- Diet has been found to affect the course of rheumatoid arthritis. Eating a vegetarian diet and eliminating certain foods have proved useful in reducing symptoms.
- Maintaining a weight proportionate to your height may reduce your risk of developing osteoarthritis. No studies have been done on using weight loss to reduce symptoms, but there is evidence that being overweight may accelerate damage from osteoarthritis.
- Strengthening and aerobic exercises may reduce pain and increase joint function.
- Some of the standard physical therapy approaches, such as ultrasound, ergonomics, TENS, and applying heat or cold may be helpful.
- Acupuncture is widely used for arthritis, but as yet there is no evidence that it is effective.
- Magnet therapy is popular in Japan, but again there is as yet no scientific evidence that it is effective.
- Education and emotional support appear to be important parts of an arthritis treatment program, leading to improved pain levels and a sense of well-being.
*90/306/5*

The human body has more than one hundred joints. In the adult body many of these joints move very little or not at all, and we are mostly unaware of them.

The Joints
The joints may be divided into three basic types according to the amount of motion each permits: rigid, slightly mobile, and freely movable. The different types of joints work in different ways to achieve different functions.
Rigid Joints
The joints that separate the bones in the skull and pelvis are examples of rigid, or fixed, joints. These joints are movable only during infancy to allow for growth or in special circumstances such as pregnancy, to accommodate delivery. These joints are not affected by RA.
Slightly Mobile Joints
Some joints, such as those between the vertebrae in the spine, normally move only slightly. The vertebrae (or bones) are separated by a cushion of cartilage called a disk. In fact, when these joints move more than a very little bit, problems can arise. A “slipped disk,” for example, occurs when the slightly mobile disk moves farther than it should. These joints are not affected in RA.

Freely Movable Joints
Freely movable joints, known as synovial joints, are the kinds of joints most people think of when asked to name a joint. The shoulders, elbows, wrists, finger and toe joints, hips, knees, and ankles are all freely movable joints. Synovial joints can be affected by RA.
There are great differences among the various synovial joints in terms of structure and function. For instance, the knee and elbow joints permit motion primarily in one direction because the contours of the bones on either side of these joints fit together like a hinge. The hip and shoulder joints, however, allow movement in many directions. To accommodate this wide range of motion, these joints are built like a ball and socket.
Although different synovial joints function in different ways, all of them are composed of the same parts.
*3/209/5*

People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) spend large amounts of money on controversial remedies that are not approved by the medical community. The variety of these “therapies” boggles the mind: copper bracelets, “mega-dose” vitamins and minerals, special diets, herbal remedies, electrical devices, antibiotics, insect and snake venoms, and topical applications of assorted substances. These so-called therapies are offered through books and magazines, in health stores, and in newspaper advertisements.
The prospective remedies range from unproven but potentially useful therapies to outright quackery that either has no effect or has the potential to be harmful. The person who gets involved with one of the remedies in the latter category risks extensive financial loss and substantial deterioration in health. But even when the treatment is inexpensive and carries no risk of physical harm, there is a hidden cost in wasting time on unproven remedies: the person may miss the opportunity to receive proven and effective treatment during the valuable window of opportunity that occurs early in the course of RA. It is during this window of opportunity that conventional treatments are most effective.
We are aware that many of our patients use forms of therapy other than those prescribed or recommended by us. In many cases, if the individual finds some measure of relief from the alternative therapy but continues traditional therapy, there is no problem. Because some forms of therapy do present health risks, however, we recommend that you tell your physician about any therapies you are considering, so he or she can advise you – and even warn you – if these therapies are known to be dangerous.
This is of the utmost importance if you are contemplating taking an unconventional medication. The substances may contain impurities, for example, as thousands of individuals who used a “natural” substance called tryptophan in the late 1980s found out. Because of impurities in the manufacture of this so-called natural substance, these people suffered severe side effects after ingesting tryptophan. You should also be aware that arthritis medications manufactured in foreign countries that have permissive drug regulations frequently contain a combination of several medications. Each of these component medications has potential side effects.

