Category: Arthritis

Seaweed helps in treatment of arthritis and autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoreasis, diabetes mellitus 2, cancer, autism, multiple sclerosis, obesity, allergy and asthma

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Arthritis Biosea Health

Causes of Joint Pain

Causes of Joint Pain and reduction of pain with seaweed

What does Joint Cartilage have in common with Potholes?

A good analogy of joint pain is that the cartilage between your joints is like a road with potholes. The roadway starts off perfect. Over time, with wear and tear, it gets small potholes and cracks.  We think our joints are perfectly fine, but actually, the car tyres are crossing over those small potholes. We don’t have pain and we are hopeful this will continue into old age.

But at some stage, and mostly unexpectedly, the potholes get so big, the car tyres cannot bridge those widening potholes and the car ride now is extremely bumpy. And painful. And no or very reduced mobility. Surgery fixes the potholes or puts in a whole new road!

Joint decline is not a straight line but most often is progressive and comes on suddenly but sometimes briefly (technically called episodic acute).  It generally gets worse as the deterioration continues. Pain is not from the cartilage, but nerves that are in the bones and soft tissues (e.g. capsules, and ligaments) around the joint. Damaged cartilage itself is relatively pain insensitive. The experience of pain from damaged and degenerating joints varies widely. Pain does not affect everyone the same way. Tests with X-rays and MRI scans don’t always correlate with pain or disability. The nervous system varies between people. Some have insensitive nervous symptoms and say they have little pain. Others are labeled as having a low pain threshold. We may say someone is “stoic” but it may just be they don’t have a sensitive nervous system. And pain may not be in the joint, but might be in an area well away from the joint itself.

It is estimated the correlation between pain and measurable damage is about 65% and physiotherapists will talk about a skeletal age versus organic aging. 

Degradation Curve of Joint Pain

At some stage, joints start to decline. We don’t notice for a long time but by mid thirties to mid fifties we notice aches and pains.

In our earlier years, most have healthy joints. Children have breaks, sprains, but most heal. 

We will consider important factors including early diagnosis, prevention, delay and cure.

By the 50’s we are contemplating surgery. By the 70’s we are filling up hospital surgeries. This does not include the cohort who suffer damage at 15 years of age, have surgery at 25, more surgery at 35 and by 45 are surgical curiosities! 

Osteoarthritis Costs You Dearly 

OA costs you money. As a consequence of symptoms and activity limitations, OA leads to medical costs and costs due to productivity loss of over $1,000  per patient per month, twice as much as other chronic diseases such as diabetes (Hermans et al. 2012)

3 Options to Reduce Joint Pain 

 In the figure above, we really only have 3 options to reduce joint pain.  

  • 1- Prevent
  • 2 – Delay
  • 3 – Cure
  1. Prevent joints declining. What are the things to do so that our joints are in good shape until we die? Taking pain killers for years is not prevention. It stops the pain but does nothing in terms of the physical damage that is occurring in the joints. 
  2. Delay – can you delay by 10 or 20 years with recommended lifestyle changes – remaining in the green zone of healthy joints, or at worse in the yellow zone, but with minor pain?
  3. Cure – Not everyone has the money for surgery or other new medical techniques.

1. Prevention – The Best Option

Some joint pain is inevitable. You cannot stop aging. Most physiotherapists & researchers say that the joints of the human body are good for maybe 55 years and then start to suffer measurable degradation. Joints wear out as the cartilage thins, bones reduce in strength.  However, joints do not wear out in a straight line fashion.  There are lifestyle choices to reduce the rate of wear. 

We think of joints as simply bone on bone with a cartilage in between, but it is more complex. The joint capsule consists of two layers, an outer fibrous layer, fibrous capsule, and an inner layer called the synovial membrane. The synovial membrane is a thin, vascular lining that covers the inner surfaces of the joint capsule and intra-articular ligaments and tendons.The lining of the capsule, the synovial membrane  makes synovial fluid which provides nutrition and lubrication.  

There are multiple causes of joint damage, leading to joint pain. In synovial joints, cartilage separates the two bones. The cartilage can fracture, but it is the other parts of the joint that get inflamed. 

Pain receptors are in the bone and the capsules that surround the joint.  There are many pain receptors in these structures, but relatively few pain receptors in the cartilage itself. As the bearing surface of the joint (cartilage) wears down, inflammation and pain sets in. 

2. Delay – The Next Best 5 Options.

There are 5 Simple Strategies to Delay Joint Pain

  1. Be Active.   The expression is if you don’t use it, you lose it. Walk 2 to 3 km per day, or swim, or do low impact exercises such as yoga or pilates. Low impact, consistent movement maintains not just joint health but overall health. One study showed walking more than 1 hour per day meant their medical care was $100,000 less over their lifetime and extended their life for 2 years. (Nagai et al. 2011) Adopting the popular High Intensity Technique (HIT exercise) will cause severe joint pain unless you spend months (or even up to 1 year if you are very deconditioned) getting the knees and joints strong enough to take that HIT energy. HIT is great for cardiovascular improvement but without preparation is also good for physiotherapists billing.
  2. Avoid employment that has heavy lifting or kneeling if you want to minimise OA (Ezzat and Li 2014)
  3. Avoid foods that cause inflammation and arthritis. There is lots of data recently that inflammation is a cause of arthritis (Kim et al. 2013) Excess added sugar is probably the primary cause of inflammation. Your diet should avoid sugar sweetened cereal, snack bars, pre-sweetened dairy products, canned fruit and condiments, particularly ketchup, BBQ sauce, honey mustard, French dressing, and similar. Do not eat any food that is more than 3% added sugar. The WHO recommendation is for less than 5% of diet or 25 grams (6 teaspoons) of added sugar in your diet per day! Purchase food from around the outside of the supermarket – fresh or frozen whole food. Avoid any centre isles. Alcohol consumption has not been reported as a cause! (Karlson et al. 2003) although excess consumption in animals is inflammatory. (Kc et al. 2015) 
  4. Manage your weight.  If you become overweight or obese with metabolic symdrome, evidenced by elevated blood pressure, elevated blood glucose levels, increased waist measure and elevated lipids then 75% will have joint pain, versus 25% if you are not. (3 times more). Obesity is a sign of an inflammatory diet. A study that looked at heavy physical work confirmed kneeling or squatting, heavy lifting and arm elevation did get about 30% more arthritis, but those with higher body mass, had higher rates of arthritis (Brennan-Olsen et al. 2018)
  5. Consume anti-inflammatory foods.  In a Nature paper on animal joints (Sekar et al. 2017), the addition of anti-inflammatory foods increased the amount of cartilage. When the animals ate an inflammatory diet which included long chain fatty acids, the animals got metabolic syndrome and osteoarthritis symptoms. When they ate antiflammatory materials, they did not get metabolic syndrome and their cartilage improved!. 

