The role of the omega-3 polyunsaturates in arthritis
Use of cod liver oil to relieve painful joints is the earliest recorded use of a food substance specifically for it's medicinal properties. Cod liver oil can therefore be considered the first "health food" or to use more modern parlance, the first "functional food". Records from the Hope Hospital in Manchester show that cod liver oil was being widely prescribed by the physicians there in the mid 1800's, as it most probably was in many hospitals at the time. Although it is difficult to decide whether the benefit felt by the patients was the result of vitamin D curing their rickets, or whether the omega-3 polyunsaturates was helping their arthritis, there is little doubt that they did benefit. Cod liver oil was reported by one physician as being " much requested by the poorer sort..." Hospitals throughout the land made extensive use of cod liver oil during the latter half of the 19th century, and up to the middle of the 20th century, when it's popularity declined as synthetic vitamin tablets became available. The modern history of cod liver oil, and more recently fish oil, in the treatment of arthritis started in the 1950's, a time when the relationship between a raised level of cholesterol in blood was being linked for the first time to an increased risk of heart disease. At that time it was also noticed that many arthritis sufferers had high cholesterol levels, and since at the time it was considered that cod liver oil could lower serum cholesterol, trials with arthritis patients were started. The earliest published work in this area is that of two American clinicians, Brusch and Johnson. They published in the Journal of the National Medical Association in 1959. They reported their experiences with a group of 98 arthritis sufferers and claimed that 92% of their patients reported improvements in their condition after taking a probable 20mls of cod liver oil daily for 2 - 20 weeks. Work by Coke at the Charterhouse Rheumatism Clinic reported in 1963 showed that dietary cod liver oil could change the composition of the fatty acids in the fluid within a joint (articular fluid). This pioneering work has recently been confirmed and extended by Navarro and colleagues, in a report of their work published in the Journal of Rheumatology. Papers published after the early 1970's recognised the different types of arthritis, and tend to fall into two groups, those dealing with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) , and those dealing with osteo-arthritis(OA). The former group is the larger of the two.What to do about it
To take advantage of the omega-3's, arthritis sufferers should aim to eat at least 5-10g of fish oil daily, or 35-70g per week. There are various ways of getting this quantity of oil. A daily 4 oz portion of oil-rich fish such as smoked mackerel, smoked salmon, or kippers, will supply this much oil, as will a similar amount of canned or fresh salmon, herring, sardines, sprats, pilchards. One or two teaspoonsful of cod liver oil can offer an alternative, as can fish oil capsules. Arthritis is a condition which has been developing within sufferers for 30 or 40 years, so it is unlikely to disappear overnight. In conjunction with the oil, sufferers should modify their diet, so as to cut out red meats, reduce dairy fats like cheese and cream, and increase fruit and vegetable consumption. Fish should be eaten as often as possible. Vegetarian diets have been shown to help, but if sufferers want to eat meat, then they should eat chicken or turkey, preferably without the skin. These dietary changes have been demonstrated by medical research to be helpful, and recently the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council recommended such changes to arthritis patients.(published with permission in writing from:http://www.fish-foundation.org.uk/)