How to Spot Potentially Risky Treatments
When our patients ask us about unconventional therapy, we tell them to walk away if:
•      the treatment offers a cure. If a cure were available, the legitimate pharmaceutical companies would have purchased its patent and would be manufacturing and distributing it. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
•       testimonials are the only proof of a therapy’s effectiveness.
•      the address given in an advertisement is only a post office box number. Any therapy offered by someone who is unwilling to give a formal address or telephone number is suspect. You might even consider placing a call to the Better Business Bureau.
•      the treatment is excessively expensive. You should question the motives of someone who stands to reap great financial rewards from your transaction. Many so-called cures are unfortunately nothing more than a disguise to rob you of your hard-earned money! Let the buyer beware!
•      you are not given a written list of the ingredients in any product that you are instructed to take by mouth.
*122/209/5*

Veterans Administration (VA) Benefits
The VA offers both health care and disability help to veterans who qualify. Although all service-connected disabilities are covered by the VA, RA generally does not qualify as a service-connected disability, and so eligibility for treatment of RA would depend on other criteria such as your income and ability to pay. The benefit specialist at the local VA center can assist you by outlining the options available to you. If you are a veteran, find out what benefits you are eligible to receive.

Income Taxes
Having RA can be quite expensive. For tax purposes, the question is whether your expenses in any one year are high enough to be tax deductible. Generally, health care costs are only deductible when they reach extremely high levels – currently, more than 7.5 percent of your gross income. If you spend a large amount of money for health care, however, you may be able to get some assistance in the form of a tax break.
If your health care expenses are high but not high enough to be deductible on your income taxes, there may be other options. Many corporations offer a cafeteria I flexible benefits program which allows you to use pretax dollars to pay for your health costs. In this way, you do not pay income taxes on income that you spend on health care. Find out whether this program is available where you or your spouse works. If not, you may be able to promote some interest in the program in the personnel or human resources department. Meanwhile, save all of your receipts for any expenses that relate to your RA, including home modifications or special expenses that are a result of your arthritic condition. Ask your tax advisor for more information.
*121/209/5*

My first confrontation with biological methods of treatment for arthritis was at Brandals Health Clinic located in Sodertalje, a little idyllic suburb town, a few miles south of Stockholm, Sweden.

Alma Nissen, directress of the Brandals Clinic, met me at the railway station. For the past 12 years I have followed the work of Alma Nissen through the Swedish magazine Tidskrift for Halsa (the Magazine for Health) which has published many remarkable cases of arthritis cures accomplished at Brandal. Mrs. Nissen, after curing her own arthritis a few decades ago, has dedicated her whole life to helping thousands of other arthritis sufferers.

A fortyish-looking, dark-blonde, slim, elegant lady stepped from her station wagon, warmly greeted me with “Valkommen” opened the back door, and threw my heavy bags in. Then she walked around the car and opened the door for me, which made me feel rather old at 50. Imagine my surprise when I found that she is 70! And not a grey hair on her head! There was no doubt in my mind that whatever her “method” is, it certainly works for her!

The Brandals Clinic is beautifully located on the shore of the Baltic Sea and is surrounded by majestic woods. An ideal natural setting for rest and contemplation with a “back-to-nature” atmosphere. It is an old three-floor villa with a huge sitting room featuring a TV, grand piano, other musical instruments, library, and a collection of crutches and prostheses left here by grateful patients who didn’t need them any more. The clinic has facilities for accommodation and treatment of 30 patients. At the time of my visit—July, 1966—it was filled to capacity.

Alma Nissen’s Own Story

“Tell me, how and why did you become interested in arthritis and what prompted you to open this clinic?” This was my first question when we met at a smorgasbord table in the dining room at Brandal.