3. Is there a Silver Bullet for causes of Joint Pain?

There is no 100% certainty of “cure” for joint pain, especially when there has been a history of major joint trauma.  There are livestyle changes that can reduce pain and allow people to live with pain if it is not too severe. But people are often left on waiting lists.. If they have money or public health they will be able to get surgery. The typical “conservative” surgery is a technique that Germany calls “re-surfacing” where some of the wear parts are resurfaced, not replaced. The joints are complex, and often the ligaments and soft tissue remains, and may cause subsequent pain. Surgery has its own health risks and is often oversold as a cure. In UK, about 16% of women, 8% of men over 80 have had hip resurfacing or replacements. Surgery is not an absolute cure for joint pain, although with greater than 95% of patients experiencing significant but variable relief from hip pain. Experts disagree what constitutes “success” – pain, movement. The success rate of hip “replacements” 10 years after surgery has been optimistically measured at 90- 95% but at 20 years is down to 80-85%. Some unfortunately experience as much pain after surgery as before.

Seaweed Reduces Joint Pain

Understanding the causes of joint pain assist role of seaweed to reduce joint pain

Hundreds of customers have told us eating seaweed has reduced their joint pain. Some tell us that it has made no difference. 

We suspect the improvement depends one where you are on this joint degradation curve, genetics, diet, and what specifically is wrong.   

What Do the Experts Say

The CDC of USA (“5 Proven Ways to Manage Arthritis | CDC” 2019) says there are 5 Proven Ways to minimise Joint Pain. 

  1. Learn new self-management skills.
  2. Be active.
  3. Talk to your doctor.
  4. Manage your weight.
  5. Protect your joints.

Why do they recommend talking to your doctor?  With over 104 different types of arthritis, it is important to know which type you have. Is there a genetic cause? Have you played competitive sports or injured joints?  Are there other joint issues? There are genetic causes and there are other techniques and strategies for treatments. Their focus will be to reduce pain, minimize joint damage and improve or maintain function and quality of life. They can also assist with other chronic conditions, like diabetes or heart disease.

Note that in Europe and UK, you are likely to be referred to an inflammatory specialist, who will look at a range of conservative treatments, and who may then refer you to an orthopedic surgeon. In contrast, in USA or Australia you are likely to be directly referred to an orthopedic surgeon. 

Joint Pain – You are Not Alone

Joint pain (osteoarthritis or OA) is serious, and getting worse. The numbers are staggering. A recent report (Cui et al. 2020) looking at 10 million people says over 16% for those aged 15. It increases to 23% for those aged 40, and close to 70% if over 60. That’s over 600 million people aged over 40 years in 2020 worldwide. As people age, it gets worse. For elderly of 85+, in UK (Duncan et al. 2011) 65% had joint pain and women had more pain (69%) than men (58%) 

Some say that humans have a joint life of about 55 years. After that we are “the walking wounded”. But we also know joint pain is worse for anyone who does the high risk physical sports as explained below.  

Damage to Joints from High Impact Sports

Previously we have talked about the need to protect your joints from damage from an early age. Competitive sports that have sudden changes of direction, particularly in spiked shoes and with body contact are demonstrably higher risk and have long term consequences.(Short and Tuttle 2020)

People who do high performance sports activities with rapid change of direction are the most susceptible. Gymnasts , footballers, basketballers who play competitive sports into their 20’s or 30’s have between 5 to 20 times more surgery. (Vogel et al. 2011)

A surprising number of knee and hip joints are replaced each year and it has been known for decades that high impact sports are a major contributor to joint pain. Sports identified as high risk include::

  • Gymnastics – where the gymnast is coming down at speed onto mats or floors. Tennis also has rapid change of movement. 
  • Football – whether soccer, Rugby League (Gibbs 1994), Union, or American football.(Song et al. 2019; Gouttebarge, Aoki, and Kerkhoffs 2018). Those sports with spiked shoes and contact are the worst, so soccer is less risky than league or rugby which have both spiked shoes and body contact.
  • Playing competitive sports past mid 20’s.

The increase can be hundreds of times higher than the normal population.  The sports bodies have been reluctant to admit the potential for injury. (Khan et al. 2019) In 2018 (Gouttebarge, Aoki, and Kerkhoffs 2018) showed current and retired professional footballers were nearly twice as likely to suffer from knee OA by every additional severe knee injury and by every additional knee surgery they they incurred during their career. 

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Damage Increases OA

Cruciate ligaments are found inside your knee joint. They cross each other to form an “X” with the anterior cruciate ligament in front and the posterior cruciate ligament in back. The cruciate ligaments control the back and forth motion of your knee.

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) runs diagonally in the middle of the knee. It prevents the tibia from sliding out in front of the femur, as well as provides rotational stability to the knee. ACL damage is becoming more common. The damage when you do an ACL may not be just to the ligaments and surrounding tissue and ligaments. The damage may be more substantial.

Those who do an ACL, will almost certainly have osteoarthritis later in life. (Khan et al. 2019). A recent trend has seen a doubling of ACL injury in younger adults – which is thought to be a result of social drive to have young adults excel in sports (Zbrojkiewicz, Vertullo, and Grayson 2018). This will inevitably give rise to more OA in the next decades

.

Bone Bruising and Osteoarthritis Dissecans

Another cause of osteoarthritis is caused by bone bruising. ACL injuries may also occur in conjunction with bone bruising.  Sometimes sports people will suffer an ACL but also have OA dissecans, fix the ACL but still have ongoing bone bruising (Bredella et al. 2000)

Bone bruising

A typical cause of this injury used to be in the military where soldiers would jump off trucks with a fully laden pack, and wonder 15 years later why all the soldiers needed knee operations. Fortunately they followed the science. It also happens with people such as high jumpers or long jumpers. 

During rapid stopping, or during an ACL injury event, the scrunched bones in the joint get a “bone bruise”. The “bone bruise” is actually a fracture, results in a chalky area, and then repeated exercise opens up a hollow space in the bone. You get chronic inflammation from the irritation of the lining on the joint (the synovium) and it causes an increase of cells producing inflammatory fluid. It is called reactive synovitis or “water on the knee”.

Filling this hollow space with a lubricant (reactive synovitis) has gone out of favour but with good slow rehabilitation the  risk of subsequent OA is reduced. 

Cartilage – Not All the Same

Joints are complex. While babies start with 270 joints we have 206 named joints but with the inclusion of sesamoids which are are bones imbedded in tendons, but not connected to other bones. The patella (kneecap) is the largest sesamoid. These bones vary in number from person to person. So generally we have between 250 and 350 joints. (Barbe et al. 2009). Major joints – knee, ankle, elbows, wrists and shoulders are over-represented for pain. 

We think about bone, and cartilage and while the bones have the nerves, the cartilage keeps the bones apart and moving freely. There are different types of cartilage. And the layers that produce the cartilage are different. Technically, cartilage is classified as a special connective tissue with mesodermal origin characterised by a cellular component immersed within ECM composed of ground substance (polysaccharides), a fibrillar component (fibrous proteins), and interstitial fluid (mainly water). There is no direct supply of blood, lymphatics and nerves; nutrition relies on diffusion from the surrounding tissues. Based on the composition and function, it is possible to distinguish three types of cartilaginous tissues: hyaline, fibro- and elastic cartilage.(Armiento, Alini, and Stoddart 2019). With that complex of various bone, cartilage and connective tissue, specific identification and causes of pain can be difficult.

