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*Not a Substitute For your regular Doctor. Contact your physician before starting a nutritional program or discontinuing prescription medication.

Musculoskeletal Health

Bone Health

Recommended supplementation and lifestyle changes (not meant as a diagnosis or to replace the advice of a health care practitioner):

DOCTOR’S A-Z food supplementation: Bone Building complex with Boron (2 TID), Bone Health ( 1-2 TID), Ostivone (1 w/ bfast & dinner)

Or BIOTIC’sS food supplementation: 2 Osteo-B Plus (3x each day)
1 Hydro-Zyme (with each meal)
1 Cytozyme-F (3x each day) For women only

· Avoid refined sugar and refined carbohydrates: Eating refined food causes you to excrete the minerals necessary for good bone health. An interesting note, Americans consume more calcium than many other societies, but have a higher rate of osteoporosis. This is largely due to the fact that we eat so much refined food and our diet is deficient in many of the other nutrients necessary for good bone health.
· Exercise (according to your doctor’s instructions): Exercise causes the body to reinforce the bone so that it can tolerate exercise.
· Avoid coffee, alcohol and other diuretics: These cause you to excrete minerals.  Avoid all dairy products due to their acidity.
· Especially avoid colas: Colas are high in phosphorus. These cause the body to excrete calcium and magnesium necessary for bone health.

Additional recommendations (your doctor may want to individualize the nutrient and lifestyle recommendations for you):

Many people tend to think of bones as just tubes made of calcium. The role of calcium in bone health has been stressed to the exclusion of the other components of bone. Bone is living tissue. It is a protein matrix that is reinforced with calcium and other minerals. Many minerals other than calcium are important to bone health.
Magnesium, manganese, folic acid, boron, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and even strontium are necessary for healthy bones. Exercise, digestion, and hormonal balance also play a role in bone health.

Muscle, Joint and Ligament Health

Recommended supplementation and lifestyle changes (not meant as a diagnosis or to replace the advice of a health care practitioner):

DOCTOR’S A-Z food supplementation: Joint Health advanced (1+ TID) &/or Joint Health (3 TID) along with Flax Oil (1 Tbsp TID), Cetyl MyristOleate (1 before ach meal for 20 days),

Or BIOTIC’S food supplementation: 1 ChondroSamine Plus (3x each day)
1 MCS (1x each day)
1 Beta-TCP (2x each day)
1 B12-Lozenges (1x each day)
2 Multi-Mins (2x each day)
2 Amino Sport (3x each day)

· Exercise (according to your doctor’s recommendations).
· Make sure you drink enough water. Water is necessary for the resiliency of cartilage.
· Eat whole foods that are rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals.
· Avoid hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated oil. These oils promote inflammation and are not good for tissue integrity.
· Avoid refined sugar and refined carbohydrate. These cause you to excrete minerals. And NO DAIRY PRODUCTS

AVOID ALL NIGHTSHADE FAMILY FOODS: potatoes, tomatoes , and peppers, especially tomatoes 

Additional recommendations (your doctor may want to individualize the nutrient an lifestyle changes for you):

Healthy joints require protein, minerals, and other nutrients. Sometimes the health of the joints is dependent on the health of other organs and systems. Poor digestion may deprive the joints of necessary nutrients for good health. In the past, holistic practitioners attributed arthritis to being caused by liver toxicity. This is interesting because the liver needs sulfur for detoxification and sulfur is also necessary for cartilage production. In fact, the two most talked about supplements for arthritis, gluosamine sulfate and chondroitan sulfate, both contain sulfur.

A NATURAL HEALTH APPROACH TO CHRONIC PAIN

Over-the-counter pain relief products and NSAIDS are only good short-term: These products stop inflammation but will work only for a short period of time. After a while they actually set the stage for oxidative stress and inflammation. They deplete glutathione (an important antioxidant and a substance that the liver uses to remove toxins). They irritate the GI lining, increasing intestinal permeability which leads to more oxidative stress and inflammation.

Fats and oils play an important role in inflammation: Essential oils (Flax, Omega 3) are converted to substances called prostaglandins (aspirin is a prostaglandin inhibitor). Some prostaglandins are pro-inflammatory and some are anti-inflammatory. The type of fat or oil you eat helps determine the kinds of prostaglandins you produce. Animal products, containing arachadonic acid are converted to the pro-inflammatory prostaglandin (also called PG2). Flax oil and fish oil are converted to the anti-inflammatory prostaglandin (also called PG3). Hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oil block an enzyme that helps to produce anti-inflammatory prostaglandins. Hydrogenated oils should be avoided at all costs, they help create pain and inflammation. If the pain is severe or hard to control, animal products should be limited or eliminated.

Some herbs are useful in controlling pain: Feverfew does many of the same things that aspirin does, plus it is often effective in treating migraines. Ginger is a good pain-killer as is curcumin (an extract of cumin).

Enzymes help to control pain and inflammation: Pancreatic enzymes and vegetable enzymes (like bromelain) can be effective in eliminating pain and inflammation. When taken on an empty stomach, some of the enzyme is absorbed by the body. Once inside the body, the enzyme removes cellular debris associated with inflammation. It sort of cleans house, which reduces pain and inflammation. It is important to take these on an empty stomach. When taken with food, they help your digestion, but not your pain.

How to Control Pain Naturally:
· Absolutely avoid hydrogenated oil. You should avoid other pro-inflammatory foods like animal products, refined sugar, and chemical additives. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables. Your doctor will help you to plan a supplement regimen.

· Take fish oil or flax oil. Take a minimum of 1000 mg (or 1 tbsp) four times per day. You can take a lot more--especially if you are deficient in essential fatty acids (your doctor can easily test you). If you get an after-taste from taking essential oil supplements, you probably need bile salts and liver support.

· Bromelain or pancreatic enzymes can help to reduce pain and inflammation.

· Feverfew, curcumin or ginger can be useful for controlling pain and inflammation.

Your doctor will help you to determine which supplements are best for you.

Additional Steps if You Have Been Taking a Lot of NSAIDS of Other Drugs:

If you have been taking drugs long-term, getting your pain under control is a little trickier. You have to undo the damage done by the drugs. There is also a rebound effect. In other words, symptoms will sometimes flare up when you suddenly stop taking a painkiller.
If you are taking an over-the-counter painkiller, gradually reduce the amount with your doctors permission. Start by slowly extending the time between doses. If you take it every four hours, try to go for five or six hours between doses. After a few days, see if you can go seven or eight hours, and so on until you are weaned from the medication. Your doctor will help you to plan a strategy and which supplements are best.
If your drugs are prescription, don't just reduce doses on your own. You need to discuss it with your doctor.

· You may need to take something to heal the GI lining. Examples of substances that help heal the GI lining are IPS (made by Biotics Research Corporation), Aloe Vera juice, fresh cabbage juice, whey (get it from goat’s milk, not cow’s milk), glycine, bioflavonoids, etc.

· You may need to take a general antioxidant

· Take something for liver support. A supplement that has Milk Thistle, lipoic acid, and glutathione would provide good liver support. Livotrit Plus is a good option.

· Glutathione may be necessary. Glutathione is best taken on an empty stomach.

· Balancing the body's structure is also useful: Techniques like naprapathy or chiropractic and other hands-on techniques are effective in reducing nerve irritation and muscle spasm. In fact, many holistic doctors get excellent results in eliminating pain without using any nutritional therapy.