“Twenty-five years ago I was so incapacitated by arthritis that I was practically bedridden. After trying all the available medical treatments, consulting dozens of doctors, and several fruitless stays in hospitals I was becoming progressively worse. My hands and fingers were stiff and in constant pain. I could not bend myself, walk, or even turn myself in bed. In addition, I had a chronic ovary inflammation and constant migraine. I was suffering from a bad case of insomnia with resulting nervous exhaustion. I also was chronically constipated…

“I felt hopeless. Nobody could help me. I could not see my way out of the indescribable suffering I had to endure. But my spirit was strong and wouldn’t give up. I was not willing to accept my lot as a bedridden invalid for the rest of my life. With the typical Scandinavian sisu and perseverance I rebelled against my fate. I wanted to live, become healthy again…

“A book by a British physician, Sir Robert McCarrison, gave me new hope and become the turning point in my life. It opened my eyes to the relation between nutrition and health. I started to experiment with myself. I changed my diet. I fasted. I drank fresh vegetable juices and broths made with cooked vegetables. I drank herb teas. I took enemas and utilized colonic irrigation to cleanse my intestines of accumulated toxins and wastes. I read all I could on the nature-cure methods and picked up ideas here and there. I met the famous Danish raw-diet pioneer Dr. Kristine Nolfi, M.D., and read and studied her book The Living Foods. I also took heat treatments and hydro-baths. I must admit, I didn’t have faith in much of what I did, but desperate as I was, I was willing to try anything.

“Imagine my surprise, when I started to feel better and better! The stiffness in my joints started to disappear. I slept better; pain gave way, and after just a few months I was, to my and everybody’s amazement, completely cured!

“This was 25 years ago and I never had a sick day since. No traces of arthritis… Would you like to see how flexible and elastic my body is?”

With this she took her shoes off and gave me a gymnastic demonstration which many a young athlete would be proud to equal

“But I do have visible evidence of my former arthritis. The toes on my feet were so deformed and the joints so fused together, that they never have straightened out completely. Look at them!

“When damage is so extensive that joints are completely destroyed and fused together, nothing can restore them, not even biological methods. But in the great majority of cases, even with deformation, but of shorter duration, the complete restoration of health is possible.

“Now, when I cured myself I was so overjoyed with the discoveries I made that I wanted to share them with others and help as many as I could. I visited Dr. McCarrison and he advised me to open a clinic and help other arthritics regain their health.

“Encouraged by the enthusiastic endorsement of this great scientist, I transformed my seven-room apartment in Copenhagen to an arthritis clinic. Patients came from everywhere. They were brought in on stretchers; they came supported on crutches; they came in wheelchairs. And after four to eight weeks on my simple regime they left the clinic on their own feet, without wheelchairs and crutches. The grateful patients spread the news of their cures and a long line of patients were waiting to come in under my care.

“My arthritis therapies and extraordinary results became widely publicized in the press. The Norwegian Medical Association invited me to present a lecture on my therapies before the leading medical authorities of the country and the students of the Oslo Medical School. Well-known rheumatologists such as Prof. Olav Hanssen, Dr. V. G. Kofoed, Professor Roald Opsaht and others attended and took part in the discussions.

“My fame spread to Sweden and a wealthy benefactor offered the Brandal, a beautiful estate with a large villa, for my disposition, to be used as a rheumatic clinic. I accepted gratefully. That was 13 years ago. During these years we have helped thousands of arthritis sufferers…”

My First Day at Brandal

My first day at Brandal was mostly spent walking in the huge, shady woods, which surround the estate, and listening to Mrs. Nissen tell of her work.

At 5:00 P.M. the bell rang and called all for dinner. I found about half of the patients in the living room, the other half in the dining room. Those in the living room were the “fasting” patients, who were served fruit juice or vegetable broth.

I joined the “eating” patients in the adjoining dining room, where the huge, festive table, decorated with flowers and candles, was filled with colorful and delicious lactovegetarian courses. It was a smorgasbord at its best! The table was laden with at least ten kinds of different salads of fresh, organically grown vegetables; cottage cheese with cummin; baked potatoes, sauerkraut, tomato soup, soybean puree, buttermilk, whey cheese, whole grain bread, and fresh butter. Some guests, just off fast, were advised to avoid certain dishes, mostly bread and cooked foods, but others, including yours truly, enjoyed the whole colorful palette of appetizing “rakost.”