From Madhero88, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Early Diagnosis & Causes of joint pain

A key part of AO treatment is early and proper diagnosis. The complexity of OA means that for many wrong diagnoses means incorrect treatment. The absence or presence of pain is a poor measure. When you consider a joint has a whole raft of connective tissue, cartilage, bones, synovial fluid, synovial tissue and OA may be identified as inflammation in other joints. There are various tests the physiotherapist/doctor/rheumatologist or orthopedic surgeon will do but there are also tests that have not been developed or identified yet.

The research by Prof Lindsay Brown and Prof Xiao say that restoration of cartilage and synovial membrane can be increased with anti-inflammatory functional food including seaweed. But if the damage from previous injuries is severe, restoration may take a longer time. Given there are 360 joints in the human body, any reduction in inflammation is welcome!

More Reading

Thanks to Greg Sheather (ret), Muscular Physiotherapist, Dip Phy Grad Dip Manipulative Therapy (Sydney) for the analogy of the potholes.

“5 Proven Ways to Manage Arthritis | CDC.” 2019. February 5, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/management.htm.

Armiento, Angela R., Mauro Alini, and Martin J. Stoddart. 2019. “Articular Fibrocartilage – Why Does Hyaline Cartilage Fail to Repair?” Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, Wound healing and fibrosis – State of play, 146 (June): 289–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2018.12.015.

Barbe, Mary, Jeffrey Driban, Ann Barr, Steven Popoff, and Fayez Safadi. 2009. “Structure and Function of Joints.” In Bone Pathology, 51–60. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-347-9_2.

Bredella, M. A., P. F. Tirman, T. K. Wischer, J. Belzer, A. Taylor, and H. K. Genant. 2000. “Reactive Synovitis of the Knee Joint: MR Imaging Appearance with Arthroscopic Correlation.” Skeletal Radiology 29 (10): 577–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002560000259.

Brennan-Olsen, Sharon L., Svetlana Solovieva, Eira Viikari-Juntura, Ilana N. Ackerman, Steven J. Bowe, Paul Kowal, Nirmala Naidoo, et al. 2018. “Arthritis Diagnosis and Symptoms Are Positively Associated with Specific Physical Job Exposures in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries: Cross-Sectional Results from the World Health Organization’s Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE).” BMC Public Health 18 (June). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5631-2.

Cui, Aiyong, Huizi Li, Dawei Wang, Junlong Zhong, Yufeng Chen, and Huading Lu. 2020. “Global, Regional Prevalence, Incidence and Risk Factors of Knee Osteoarthritis in Population-Based Studies.” EClinicalMedicine 29–30 (December): 100587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100587.

Duncan, Rachel, Roger M. Francis, Joanna Collerton, Karen Davies, Carol Jagger, Andrew Kingston, Tom Kirkwood, Louise Robinson, and Fraser Birrell. 2011. “Prevalence of Arthritis and Joint Pain in the Oldest Old: Findings from the Newcastle 85+ Study.” Age and Ageing 40 (6): 752–55. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afr105.

Ezzat, Allison M., and Linda C. Li. 2014. “Occupational Physical Loading Tasks and Knee Osteoarthritis: A Review of the Evidence.” Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada 66 (1): 91–107. https://doi.org/10.3138/ptc.2012-45BC.

Gibbs, Nathan. 1994. “Common Rugby League Injuries.” Sports Medicine 18 (6): 438–50. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-199418060-00007.

Gouttebarge, Vincent, Haruhito Aoki, and Gino M. M. J. Kerkhoffs. 2018. “Knee Osteoarthritis in Professional Football Is Related to Severe Knee Injury and Knee Surgery.” Injury Epidemiology 5 (1): 26. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-018-0157-8.

Hermans, Job, Marc A. Koopmanschap, Sita M. A. Bierma-Zeinstra, Joost H. van Linge, Jan A. N. Verhaar, Max Reijman, and Alex Burdorf. 2012. “Productivity Costs and Medical Costs among Working Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis.” Arthritis Care & Research 64 (6): 853–61. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.21617.

Karlson, Elizabeth W, Lisa A Mandl, Gideon N Aweh, Oliver Sangha, Matthew H Liang, and Francine Grodstein. 2003. “Total Hip Replacement Due to Osteoarthritis: The Importance of Age, Obesity, and Other Modifiable Risk Factors.” The American Journal of Medicine 114 (2): 93–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9343(02)01447-X.

Kc, Ranjan, Robin Voigt, Michael B Ellman, Xin Li, Keith C. Summa, Christopher B Forsyth, Ali Keshavarzian, Fred W. Turek, Jae-Sung Kim, and Hee-Jeong Im. 2015. “Chronic Alcohol Consumption Induces Osteoarthritis-Like Pathological Changes in an Experimental Mouse Model.” Arthritis & Rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) 67 (6): 1678–80. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.39090.

Khan, Tanvir, Abtin Alvand, Daniel Prieto-Alhambra, David J. Culliford, Andrew Judge, William F. Jackson, Brigitte E. Scammell, Nigel K. Arden, and Andrew James Price. 2019. “ACL and Meniscal Injuries Increase the Risk of Primary Total Knee Replacement for Osteoarthritis: A Matched Case-Control Study Using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD).” British Journal of Sports Medicine 53 (15): 965–68. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097762.

Kim, Jae-Sung, Michael B. Ellman, Dongyao Yan, Howard S. An, Ranjan Kc, Xin Li, Di Chen, et al. 2013. “Lactoferricin Mediates Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Catabolic Effects via Inhibition of IL-1 and LPS Activity in the Intervertebral Disc.” Journal of Cellular Physiology 228 (9): 1884–96. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.24350.

Nagai, Masato, Shinichi Kuriyama, Masako Kakizaki, Kaori Ohmori-Matsuda, Toshimasa Sone, Atsushi Hozawa, Miyuki Kawado, Shuji Hashimoto, and Ichiro Tsuji. 2011. “Impact of Walking on Life Expectancy and Lifetime Medical Expenditure: The Ohsaki Cohort Study.” BMJ Open 1 (2): bmjopen. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000240.

Sekar, Sunderajhan, Siti Raihanah Shafie, Indira Prasadam, Ross Crawford, Sunil K. Panchal, Lindsay Brown, and Yin Xiao. 2017. “Saturated Fatty Acids Induce Development of Both Metabolic Syndrome and Osteoarthritis in Rats.” Scientific Reports 7 (46457): 11. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46457.

Short, Steven, and Matthew Tuttle. 2020. “THE GAP BETWEEN RESEARCH AND CLINICAL PRACTICE FOR INJURY PREVENTION IN ELITE SPORT: A CLINICAL COMMENTARY.” International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy 15 (6): 1229–34. https://doi.org/10.26603/ijspt20201229.

Song, Kyeongtak, Erik A. Wikstrom, Joshua N. Tennant, Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Stephen W. Marshall, and Zachary Y. Kerr. 2019. “Osteoarthritis Prevalence in Retired National Football League Players With a History of Ankle Injuries and Surgery.” Journal of Athletic Training 54 (11): 1165–70. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-421-18.

Vogel, Laura A., Giuseppe Carotenuto, John J. Basti, and William N. Levine. 2011. “Physical Activity After Total Joint Arthroplasty.” Sports Health 3 (5): 441–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738111415826.

Zbrojkiewicz, David, Christopher Vertullo, and Jane E. Grayson. 2018. “Increasing Rates of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Young Australians, 2000–2015.” Medical Journal of Australia 208 (8). https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2018/208/8/increasing-rates-anterior-cruciate-ligament-reconstruction-young-australians.

