Fish Oil and Arthritis - Benefits

Is there a beneficial link between fish oil and arthritis?

About Arthritis

Broadly speaking, arthritis refers to a condition whereby a person suffers from joint pain. Often, this is because of cartilage problems. Arthritis is often a painful and debilitating condition for sufferers, sometimes quite literally crippling them. There are two types of this ailment - rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the body's immune system goes awry and begins to attack its own joint tissue, in particular joint cartilage, causing pain and swelling. Generally speaking, the causes of this condition are not well understood by conventional medical wisdom.

In osteoarthritis, on the other hand, the damage to joint cartilage is associated with wear and tear as well as old age. This may or may not be an accurate theory; there is some evidence which suggests that it could be flawed, for example the fact that affected persons usually experience problems with several joints simultaneously.

No medical cure is available for arthritis, and conventional medicine's focus is on managing the condition. The use of drug medications, such as anti-inflammatory drugs, is the typical method of conventional treatment, although such drugs, as is usually the case, come with various side effects.

Omega 3 Arthritis Relief Effects

Thankfully, there are natural remedies which can help, and omega 3 fatty acids is one of them. The omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil, DHA and EPA, are effective for protection against arthritis, lowering one's risk of getting the condition. These nutrients account for the beneficial link between fish oil and arthritis.

Omega 3 fatty acids are powerful anti-inflammatory substances, positively impacting and regulating inflammatory responses in the body. They do so by forming anti-inflammatory prostaglandins in the body, as supposed to omega 6's, which mainly form inflammation-increasing prostaglandins. This directly helps to relieve the pain of inflammatory ailments like arthritis, explaining the link between using fish oil and arthritis relief. Prostaglandins are hormone-like substances in the body which have powerful and wide-ranging effects.

Omega 3's can help to reduce the pain, stiffness, swelling and irritation associated with arthritis, without any observable side effects. Other symptoms of arthritis, such as decreased immunity and reduced resistance to stress, may also be alleviated.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

The positive link between fish oil and arthritis is quite clear. Fish oil has been found in numerous studies, including double-blind trials, to be useful and effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis. In clinical studies, most persons suffering from rheumatoid arthritis were able to stop or lower their dosage of anti-inflammatory drugs with the consumption of essential fatty acids. Indeed, persons with rheumatoid arthritis have been discovered to have reduced levels of omega 3 fatty acids, for example EPA and DHA, in their blood as well as joint fluid.

Many books make reference to the ability of omega 3 fatty acids to prevent, alleviate the symptoms of, or treat rheumatoid arthritis. These include "Textbook of Natural Medicine (2nd Edition Volume 2)" by Michael T Murray, ND; "Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition" by Paul Pitchford; "The Omega-3 Connection: The Groundbreaking Anti-depression Diet and Brain Program" by Andrew L Stoll; "What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You" by Ray D Strand; "The Natural Way to Heal: 65 Ways to Create Superior Health" by Walter Last; and "Dr Earl Mindell’s Unsafe at Any Meal: How to Avoid Hidden Toxins in Your Food" by Earl Mindell and Hester Mundis. These references provide further proof of the beneficial link between consuming fish oil and arthritis relief.

Osteoarthritis

In the case of osteoarthritis, besides reducing inflammation, fish oil may also be useful in slowing or preventing cartilage damage by reducing the impact of enzymes with such effects. Other books also point out the usefulness of omega 3 fatty acids in treating osteoarthritis. This includes "The Doctor’s Vitamin and Mineral Encyclopedia" by Sheldon Saul Hendler. Again, this is proof of the positive link between using fish oil and arthritis relief.

Arthritis in General

More indications of the correlation between using fish oil and arthritis relief are provided in books like "Whole Foods Companion: A Guide For Adventurous Cooks, Curious Shoppers, and lovers of natural foods" by Dianne Onstad, "Viral Immunity" by J E Williams, OMD, and "Prescription for Dietary Wellness: Using Foods to Heal" by Phyllis A Balch, CNC, which broadly refer to the ability of omega 3's like EPA and DHA in dealing with arthritis in general.

The beneficial association of consuming fish oil and arthritis relief goes even further. Psoriatic arthritis, a condition which affects about 1 in 10 psoriasis sufferers, is also alleviated with the use of fish oil, as mentioned in the book "Earl Mindell’s Secret Remedies" by Earl Mindell, RPh, PhD.

Omega 3 fatty acids, on top of being useful when ingested, can in fact also be helpful when used as a topical remedy for inflammation.

In addition, even pets which suffer from arthritis can benefit from consuming omega 3's like EPA and DHA!