The causes of osteoarthritis (part 1)
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and afflicts 21 million Americans. There are two types of osteoarthritis: primary osteoarthritis and secondary osteoarthritis.
Secondary osteoarthritis is a result of injury to the joint or joints affected. This injury could be the result of trauma to the joint from an accident or high impact sports. It could be a repetitive motion injury from joints that are stressed over and over again in the same way, such as a ballerina’s ankles, a baseball pitcher’s shoulder, or a data processor’s wrists. It could be excess mechanical stress on weight-bearing joints caused by overweight and obesity.
Far more common than secondary osteoarthritis is primary osteoarthritis. It just happens with no identifiable precipitating cause. It usually hits suddenly between the ages of 40 and 50, but degeneration starts as early as age 20. The cause of primary arthritis is unknown. However, there are many theories.
Theories of the cause of primary osteoarthritis
It was once thought that osteoarthritis was an inevitable consequence of age, the effect of years of wear and tear on the joints, since osteoarthritis is found predominantly in people over 45. But not everybody gets arthritis as he or she gets older. If it were due to aging, it would be universal in old age. Furthermore, it would be universal in old age in all cultures. And it is not. A 1996 study published in the Lancet, a prestigious British medical journal, found that native Africans living on a traditional diet of fresh, natural foods never get arthritis. Arthritis is also rare in Japan and China where people still follow their traditional diet and way of life.
Primary osteoarthritis is also attributed to heredity. But this theory is again contradicted by the observation that people living a traditional life in their native countries do not get arthritis, but when living in the United States, they do. Native Africans living a traditional life in Africa do not get arthritis. African-Americans have a high incidence of the disease. Japanese eating a traditional diet in Japan do not get arthritis. Upon immigrating to the United States, they do.
The acidity theory of arthritis
An alternative theory of the cause of primary osteoarthritis is acidity in the blood. Arthritis sufferers commonly have a high level of acidity in their bodies, according to Eugene Zampieron, N. D. and Ellen Kambi, Ph. D., in their book entitled Arthritis. One of the main sources of acidity is the diet. The most acid forming substances are sugar, alcohol, cocoa, coffee, vinegar, white flour, meat and dairy. Processed foods, in general, are acid forming. The alkaline forming foods are mainly fresh fruits and vegetables. The greener the vegetable, the more it will help increase the alkalinity of the body.
Evidence of an acidic diet as the cause of primary osteoarthritis is found in epidemiological studies of other cultures. In countries where the diet is unprocessed, and people still live entirely on fresh, whole natural foods, which are largely alkaline, arthritis is rare. This is true of the native Africans mentioned earlier. The incidence of degenerative diseases including arthritis was also rare in the Japanese who, until recently, lived on a far more natural diet than Americans. But as the Japanese have adopted a western diet, their rates of arthritis, gout, heart disease, diabetes and cancer have soared, according to Dr. Lauri Aesoph in her book, How to Eat Away Arthritis.
Next week’s article will discuss further evidence of the effect of diet on arthritis and the kind of diet that will alkalize the blood.
Mary Lou Williams, M. Ed., is a lecturer and writer in the field of nutrition. She welcomes inquiries. She can be reached at 267-6480.