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Arthritis Biosea Health Health Benefits

Stop Arthritis with Seaweed FAQ

stop arthritis with seaweed FAQ - customers report reduction in pain with Pacific seamoss

The question is can you stop Arthritis with seaweed. We have many customers who report their symptoms have reduced and that seaweed is very effective. This may be due to the type of arthritis, and the amount of Pacific Seamoss seaweed that customers are consuming.

Is seaweed good for Arthritis

Seaweded is packed full of a large number of nutrients and vitamins which probably reduce the symptoms of arthritis. Nutrients such as potassium (K) are in high quantities and improve smooth muscle

Does seaweed work for All Types of arthritis

Arthritis is over 100 different types, and a large number of causes with not enough research done on the type of arthritis and the beneficial effects of seaweed.

Is Seaweed inflammatory

Seaweed is highly anti-inflammatory. In an animal experiment in 2017 and 2020, Brown looked at various markers such as hypertension, heart inflammation, gut inflammation, fatty liver inflammation and gut microbiota and glucose intolerance and seaweed reduced the the markers. Along with blood serum markers, the histological evidence was conclusive.

Effectiveness of Whole Seaweed versus Seaweed Extracts

The seaweed extract nutrient complex when taken orally over twelve weeks decreased the symptoms of osteoarthritis in a dose-dependent manner in 2007, and 2010,

How Common is Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most frequent cause of disability among adults in the developed world. Arthritis affects around 15% in Australia (3 million people). More than 20 million people in the United States have the disease. The lifetime risk of knee OA for males and females aged over 45 years is between 45% (nonobese) to 70% for obese. The cost in USA is more than $60 billion per year.It is second only to ischemic heart disease as a cause of work disability for men over 50 years.

Can osteoarthritis Be Cured?

The progressive deterioration of articular cartilage which occurs in OA results in pain, stiffness and difficulty with physical activities. The disease is managed rather than cured, with a focus on pain relief.

What Natural Medicines are Used?

A number of herbal medicines in clinical trials show beneficial effects in reduction of OA symptoms. These include advocado, soybean unsaponifiables, lipids from green-lipped mussels, calcified seaweed extracts, and Pycnogenol (French maritime pine bark extract). Boswellia serrata extracts have also show clinical promise as do preparations of Harpagophytum procumbens (Devil’s Claw).
In vitro studies polyphenols such as epigallocatetchin (from green tea) and phlorotannin-rich extracts of the seaweed Ecklonia cava show potential.

Can you Stop Arthritis with Seaweed

Previous studies focused on seaweed extracts, not whole seaweed. The study by Myers was with a fucoidan extract and showed promise in Phase 1 / II trials but did not in phase 3 trials. When you look further, there is a strong dose rate up to 1g per day. Pacific Seamoss (see seaweed species here) is consumed at 2 to 5 grams per day. This consumption equivalent to a bowl of salad provides nutrients and vitamins, changes gut microbiota.

What are the Types of Arthritis?

From Appendix 1 of Arthritis Org which provides a list of Arthritis
Adult-onset Still’s Disease
Myositis
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Osteoarthritis (OA)
Back Pain
Osteoporosis
Behçet’s Disease
Pagets
Bursitis
Palindromic Rheumatism
Calcium Pyrophosphate Deposition Disease (CPPD)
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Pediatric Rheumatic Diseases
Chondromalacia Patella
Pediatric SLE
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Pseudogout
Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndromes
Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA)
Degenerative Disc Disease
Raynaud’s Phenomenon
Developmental-Dysplasia of Hip
Reactive Arthritis
Ehlers-Danlos
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
Familial Mediterranean Fever
Reiter’s Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Rheumatic Fever
Fifth Disease
Rheumatism
Giant Cell Arteritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Gout
Scleroderma
Hemochromatosis
Sjögren’s Syndrome
Infectious Arthritis
Spinal Stenosis
Inflammatory Arthritis
Spondyloarthritis (SpA)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (sJIA)
Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JD)
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA)
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in Children & Teens
Juvenile Scleroderma
Systemic Sclerosis
Kawasaki Disease
Temporal Arteritis
Lupus
Tendinitis
Lupus in Children & Teens
Vasculitis
Lyme Disease
Wegener’s Granulomatosis

Arthritis Types (4 of 100+)

types of arthritis in hand
Types of arthritis in hand. Seaweed appears to have an anti-inflammatory effect on osteo-arthritis and gout.
seaweed reduces arthritis in knees
Types of arthritis in knees. Seaweed anti-inflammatory seems to reduce pain but may be in earlier stage.
Seaweed reduces arthritis in the ankle with Pacific Seamoss
Various types of arthritis in the ankle
Extracts of seaweed reduce arthritis
Fig 3 from Myers et al [1] showing dose effects over time. The COAT Score is a comprehensive arthritis test comprised of four sub-scales: pain, stiffness, difficulty with physical activity and overall symptom severity,

References

[1] Myers, S. P., O’Connor, J., Fitton, J. H., Brooks, L., Rolfe, M., Connellan, P., Wohlmuth, H., Cheras, P. A., & Morris, C. (2010). A combined phase I and II open label study on the effects of a seaweed extract nutrient complex on osteoarthritis. Biologics : targets & therapy, 4, 33–44. https://doi.org/10.2147/btt.s8354

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Alzheimer's Disease Arthritis Biosea Health Heart Health Weight loss

8 Signs You Need Seaweed in Your Life

9 signs you need seaweed in your life

Seaweed is a functional food that has prebiotic properties along with novel bioactive compounds. Because of this, seaweed has a wide range of medicinal like properties that counteract the ailments and disease of the modern lifestyle. Eight signs you need seaweed in your life.

1. Panda Eyes

Are you sleeping well but still have dark rings around your eyes? Its probably due to a sluggish liver. Eating a typical western diet can cause a buildup of fatty lobules in the liver, slowing down the important functions of filtration. Toxins increase in the blood stream and we notice this around the eyes. Research from the University of Southern Queensland shows that taking seaweed every day effectively reverses the negative effects of our western diet and removes the fat from our livers. As an added bonus, liver enzymes tests showed a return to optimal functioning even when an unhealthy diet was being consumed. [1]

2. Waistline expanding

We all seem to be in a constant battle with the bulge, especially as we get a little older. Studies have shown that daily intake of seaweed changes the way fats are processed by the body. Seaweed flicks the switch to make the body use fat for energy. It also prevents new fat cells from being created every time we eat just that little bit too much. This all adds up to a drop in waist circumference of up to several centimeters. [1-3]

3. Feeling more tired than usual

Fatigue is a modern-day epidemic that undermines the enjoyment of life at best, but at worst can lead to accidents. Seaweed is a functional food that is rich in bioactive compounds to counter fatigue, no matter the cause. Fatigue from an underperforming thyroid is alleviated by the building blocks of thyroid hormone, iodine and tyrosine found in natural balance in seaweed. Tyrosine is also needed to produce neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenaline which allow our brains to function better when under stress. [4]

4. Harder to remember things- Seaweed in your life

Most of us see memory problems are inevitable as we get older, but this is not necessarily the case. A team of scientists from Korea have shown that seaweed can repair neurons on the brain and increase neural networks that are necessary for memory. That study also found that neurons were able to better manufacture and store the neurotransmitters necessary for faster mental processing. [5]

5. Aching Joints – Seaweed in your life

Inflammation in the joints can happen at any age, with causes ranging from mild injury to overuse or arthritis. For centuries seaweed has been used in traditional medicine as an anti-inflammatory but now modern science is demonstrating just how effective it is. One study described the compounds from seaweed as having a greater anti-inflammatory capacity than aspirin. [6] The benefit of seaweed is that it doesn’t have the side-effects seen in many anti-inflammatory drugs, such as damage to the stomach lining. Check out the surprising testimonies.

