Cider vinegar is also a natural, nutritional and effective remedy for joints. So which is best?
Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory. The active ingredient works best in combination with some black pepper and a little fat.
Great! If you're cooking a soup, stew or curry, just saute the onions, for example, in coconut oil (or other fat that's stable at cooking temperature), add a teaspoon or as much turmeric as you fancy in with the other ingredients, season with pepper and enjoy!
Cider vinegar breaks down the uric acid crystals present in osteo-arthritic joints. But more than that it, surprisingly, has an alkaline effect on the body.
Now this is important because too much stress, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, meat - i.e the Western Lifestyle - has an acidic effect. And the body's coping mechanism for the effects of acidity is inflammation.
If you have a condition which ends in the suffix 'itis' which means inflammation - such as colitis, arthritis, cystitis, sinusitis, diverticulitis - then there is something in your diet, lifestyle or environment that is causing your body to respond with inflammation.
So is Turmeric best for you because it treats inflammation? Or cider vinegar because it addresses one of the causes of chronic inflammation - acidity?
I use both. When I'm cooking I add turmeric if it suits the recipe. I also drink cider vinegar every day.
Other helpful edibles include raw organic dark chocolate, vegetables in general, magnesium and Omega 3 oil (found in walnuts, oily fish, free range egg yolks, flax and chia seeds.)
Roast Veggies with Walnuts, Feta Cheese and Turmeric
I rarely weigh ingredients unless I'm baking, so this is deliberately vague so you can adapt
quantities to suit what's in your kitchen, how many you are cooking and to your own taste.
The oven temperature and time are accurate, though you'll need to check the veggies and
toss them around in the oil part way through.
The most important thing is to find out what is causing the problem. What is causing the acidity? What is causing the inflammation? What is causing the pain?
Is it work stress, or Life In General stress? Do you rush when you eat? Is there something in your diet that causes inflammation or just doesn't suit your digestion? Are your joints painful because of a misalignment or mis-use such as RSI?
So I'll give a plug here for stress relieving Shiatsu and Massage treatments. During a consultation we can talk about work-life balance, we can look at diet and lifestyle changes to suit you, we can see if a re-alignment or different way to use your joints might help.
Relaxing in the treatment your stress hormone production switches off, your nervous system calms down and the recuperative, re-balancing, restorative processes that bring you back to feeling well have a chance to do their thing.
Don't put up with joint pain, inflammation or stress. Come and find out what might be causing the problem and see what solutions there could be. You never know, it might just be chocolate!
