious amounts of aspirin and NSAID’s the answer? They worry about the effects on their liver if they consume them every single day. Acetaminophen was close to being banned by the FDA only three years ago, but it remains prevalent in so many pain medications. It causes an increased risk of cancer, skin reactions, autism, hearing loss and can be FATAL.
So what are some natural treatments that will enhance their overall health? How can they reduce the inflammation in their joints? What can I do to keep help them remain independent?
My answer is to take a three prong approach to the problem. First is keeping the mind young and sharp. Second they will need to increase their overall energy levels. Finally our parents need to stay active and eat right to keep their joints limber.
The brain is an incredible muscle that will work longer and harder for you the more you exercise and feed it. It consumes up to 20% of the total calories your body exhausts daily. The brain is like a race car that needs to be firing on all cylinders to work best. It needs food that will give it the high octane fuel it operates on. It requires a large amount of oxygen to hit top speed. The engine, the heart, needs to be moving oxygenated blood quickly into the veins. Finally those veins need to be flexible and large to feed the tiniest cells.
Exercise is an absolute must. The heart requires a great amount of energy to push all the blood and oxygen into your brain. Regular exercise, including cardiovascular, must become routine. A cardiovascular routine will make the lungs more effective at absorbing and converting oxygen. The veins in our body become less pliable as we age. Their have been some studies suggesting that omega-3s are able to increase elasticity in veins.
The brain is made out of about 40% of the omega-3 DHA. DHA can only be found naturally produced in breast milk and marine algae. Make sure your parents are eating at least 4 servings of fatty fish, like mackerel & herring, for EPA or DHA each week. If they aren’t, then simply feed their brain from the only other primary source of EPA and DHA in phytoplankton.
Exercise the brain with puzzles and free online brain games. Make sure they stay social with their fiends and family. They also want to help, give them little projects that can help you out without causing too much stress on them. It will help them stay at their sharpest!
Our energy levels are determined by many factors. Once again, exercise is the best way to boost those and energy levels. Routine, routine, routine!! That’s the trick to exercising! Once your body becomes accustomed to its new routine it will quickly show its benefits.
Make sure your parents are getting plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Eating raw vegetables has great fiber and gives them a boost of energy. Keep the fruits coming for their antioxidants. This new fish oil replacement provides all the omega-3 benefits without the bad taste or big pills. It’s also much easier to digest than oily fish pills.
Stretching and yoga are great ways to stay limber! A short evening stroll around the neighborhood or through the grocery market can go a long way for their tendons and ligaments. Keep the cartilage healthy be feeding it proline, the building block of tendons and ligaments. Proline will help build and strengthen all of their joints, giving them the freedom to get up and face another day.
I’ve been helping them follow these easy steps for the last 18 months. They are both visibly more active with less pain. Watching them play with the grandkids let’s me know that I’m helping everyone as much as one person can.
Jordan is a frequent content contributor to healthy living websites and publications, and is available for speaking engagements. Email [email protected] to learn more.