6. Blood pressure creeping up

Hypertension is another “lifestyle” disease that has a myriad of causes – western diet, stress, lack of exercise, age or genetics. It is a leading “modifiable risk-factor” factor that increases the probability of death from heart attack, stroke or heart failure. Anyone who has been diagnosed with hypertension knows how difficult it is to lower your blood pressure, even when medicated. The good news is taking seaweed every day has been shown to reduce systolic ( the first number) blood pressure back to normal values. [1] Check your blood pressure

7. Painful periods

Contractions of the uterus can create sever and debilitating pain. Many women suffer from pain so great they are unable to work or function normally during a menstrual period. Seaweed has a high level of natural potassium that reduces smooth muscle contractions and restores the sodium potassium balance in the body. While the uterus still contracts during menstruation, it is far less extreme so pain is significantly reduced. [1]

8. You’re over 50 – you need seaweed in your life

Fifty seems to be the magic number when lifestyle and genetics start to catch up with us. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes suddenly loom large in our lives, and in the minds of our general practitioners. Countries that have a high consumption of seaweed, like Japan, have a decreased risk of all these major diseases.[7] This is probably why these same countries have so many healthy, active people in the 80s, 90s and 100s. Interestingly, studies have shown that when these people change to a western diet their biological markers, like blood pressure, shift to a level similar to those raised in the western world. [7]

References

[1] S. Wanyonyi, R. Du Preez, L. Brown, N. A. Paul, and S. K. Panchal, “Kappaphycus alvarezii as a food supplement prevents diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rats,” Nutrients, vol. 9, no. 11, p. 1261, 2017. (Pubmed)

[2] J. Teas, M. E. Baldeón, D. E. Chiriboga, J. R. Davis, A. J. Sarriés, and L. E. Braverman, “Could dietary seaweed reverse the metabolic syndrome?,” Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition, vol. 18, no. 2, p. 145, 2009.(Pubmed)

[3] Y. X. Chin, Y. Mi, W. X. Cao, P. E. Lim, C. H. Xue, and Q. J. Tang, “A pilot study on anti-obesity mechanisms of Kappaphycus alvarezii: The role of native κ-carrageenan and the leftover sans-carrageenan fraction,” Nutrients, vol. 11, no. 5, p. 1133, 2019.

[4] M. L. Cornish, A. T. Critchley, and O. G. Mouritsen, “Consumption of seaweeds and the human brain,” Journal of Applied Phycology, vol. 29, no. 5, pp. 2377-2398, 2017.

[5] G. Tirtawijaya et al., “Spinogenesis and Synaptogenesis Effects of the Red Seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii and Its Isolated Cholesterol on Hippocampal Neuron Cultures,” Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, vol. 24, no. 4, p. 418, 2019.

[6] F. Makkar and K. Chakraborty, “Antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory potential of sulphated polygalactans from red seaweeds Kappaphycus alvarezii and Gracilaria opuntia,” International Journal of Food Properties, vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 1326-1337, 2017.

[7] E. M. Brown et al., “Seaweed and human health,” Nutrition reviews, vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 205-216, 2014.

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Arthritis Biosea Health Heart Health

Seaweed Helps Exercise and Breaks Down Barriers

Seaweed Helps Exercise and breaks down barriers Eat Pacific Sea Moss

Doctors continually recommend lifestyle changes – eat better, exercise more. But did you know that seaweed helps exercise?  Doctors know exercise reduces or reverses major diseases of the modern age – the big five Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Depression, Obesity and Cancer.

But if exercise was that simple, we would all be doing it. There are many physical barriers to why we resist taking a long walk or a trip to the gym. We often tell ourselves, and our friends, that it’s because we don’t have the time or the money. But it’s usually more to do with how we feel about exercise, and our general health and energy levels.

Our first buyers tell us seaweed helps exercise and breaks barriers. Seaweed changes the way people feel about exercise. Here are some of the reasons why.

1. Seaweed Helps Exercise & provides extra energy

Seaweed cleans out your sluggish liver, so nutrients and energy are quickly delivered to cells and muscles when they are needed. We experience this as a feeling of sustained energy and wellness. Customers describe it as feeling youthful with energy to burn. Moving is easy and the element of fun re-emerges, instead of the drudgery we often associate with physical activity.

2 Seaweed Helps Exercise as it reduces joint inflammation

It’s difficult to move more when movement causes pain and swelling. Seaweed reduces joint inflammation in two ways. Firstly, it provides a rich supplement of prebiotics that boost good bacteria in the gut that in turn send natural anti- inflammatory molecules throughout the body. Secondly, it contains natural pharmaceutical molecules that interfere with the chronic inflammatory processes, stopping long term inflammation in its tracks.

3. Seaweed changes brain chemistry

One of the modern diseases is depression. While we don’t all have major depression, it is easy to suffer from the symptoms of depression including lethargy, feeling low, lacking motivation. It’s simple combination of the western diet, lifestyle and the heavy burden of stress we all carry. Seaweed makes us feel better about life in two ways. It provides taurine, tyrosine and other essential compounds that act on neural pathways to reduce anxiety and tension during periods of stress. Then the prebiotic elements of seaweed upregulate good bacteria in the gut. This reduces inflammation in the brain creating a feeling of wellbeing and halting negative thinking patterns.

4. Seaweed helps exercise as it makes your heart work better

Studies have shown seaweed removes the build-up of structural compounds, like collagen, from heart tissues. This allows cardiac muscle to move more freely, delivering oxygen to muscles when you need it most, such as when you are exercising. Suddenly that hill climb is easier because muscles are receiving the blood flow they need to work harder.

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Arthritis Biosea Health Gut Microbiome Heart Health Weight loss

5 Reasons to Feel Better with Seaweed

5 Reasons to Feel Better with Seaweed

Adding seaweed to our diet provides 5 reasons to feel better with seaweed. Our customers tell us they have more energy and enthusiasm for life. There is no question that adding seaweed to our diet makes us feel better. There is sound scientific reason for the health and wellbeing improvements that happen when you take seaweed every day. Here are just 5 reasons to feel better with seaweed and their main benefits according to published peer-reviewed science.

1 of 5 Reasons to feel  better with Seaweed is your Liver is Cleansed

The liver is a manufacturing and storage plant for all the nutrients, enzymes and proteins our body uses every day. It is also the major filtration system for removal of toxins and metabolic wastes. Unfortunately, the western diet causes the liver to become clogged with lobules of fat and then inflammation sets in. This interferes with the liver’s ability to do its job. Toxins begin to build up and vital molecules fail to reach the cells where they are needed. Seaweed removes the fatty build and halts the inflammatory response, so the liver begins to function properly again. [1].  In Professor Brown’s work, the inflammation of the liver is the first sign they see in their rats on a seaweed diet.

