I just received this from a newsletter I receive online -- I know you
said you tried ginger, but maybe you didn't get the right stuff in the
right amounts:

[log in to unmask]

Root of Relief

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

March 31, 2004

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Dear Reader,

You may already know that ginger can treat an upset stomach
and calm nausea. But a secret about ginger that is less well
known is that in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine
this aromatic root has been used as an anti-inflammatory
agent for thousands of years.

Now a new study in the journal Osteoarthritis Cartilage
confirms what many HSI members have been aware of for
sometime: Ginger extract may effectively relieve some types
of arthritis pain.

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Easy as 1, 2, 3
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Researchers at Israel's Tel Aviv University enrolled 29
patients who suffered from osteoarthritis of the knees. The
six men and 23 women (aged 42 to 85 years) were divided into
two groups. One group received a 250 mg dose of ginger
extract four times each day for 12 weeks, while the other
group received a placebo.

At the end of this first phase of the study, those subjects
who had been receiving ginger extract began receiving
placebo, and the former placebo group began receiving the
extract. After another 12 weeks, all of the subjects began
using the ginger extract for a final phase of 24 weeks.

At the outset of the study, and once each month throughout
the study phases, researchers used a visual analog scale
(VAS) to measure patients' pain and their response to
treatment. Patients rated their pain on a line; one end of
the line represented feeling in the best condition, while
the other end of the line represented the worst possible
pain. Researchers also assessed knee swelling and mobility.

Results for the three phases showed:

* Knee pain was reduced and mobility increased significantly
   in the group that first used placebo and then switched to
   ginger extract.
* Placebo group subjects also reported less pain and greater mobility after
   the first phase, but by the end of the second phase there was a
significant
   difference between overall data collected while subjects were using
placebo
   compared with when they were using ginger extract.
* Subjects who used ginger extract during the second phase
   continued to improve mobility during the third phase as pain
   decreased.
* Subjects using placebo during the second phase
   experienced significant improvements throughout the third
   phase.

Noting that, overall, the "ginger extract group showed a
significant superiority over the placebo group," researchers
concluded that 24 weeks of treatment with ginger extract may
be optimal for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knees.

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Relief in Miami
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The Tel Aviv results are impressive, but as I mentioned
above, the effectiveness of ginger extract on osteoarthritis
is not new to HSI members.

In the e-Alert "Another Option for Treating Arthritis Pain
Without Side Effects" (12/28/01), I told you about a
University of Miami study that enrolled 247 patients with
mild to severe osteoarthritis of the knee. Subjects in this
study were randomly assigned to take either a 255 mg ginger
extract or a placebo each day for six weeks. As in the Tel
Aviv study, pain was measured with VAS, as well as the Western
Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis (WOMAC) index;
a questionnaire that assesses stiffness, function and total
impact of arthritis pain.

After six weeks of treatment, both groups showed
improvement. But in every assessment category, the ginger
extract group showed greater results. Sixty-three percent of
patients in the ginger group improved their VAS score by 15
or more (on a scale of 100), while half of the control group
reported such gains. That may seem like a substantial
placebo effect, but subjects in the ginger group showed
nearly twice as much improvement in pain after walking 50
feet, and also showed significant gains in the WOMAC index.

The greatest impact was seen in stiffness, where ginger
produced nearly a 20-point improvement over baseline
measures.

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Ginger access
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Ginger is generally regarded as safe, but it can cause some
minor side effects. In the Miami study, patients in the
ginger group reported mostly mild gastrointestinal effects
like belching, stomach upset, heartburn, and a bad taste in
the mouth.

The ginger therapy used in this study was a patented formula
called EV.EXT 77, which is extracted from dried ginger root
and the root of dried galanga (a plant similar to ginger,
which is also believed to have anti-inflammatory
properties). Laboratory tests have shown that one capsule of
EV.EXT 77 contains close to one mg of salicylate, the same
anti-inflammatory agent found in aspirin. Research has also
shown that the extract can inhibit both cyclooxgenase (COX)
and lipooxygenase, enzymes that trigger inflammation.

There are two formulations I've found that include EV.EXT
77. Zinaxin delivers the same dose of ginger extract used in
the Miami study. And Zincosamine combines 170 mg of the
ginger extract with 50 mg of methyl-sulfonyl-methane (MSM)
and 350 mg of glucosamine. Both of these products can be
found in health food stores and through various Internet
sites.

If you suffer with arthritis pain and stiffness and haven't
found much relief with painkillers like ibuprofen and
acetaminophen, consider giving ginger extract a try. .........