After dinner everyone assembled in the living room—Salongen -to watch TV. The favorite Swedish show, 10,000 Crown Question, was on and everyone sat in a state of hypnotized attention waiting for the answers of the competing “experts.” It reminded me of our TV in the mid-fifties and the famed scandals of the $64,000 Question.

When the 10,000 Crown Question was followed by the Andy Williams Show, that was enough for me, and I left the Salongen for my room and a good night’s sleep.

The “Miracles”

The next morning developments followed in a fast tempo, which prompted me to use the word “miracle” in the subtitle above.

A little Danish woman, who had depended on her crutches for years, left them behind and walked through the hall outside of my room without them. This was her eighth fasting day. She never needed the crutches again.

Another lady from Gothenburg reported that the pain in her joints disappeared on the second day of her fast and that on the fourth day she was able to leave her crutches.

On a big, sunny balcony I met several patients trying to cutch as much as they could of the warm, life-giving sun—in a country where sun is so scarce.

A young girl of approximately 20, was rolled onto the balcony in a wheelchair. She had been afflicted with arthritis for seven years and was a complete invalid. Her hands were grotesquely deformed. She could not move or lift her legs. She came to Brandal in a wheelchair and was still in a wheelchair. But she was already feeling much better, her pain was gone. She was determined to continue fasting for a few more weeks in the hope that she might leave her wheelchair there.

I also met a 43-year-old woman from Stockholm. She had been ill with arthritis for 14 years. For 14 long years she visited hospital after hospital, took drug after drug. You name it— she’d had it: gold injection, cortisone, Imagon, Butazolidin, etc. The best arthritis specialists in the country from Sodersjukhuset and the famous Karolinska Institute in Stockholm treated her until finally they all gave up, admitting that they could do nothing more. She had come to the clime just five days before and started fasting immediately.

“I am so happy. It is unbelievable!” she said to me with enthusiasm. “In just four days all pain is gone. I could not straighten this leg before—look at it now! It is completely straight. After 14 years of pain and suffering-it is just unbelievable! It’s a miracle!”

As I walked on the balcony among all these sunbathing men and women, this word “miracle” lingered in my mind. In this clinic alone—and the little country of Sweden has at least half a dozen other clinics with similar biological methods of treatment—thousands of hopeless arthritis sufferers were helped; most of them to a complete recovery. Crippled, deformed, doomed to lifelong invalidism, labeled by official medical authorities as incurable, they had come there as a last resort. After a few weeks of simple biological treatments, without fancy drugs and injections, they walked away happy and grateful restored to complete health. Is this a miracle?

*1\176\2*

Apart from meow, woof, moo, baa, oink, squeak, and heehaw, their body language says that CMO is great. In fact, we’ve never seen a failure with an animal. Absolutely never! Be it horse, dog, cat, goat, hamster, or potbellied pig, we have yet to hear of any arthritic animal that has not responded well to CMO. For more details, refer to the chapter on animals.

One health food store owner told us this funny tale. As he was telling one customer about the wonderful benefits of CMO (98% success rate with his particular clients), another customer who was overhearing the conversation butted in. He related how he had heard one of Dr. Sands’ radio interviews and consequently bought CMO for his father. But his father refused to take the capsules, or any other form treatment for that matter.

Now that family also has an old but much-loved dog who, three months earlier, had just sort of given up on things. He just laid himself down by the door and refused to budge from that spot. He ate there, he slept there, and even did all his business there, forcing a rather annoying cleanup job on the family several times a day.

Well, rather than let those costly CMO capsules go to waste, the son decided to give them to the dog. In just a few days, the man said, that dog was up on its feet again and scampering around like it had many years before. But, despite it all, the son complained, he still can’t get his father to take the capsules.

*57\142\2*