2. Inflammation is reduced

Inflammation is a cascade of biochemical and cellular responses designed to protect the body in case of injury or infection. Our modern lifestyle and diet mean we face infectious agents, pollutants and minor injury daily. When you add stress into the mix the process of inflammation becomes chronic leading to disease in the body. Seaweed reduces inflammation in two major ways. Sulphated polygalactan in seaweed works like aspirin to stop the inflammation process [2]. The prebiotic activity of seaweed promotes good gut bacteria that release a variety of anti-inflammatory molecules into the body[3]. So out joints are more free and overall inflammation is reduced. Reduced inflammation also means less energy is diverted to the immune system. Hence, we feel less tired.

3. Thyroid Function is Better

Iodine and tyrosine are the key molecules needed to produce thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones control metabolism at the cellular level and are necessary for proper functioning of all systems in the body. When iodine and tyrosine are in short supply thyroid hormones aren’t produced and metabolism is sluggish. This is experienced as weight gain, lack of energy and feeling cold all the time. Seaweed has healthy levels of bioavailable iodine and tyrosine for optimal hormone production and thyroid function.

4 of 5 Reasons to feel better with Seaweed is Sodium Potassium Balance Improvement

Sodium and potassium are related elements that are vital to life. The western diet tends to be high in sodium but low in potassium, so over 98% of American adults are potassium deficient. Signs of low potassium include fatigue, muscle weakness or cramps and constipation. Diets low in potassium are also known to cause hypertension. Seaweed is high in potassium but low in sodium (4 to 1 ratio) thus can correct the sodium potassium balance. When balanced, potassium makes muscle contraction easier, including the muscles in the arteries, so less effort is required, and fatigue is reduced.

5 of 5 Reasons to Feel Better with Seaweed: Brain function improvement

Seaweed contains many different neurotrophic factors that increase neural connections and generate new cells in the brain. Plant sterols in seaweed create an enriched environment for increased cell connections resulting in improved memory and quicker cognition. [4] Seaweed is also rich in the ancient molecule taurine that helps generate new brain cells. [5] Tyrosine increases dopamine and noradrenaline in the brain, creating feelings of motivation, reward and decreased fatigue, and this has been linked to enhanced performance.[6]

References

[1] S. Wanyonyi, R. Du Preez, L. Brown, N. A. Paul, and S. K. Panchal, “Kappaphycus alvarezii as a food supplement prevents diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rats,” Nutrients, vol. 9, no. 11, p. 1261, 2017. (Open Access)

[2] F. Makkar and K. Chakraborty, “Antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory potential of sulphated polygalactans from red seaweeds Kappaphycus alvarezii and Gracilaria opuntia,” International Journal of Food Properties, vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 1326-1337, 2017. (Food Online)

[3] I. Sekirov, S. L. Russell, L. C. M. Antunes, and B. B. Finlay, “Gut microbiota in health and disease,” Physiological reviews, vol. 90, no. 3, pp. 859-904, 2010.

[4] G. Tirtawijaya et al., “Spinogenesis and Synaptogenesis Effects of the Red Seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii and Its Isolated Cholesterol on Hippocampal Neuron Cultures,” Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, vol. 24, no. 4, p. 418, 2019. (pubmed)

[5] M. L. Cornish, A. T. Critchley, and O. G. Mouritsen, “Consumption of seaweeds and the human brain,” Journal of Applied Phycology, vol. 29, no. 5, pp. 2377-2398, 2017. (SpringerLink)

[6] P. Watson, “Tyrosine Supplementation: Can This Amino Acid Boost Brain Dopamine and Improve Physical and Mental Performance?,” Sports Sci. Exch, vol. 28, no. 157, pp. 1-6, 2016. Reference

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Arthritis Biosea Health Health Benefits Heart Health

Six Health Improvements People Are Saying About Pacific Seamoss

six health improvements from Pacific Sea Moss seaweed

Six health improvements are what customers are saying. After consuming Pacific Seamoss for 4 to 12 weeks, what’s their stories? We share below some of the stories. Check out testimonials here.

The good thing about a functional food like Pacific Seamoss, is that it has different effects for different people. Functional foods are so packed with nutrition and natural pharmaceuticals, that they provide the right supplement that your body needs, whether you knew it or not. That said, there seem to be some effects that all our customers are telling us about. Here are the top 6 changes that our Pacific Seamoss customers report.

1. More energy

All our customers reported they were feeling more energetic and able to cope better with the demands of their busy lives. Those that are regular exercisers have found exercise easier. Those that were mostly sedentary tell us they are feeling more energetic and are moving a lot more. The functional foods expert, Professor Lindsay Brown from the University of Southern Queensland, tells us this is because of dramatic changes in the liver allowing faster delivery of nutrients and energy to our cells and muscles.[2,3]

2. General feeling of wellness.

Many of our older customers say they feel better than they have felt for many years. This is not just about more energy but a feeling a positive mindset and am overall sense of wellbeing. All our customers have told us that they are feeling more relaxed, able to cope better with stress and feel less emotionally drained from everyday worries. Pacific Seamoss is packed full of tyrosine, that improves mental alertness and focus during times of stress, giving us a sense of control and reducing anxiety and tension.

3. Reduced Blood pressure

High blood pressure (hypertension) is a silent killer that is much too easy to develop but very difficult to reduce. Many of our customers take regular prescription medications for hypertension. They tell us that even though medicated, their blood pressure continues to creep up. Inevitably the dosage is increased but so are the nasty side effects. But now, our customers have reported that medications had to be reduced because blood pressures are returning to the normal range. Their doctors are pleased because heart health is improving, and risk of major cardiovascular disease is reduced. Our scientists say it’s probably the Potassium in the Pacific Seamoss that helps regulate the Potassium/Sodium balance in the body and is especially important for heart health.

4. Reduced Joint inflammation

Inflammation in joints occurs for many reasons, the two most common being overuse and arthritis. Both conditions interfere with normal function and stop us from leading a healthy active life. With Pacific Seamoss our customers are reporting pain and inflammation is reduced in arthritic or injured joints. They say they are active again, and greatly appreciate the better quality of life. Even our more athletic customers tell us their niggling training injuries have disappeared. Pacific Seamoss contains plant sterols and other macronutrients that interfere with the chronic inflammation process. It also acts as a pre-biotic – up-regulating your healthy gut bacteria that pump inflammation reducing short chain fatty acids into the blood stream.

5. Minds are much sharper

This is one feature of Pacific Seamoss that we didn’t expect. Many of our customers are reporting sharper minds and easier memory recall. This is especially good news for our older customers, who report age related memory issues are much improved. A new study from scientists in Korea shows that Pacific Seamoss provides neurotrophic factors, otherwise known as s nutrition for brain cells. The seaweed helps to regenerate and repair ageing and damaged cells, while also increasing the availability of neurotransmitters that build strong healthy networks and increase brain plasticity. This is great news for anyone with a history of neurodegenerative conditions, including Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s and Stroke. It’s also great news for those of us trying to prevent the cognitive decline that occurs when we age.

