Your questions answered

What mental image do you conjure up when you think of arthritis? 

A knobbly, deformed and inflamed knee joint? Someone with fingers all twisted and bent? It’s not a hopeful picture, is it?

We are repeatedly told that the wear and tear of arthritis is a one-way street to pain, degeneration and the inability to do the things we would like to do anymore. 

For many, it becomes a life filled with painkillers and the surgeon’s knife.

However, much of the above doom and gloom is inaccurate and misleading. 

Arthritis does not have to be such a grim scenario played out with misery and pain. There is much you can do to combat this problem and not only relieve it but conquer it.

Using CBD oil for arthritis is a worthwhile addition to the nutritional support your body needs to tackle the problem, but let’s first examine arthritis in a little more detail.

What causes arthritis?

Human beings are not like cars.

The more you use a car, the more it wears out. However, with our body, the more you use it with our body, the better it becomes.

Arthritis is rarely caused by wear and tear. You only have to look at an older woman with terrible, painful twisted hands who has lived a life doing clerical work to realise it was not the clerical work that damaged her hands.

Two processes are going on in the arthritic disease state: the process of degeneration and the process of repair.

This repair process can cause a deformity as your body attempts to build new bone to keep the joint functioning.

It is entirely possible to minimise the degenerative phase and maximise the repair phase in arthritis to help your joints repair themselves.

It may be a slow process, but it can be done.

So what is causing this problem if it isn't wear and tear?

One factor is the lack of use.

Yes, lack of use causes arthritis pain, not overuse!

Inside our joints, a clever fluid called synovial fluid keeps our joints lubricated and has a thixotropic quality.

This means that when you use the joint, the fluid inside it changes from a watery substance to a shock-absorbing gel, so using your joints enables them to cope better with being used.

Synovial fluid is also full of nutrients that nourish and feed our joints, so when you are moving, you are washing these nutrients over the surface of your joint, helping to keep it healthy.

Several types of arthritis are autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.

The body's autoimmune response means your body is attacking itself, which causes damage to your joints. Some genetic factors at play here can leave you more prone to this type of problem, but the key is how do we stop our immune system from turning upon ourselves?

Substantial evidence shows that dysfunction in the digestive system can cause this problem.

In a nutshell, our gut has a vital role in how our immune system functions and, therefore, when the digestive system works well, our immune system works well.

Therefore, healing your gut is vital by making lifestyle changes, even to the point of removing toxic body care products such as toothpaste and shampoos.

Acute vs chronic inflammation

We can also get arthritis and many other problems from chronic inflammation.

Chronic inflammation and acute inflammation are very different.

The acute variant is in response to an injury such as spraining your ankle or tearing a muscle. Inflammation occurs at the site of the damage to repair it.

It causes pain to stop you from doing more damage. It rushes an immune system response to the injury to eat away the damage and build new tissue to repair it.

On the other hand, chronic inflammation is an invisible killer that causes severe health problems and chronic diseases for countless millions worldwide. Unfortunately, it has been neglected or perhaps just plain missed by the medical system for decades.

Chronic inflammation is a low grade, long term inflammation of your body that occurs because, for whatever reason, your body is being slowly poisoned.

This can be caused by our environment, high stress, or diet, especially in the Western world.

This form of inflammation is an essential factor in damage to your joints; hence, it is significant in arthritis.

So when you are told you have wear and tear, please be aware that it is almost certainly not that and far more likely to be slow damage caused over many years, particularly from your diet!

You are being encouraged by processed food manufacturers to eat a bizarre diet that is totally at odds with what your body needs and it is slowly poisoning you.

It takes time to destroy a joint with the constant damage and repair cycle that goes on with arthritis.

So the results of chronic inflammation, which is for many simply chronic food poisoning, only begin to show as we get older. That means it is easy to brush off why it is happening as 'old age'.

Sadly I have seen some very cynical practices around lifestyle changes for chronic inflammation that mean most people feel condemned to a life of long term use of painkillers and medication with all the terrible side effects and risks involved.

Doctors should be suggesting changes to your diet, exercise, stress reduction, and generally good health behaviour.

All of these measures will reduce chronic inflammation.

How do you approach arthritis?

To tackle arthritic changes, you can move more, remove toxic products, eat foods that nourish your body, heal your digestive system, and avoid processed foods.

This is a basic set of changes anyone can make, and I suggest that supplementing with CBD is an excellent addition to help support your nutrition and well-being.

These lifestyle changes are worth exploring regardless of whether you suffer from osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis.

In fact, I would argue that for most people, CBD is an excellent addition to your diet regardless of the type of problem you have.

Does CBD oil help with arthritis?

We know that the ECS is involved in many areas that ultimately help our body function optimally. For example, we have established already that chronic inflammation can be the root cause of a whole host of health problems if left untreated.

While researching damaged joints, I found the fascinating fact that our body will produce extra receptors for cannabinoids than those observed in a healthy joint.

Yes, that's right, your body creates more cannabinoid receptors where it is damaged – a clear sign that we have evolved alongside cannabinoids for a lot longer than the mainstream media would have you believe!

Your body does produce its cannabinoid (CBD is one of many cannabinoids in our products) called anandamide that makes you feel good and aids a healthy balance of your system. Still, often it only produces a small amount of this.

A common question I hear is: "what is the best CBD oil for people living with arthritis?"

Being a supplement, there is no such thing as a specific CBD product "for" arthritis - so the primary consideration should be to ensure you are finding a quality supplier you can trust.

Beyond this, it's also important to remember that ALL lifestyle factors should be considered when trying to make inroads with a chronic problem.

Can you take CBD oil with prescription medication for arthritis?

CBD oil is non-addictive and non-psychoactive, so it will not interact with any medication you are currently taking.

CBD oil is also non-inflammatory, so it can be used in conjunction with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to help manage pain and inflammation.

The key with medication and CBD is to check the leaflets for any mention of grapefruit juice.

If "grapefruit juice" is mentioned, then you cannot use CBD with that drug - there is a theoretical interaction that will mean you may not clear the drug from your system properly.

Is CBD oil good for inflammatory arthritis?

CBD oil is useful for treating the symptoms of inflammatory arthritis, such as pain and inflammation.

CBD oil can reduce inflammation by affecting the way our body's immune system responds to infections and other stimuli.

CBD oil can also help to reduce pain by affecting the way our body perceives pain signals.

CBD oil is a safe and effective supplement that may help to relieve the symptoms of inflammatory arthritis, and it may be used in conjunction with other medications.

What about arthritis in pets?

The exact causes of arthritis in humans are also factors in arthritis for your pets.

Please look at the food you are giving your pet. Is it processed food? If it is, then it comes with just the same set of trouble as processed food in humans.

Find what your animal would eat in nature and do your best to mimic this diet. Looking for convenience foods for your pet is the same path to chronic disease as it is in humans.

Many people ask me if they can give their dogs CBD oil to treat arthritis.

Just as with people, the Veterinary Medicine Directorate (VMD) has confirmed it does have a therapeutic effect on animals. In fact, we know that dogs have more receptors for cannabinoids than humans!

There are also plenty of people looking for CBD oils for arthritis in horses. Once more, the answer is the same. Ensure nutrition and lifestyle factors are dealt with, and by all means, talk to your vet to see if they believe CBD could relieve arthritis pain in horses and if so, they can recommend the best route to take.

As with humans, one of the huge benefits of CBD is the remarkable safety profile, which is not the case with many harsh pharmaceutical drugs.

The My Way CBD Pet Oil can be ordered here.