<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I posted originally about my experience of getting unexpected relief from weeks & weeks of knee pain by taking an antihistamine (Actifed) for allergy symptoms. I asked the following questions: Allergies & knee pain? What's the connection? Have you ever heard of anything like this before? I wasn't planning to post a summary because of PC problems. (I have rotten e-mail software that prevents me from using the cut & paste feature efficiently.) But, I got so many good responses, I just couldn't NOT summarize. So here it is. It's not the detailed summary I like to do with quotations & such, but at least it gives me & others a place to start researching this topic. There's only one quote, it's first & it's from my sister in Houston. The rest is a simple listing of a few resources, suggestions of supplements & foods to try or avoid. I think it's interesting to note, that all the contributions below came from the personal experience of the repsondants or their friends or loved ones. [My obnoxious comments in brackets.] ----------------------- My sister's response: Wow! No I haven't. But histimine has a huge influence on body functions and general well-being. Bob [her friend] used to swear by niacin and vitamin C. The niacin releases histimine, causing a flushing effect (which is awful to me) [me too]. Bob loved it, however. He maintained that without histimine, we are incapable of orgasm [hmmmm...]. He was very opposed to anti-histimine (or "histimine blockers"). When he got a cold he would take more niacin, vitamin C, garlic and echinecea. His contention was that niacin releases histimine into the bloodstream so it can be utilized by the body, rather that being stored up. I don't understand it at all. Anti-histimines are histimine blockers. They prevent the release of histimine. Apparently, according to him, the optimim situation is to have your histimines freely released on an ongoing basis so when you do have an allergic reaction it will be less violent because you don't have an enormous stockpile of histimine. The reason for the vitamin C was that niacin alone can be toxic to the liver. I don't know much about it but I think it bears looking into. [I'm intrigued by this response, because so often in medicine the best treatment for disease is completely contrary to what would seem the logical choice. Examples: stomach acid supplements eliminate heart burn, reducing PM insulin sometimes reduces elevated AM blood glucose, adrenal extract often calms an over active adrenal gland, increased calcium intake reduces formation of kidney stones & calcification of soft tissues, increased sodium intake sometimes causes diuresis rather than fluid retention, etc. I'm always intrigued by the reality of unexpected results.] ------------- Things to TRY for reducing arthritis symptoms: ~ Black cherry juice. ~ Most often mentioned was an elimination diet as a tool to isolate & eliminate reactive foods. [For details on the elimination diet, you will need to do a Google search, as it's too detailed to discuss in this summary.] ~ Food allergy testing. ~ Glucosamine. One person notices an increase in arthritis pain if she stops taking it. [This totally makes sence becasue glucosamine heals a leaky gut & a leaky gut is the source of allergy sensitization.] ~ Probiotics, of course, which will improve gut health thus reducing allergies & inflammation. [My personal favorite probiotic is kefir. My next best choice is Garden of Life Primal Defense, which isn't nearly as tasty or cost effective. My third choice is raw homemade sauerkraut.] ~ Increasing omega 3 fatty acids by eating more deep sea fish, taking flax seed oil, fish oil. One respondant recommends EcoFish which are caught wild & frozen on the fishing boat. ~ High omega 3 eggs. These are eggs layed by chickens fed a special diet high in flax seed. Available at many health food stores & some grocery stores. ~ Goldenseal & fresh garlic to rid the GI track of parasites. [This sounds very plausible since most of our immune function originates in the gut & parasites could disturb the delicate balance of microflora as well as cause an inflammed, leaky gut.] ~Quercetin & bromelain. Quercetin is an anti inflammatory dietary supplement often taken to reduce seasonal allergy symptoms. Bromelain is a plant derived enzyme that aids in the digestion & utilization of quercetin. ~ Apple cider vinegar. Dilute with water, sweeten with honey if desired. ~ Take the amino acids lycine, glutamine plus biotin. Increase use of bean flours while decreasing use of rice & corn flours. (see resources below) ----------------- Things to AVOID to reduce arthritis symptoms: ~ Decrease the amount of omega 6 fish oils which are known to increase inflammation. These are found in margarine, mayonnaise, chips, most baked goods & all vegetable oils except olive & coconut. Oils highest in omega 6 are sesame, evening primrose oil, rborage, unrefined sunflower, rice bran, black current. [I have personal experience with seeing shoulder bursitis clear up after giving up sesame butter.] ~ Legumes (soy, beans, peanuts, lentils, peas, etc.) ~ Casien, a complex protein found in milk & some legumes. One respondant reported that her husband's "arthris" completely disappeared when he cut out gluten, casien & soy. ~ Several respondants said red meat aggravates arthritis symptoms. ~ Two respondants mentioned that dark poultry meat causes them problems. ~ Sugars. ~ Grains [which, BTW, are high in omega 6 FA.] ~ Avoid Acid foods: citrus, vinegar, tomatoes, etc. This was the therapudic diet of choice decades ago for children with rheumatoid arthritis. However, the respondant wasn't sure this really helped her or not as she also was avoiding other foods at the time, by cutting out hamburger buns & other foods she normally ate. She believes that gluten was the most likely cause of her RA flaring as a child. ~ Pesticides found on non-organically raised produce. ~ Nuts & all vegetable oils except olive becasue only olive oil is NOT contaminated with nuts. ~ Avoid long term use of Ibupprophen. [I love the way it makes me feel, but hate the way it makes me susceptible to bleeding. I'm definately looking for safer alternatives.] --------------------- Resources: ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/essential_amino_acid (a detailed discussion on the role of biotinin & biotinase plus glutamin & lysine crosslinking to form collagen. ~ PAIN FREE IN SIX WEEKS (a book) ~ CONQUERING ARTHRITIS by Barbara Allen ~ I CURED MY ARTHRITIS - YOU CAN TOO a book by Margie Garrison ~ Any books by the authors Eugene Zampieron & Ellen Kambi. * Please carefully compose your subject lines in all posts *