6. Even More

The best part about keeping in touch with our customers us that we get feedback about changes in health and wellbeing that we previously hadn’t studied. This gives us an opportunity to explore the scientific literature and develop new studies to further expand the scientific knowledge about Pacific Seamoss. That’s what good science is all about. Here are some of the anecdotal reports we are currently looking at.

  • Dysmenorrhoea Painful periods are dramatically reduced in long term sufferers. Likely mechanism – oestrogen management, Potassium/Sodium Balance
  • Hair and Nail Growth Increased growth rate of hair and nails. Likely mechanism – liver up-regulation,
  • Healthy Glowing Skin – Skin conditions improved, and signs of ageing reduced. Likely mechanism – collagen released from inflamed organs made available for skin health, improved microbiome.
  • Relief for Parkinson’s Symptoms – Customers with early-stage Parkinson’s disease have reported easier movement. Likely mechanism – tyrosine in Pacific Seamoss is converted to L-Dopa in the body, improved liver function allowing better delivery to the cells.
  • Improved gut and bowel movements.

What has been your experience with Pacific Seamoss? Do you have six health improvements?

Let us know at seaweed@bioseahealth.com

References

[1] Tirtawijaya, G., Haque, M. N., Choi, J. S., Moon, I. S., Meinita, M. D. N., Choi, J.-S., & Hong, Y.-K. (2019). Spinogenesis and Synaptogenesis Effects of the Red Seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii and Its Isolated Cholesterol on Hippocampal Neuron Cultures. Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, 24(4), 418. (PubMed)

[2] Wanyonyi, S., Du Preez, R., Brown, L., Paul, N. A., & Panchal, S. K. (2017). Kappaphycus alvarezii as a food supplement prevents diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rats. Nutrients, 9(11), 1261.(Pubmed)

[3] du Preez, R.; Paul, N.; Mouatt, P.; Majzoub, M.E.; Thomas, T.; Panchal, S.K.; Brown, L. Carrageenans from the Red Seaweed Sarconema filiforme Attenuate Symptoms of Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in Rats. Mar. Drugs 2020, 18, 97.

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Arthritis Biosea Health Gut Microbiome Health Benefits

Seaweed reduces obesity? Will it save Queensland’s Fattest City?

seaweed reduces obesity Eat Pacific Sea Moss

USQ scientists set to break the obesity cycle with leading edge findings. Are functional foods better than dieting and exercise…..

Toowoomba takes out the unenviable title of the fattest city in Queensland according to researchers at the Mitchell Institute. Over 83% of the Toowoomba population is overweight or obese, posing major disease risk and a potential public health crisis in the region. But all is not lost for the Garden City with one of its locals possibly holding the key to ending the city’s obesity problem. Professor Lindsay Brown of University of Southern Queensland at Toowoomba has spent more than a decade investigating functional foods and their affect on lifestyle diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure and cancer. Professor Brown says that seaweed is showing exceptional effectiveness in reversing obesity related health problems in animal studies and would like to see them in human studies.

Prof Brown and his team of researchers fed rats a junk food diet. The rats, just like humans, gained weight especially around the belly, and also developed fatty liver disease, high blood pressure, pre-type 2 diabetes, arthritis and inflammation of the gut.

But eating as little as 5 gm of seaweed per day completely reversed all of these symptoms.  Blood pressure returned to normal and cell damage to the heart and liver was reversed. Fatty deposits in liver and blood vessels disappeared.  The body’s response to sugar reverted back to the healthy functioning and diabetes risk was eliminated. Inflammation throughout the body was minimised so joint and heart health was much improved.  Professor Brown says the results are highly impressive and somewhat unexpected. He anticipated an improvement in symptoms but not a complete reversal, and a result better than if the patient was taking multiple medicines.

Blood pressure control with seaweed dietary supplement also stopped weight gain
From du Preez 2020 Seaweed reduces weight gain from rats on a junk food diet and makes no different to rats on a standard diet.

Professor Brown now wants to get the message out to the residents of his home town to help change Toowoomba’s frightening health reputation.  He openly provides all the science so residents can judge the effectiveness for themselves. However the media and medical industry have been slow to realise the potential of functional foods.

Categories
Arthritis Biosea Health Reviews

Seaweed Stops Rheumatoid Arthritis in its Tracks

Seaweed stops rheumatoid arthritis with Pacific Sea Moss

Seaweed stops rheumatoid arthritis in its tracks. Dr. Jan Villadsen had spondylarthritis / Psoriatic arthritis and it was gone in 17 days. For the first time in 5 years, his C-Reactive Protein levels went to zero. Symptoms went.

SEAWEED STOPS RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Arthritis is a complex set of over 100 different types – generally categorized as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid. The main difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is the cause behind the joint symptoms. Osteoarthritis was thought to be caused by mechanical wear and tear on joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system attacks the body’s joints. (The cause of osteoarthritis has recently been challenged.) Arthritis affects more than 350 million adults globally.

When people get chronic inflammatory diseases such as spondylarthritis or Psoriatic arthritis, patients may be given disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). DMARDS are a category of otherwise unrelated drugs defined by their use in rheumatoid arthritis to slow down disease progression. The term is often used in contrast to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDS, which refers to agents that treat the inflammation but not the underlying cause and steroids (which blunt the immune response but are insufficient to slow down the progression of the disease).

Dr. Jan Villadsen is a Consultant Specialist Immunology at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark. Dr. Villadsen had suffered from spondylarthritis / Psoriatic arthritis for decades. Despite the treatment of conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARD) and combination therapy of sDMARD and bDMARD, there had been no significant improvement. Dr. Villadsen was provided with a synbiotic (seaweed/oilseed rape fiber fermented mix) from a commercial provider Fermbiotics (see www.fermbiotics.com).

The outcome was astonishing. For the first time in 5 years, his C-Reactive Protein (CPR) went to zero. The seaweed mix was also provided to other hospital staff, and they wanted it for weight loss and general health.

DR JAN VILLADSEN

seaweed stops rheumatoid arthritis for Dr Jan Villadsen

What Is this Research?

This research work comes out of the Macro Cascade project of the European Union Horizon 2020 program, where the primary aim is to get novel feed products for pigs to avoid using antibiotics. The product is made with brown seaweeds (Saccharina and Ascophyllum) and rapeseed waste and fermented with lactobacillus yeasts.

The current research between Fermbiotics and the Aarhaus Hospital is a clinical trial of 257 patients to look at this outcome more broadly with Dr. Villadsen and Dr. Henning Glerup.

 Seaweed stops Rheumatoid Arthritis

Gut health is now known to be very important in a whole range of autoimmune diseases including:

  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Psoriasis
  • Diabetes mellitus 2
  • Cancer
  • Autism
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Obesity
  • Allergy and asthma among others.

References

[1] Review: Microbiome in Inflammatory Arthritis and Human Rheumatic Diseases. Jose U. Scher Dan R. Littman Steven B. Abramson 02 September 2015 https://doi.org/10.1002/art.39259

[2] Combined Pre- and Pro-biotic Composition. Compositions comprising fermented seaweed and/or algae WO 2017/077139A1

C-REACTIVE PROTEIN WENT TO ZERO

Seaweed stops arthritis
Categories
Arthritis Reviews

Natural Arthritis Relief with Seaweed

Natural arthritis relief

Natural Arthritis Relief with Seaweed

Seaweed and its anti-oxidant compounds reduce inflammatory pro-inflammatory cytokines (signal carrying proteins), part of the cause of arthritis and seaweed reduces this inflammation. Research is focused on the mechanism and the compounds associated with startling results and also clinical trial on the improved health outcomes observed in animal trials and limited human trials.

What Is Arthritis?

Arthritis is characterized by swelling and tenderness of a joint or joints in the body and is often accompanied by pain and stiffness of the affected areas [1]. The most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis, in which the collagen cushioning joints breaks down, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), where the immune system attacks the joints and the joint lining. Other forms of arthritis can result from disease and infections, as well as the presence of uric acid crystals [1] [5].

Over time, arthritis continues to progress and symptoms can worsen. The resulting stress on joints can lead to a loss of range of motion and interference in the ability to complete everyday tasks. In severe cases even standing or sitting become difficult [1].

Treatment for arthritis varies, but centers around managing symptoms with the goal of decreasing inflammation and providing pain relief [1] [2]. Research into natural remedies for arthritis has led scientists to investigate the lifestyle habits of Eastern cultures, where the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis is significantly lower [3].

Natural Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Properties

One characteristic that fascinates science is the Eastern diet, which is very different from that of the West. As more is discovered about the world’s oceans, the correlation between dietary seaweed and improved health has led to research into its potential benefits for those with arthritis.[3].

Red, brown and green seaweeds contain a variety of nutrients, minerals, and other compounds [3]. Some of these compounds have been shown to possess properties that may treat the symptoms, and perhaps the causes of arthritis [5]. In laboratory studies, polysaccharide alginate, naturally found in some types of seaweed, has been shown to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-immunogenic properties [4].

Arthritis inflammation is attributed to pro-inflammatory cytokines [5] (signal carrying proteins [8]). Testing demonstrated that the production of free radicals can accelerate inflammation associated with arthritis. Seaweed and seaweed derivatives may reduce the pain of arthritis by treating the source of the inflammation, free radicals [5]. Furthermore, research into seaweed may prove to be a link in the development of natural-based analgesic medication [9]

Anti-Oxidants to Break Down Free Radicals

Antioxidants are substances that protect living cells from the effects of free radicals. Whether found in the outside environment or within the body, free radicals are believed to contribute to cancer, heart disease, and other health issues, including arthritis [2].  Foods containing antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, and carotenoids, are found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains [2]. Science is now exploring seaweed as an alternative source of antioxidants with the added benefits of anti-inflammatory and cancer fighting properties [7].

Research suggests that a high concentration of free radicals in the body could be responsible for the inflammation brought about by rheumatoid arthritis. The same study proposes that the worsening of RA over time may also be due to an increase in free radicals within joint tissue [5].

During another study, the antioxidant properties of seaweed scavenged free radicals in vitro (from laboratory cultures). The results of further testing concluded that sulfated alginates protected against free radicals and inflammation [4].

Seaweed for Humanity

There is still a great deal of research yet to be conducted regarding the possible health benefits of seaweed. However, current paths of study have the scientific community excited about the possibilities of finding more effective treatments for arthritis [4] [6] as well as other diseases and disorders.

Seaweed supplements offer a readily accessible and convenient way to include seaweed in a healthy diet. Biosea Health promises to deliver the all-natural health benefits fresh from the ocean to your doorstep in less than 2 weeks.

As with any dietary supplement, you should consult a healthcare professional if you have any questions about adding seaweed to your diet. We make no medical claims.  But we all understand seaweed is healthy. What you may not know is that peer reviewed scientific papers have shown in countless studies on humans, animals and in test tubes that seaweed is healthy. Biosea Health provides seaweed as a simple way to consume food.  Simply good healthy food.

References:

[1]  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/arthritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350772

[2]  https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/bm/c7bm00341b?fbclid=IwAR05E7cw40wsKoRs3MNaqXL9zJz6BHvz9BUuncKooz6n6CS5D_1uBt4Xizs#!divAbstract

[3]  https://jpacr.ub.ac.id/index.php/jpacr/article/view/147/pdf

[4]  https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/bm/c7bm00341b?fbclid=IwAR05E7cw40wsKoRs3MNaqXL9zJz6BHvz9BUuncKooz6n6CS5D_1uBt4Xizs#!divAbstract

[5]  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1567576911001664

[6]  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1734114012707661

[7]  https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-nutritional-science/article/reduction-of-hba1c-levels-by-fucoxanthinenriched-akamoku-oil-possibly-involves-the-thrifty-allele-of-uncoupling-protein-1-ucp1-a-randomised-controlled-trial-in-normalweight-and-obese-japanese-adults/2896275442FF7EEC0FBC61F8033AC280

[8]  https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cytokine

[9]  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4352535/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYRl8Qy7f-k

Categories
Arthritis Biosea Health Health Benefits

Seaweed reduces Arthritis

seaweed reduces arthritis Pacific Seamoss

SEAWEED REDUCES ARTHRITIS EVIDENCE

The evidence that seaweed reduces arthritis has been demonstrated by a reduction in degeneration of cartilage through potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflamatory and anti-immunogenic actions. Arthritis is one of the most common causes of pain and disability in our aging population and current treatments only address the symptoms of joint disease.  While there are over 100 different types of arthritis, the underlying causes for arthritis are oxidative stress and inflammation in cartilage and in the surrounding tissue. Rheumatoid and osteo arthritis may be caused by different reasons.

Some promising work by  Kerschenmeyer and team in 2017 published promising “in vitro” work with the carrageenan in our Pacific Sea Moss©. While the paper is technical the information is really encouraging. What they said was

“Here we show that the natural polysaccharide alginate and particularly its sulfated derivatives have potent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-immunogenic properties in vitro. We found that these polymers exert a free radical scavenging activity in a sulfation-dependent manner. In particular, the sulfation degree of substitution of alginate directly correlated with its ability to scavenge superoxide radicals and to chelate metal ions.”

What Conclusions About Seaweed Reduces Arthritis did the Authors Conclude

The data from that paper shows chemical assays performed with alginate (●), and sulfated alginates with DS 0.1 (•), 0.21 (x), 0.48 (■), 0.74 (✮) and 0.98 (▲). Each figure is a different assay. Figure A) Superoxide radical scavenging assay. B) Hydroxyl radical scavenging assay. C) Metal chelating assay. D) Reducing power assay. Dotted line indicates absorbance of the negative control. Results were obtained from three replicates and are shown as mean +/- SD.

There will have to be more in vitro or field trials but the evidence in the lab follows what many have been saying that seaweed reduces arthritis.

REFERENCES

[1] Treating arthritis with algae. A new weapon in the fight against arthritis? Science Direct

[2] Anne Kerschenmeyer, Øystein Arlov, Vera Malheiro, Matthias Steinwachs, Markus Rottmar, Katharina Maniura-Weber, Gemma Palazzoloae and Marcy Zenobi-Wong 2017 Anti-oxidant and immune-modulatory properties of sulfated alginate derivatives on human chondrocytes and macrophages. Biomater. Sci., 2017,5, 1756-1765  DOI:10.1039/C7BM00341B