Today there are about 70 million Americans with arthritis…that’s one person out of every four who suffer both pain and the expense of this crippling disease.

In one year alone, arthritis will be responsible for over half a billion dollars in lost wages. The economic consequences of arthritis are important to review because each year, arthritis takes a devastating financial toll on our society.

Over the course of ten years, arthritis-related work loss has been associated with a 37% drop in income for arthritics — all those without arthritis had a 90% rise in income over the same period of time!

If you…a friend…or a relative has arthritis, it’s important to know that early treatment can help sufferers continue with their normal daily lives and remain productive members of the community.

The term “arthritis” is derived from the Greek: “arthron” meaning “joint” and “itis” meaning inflammation. Arthritis is a word that describes over 100 different conditions, some involving inflammation and others not.

Arthritis is not a single disease. It encompasses about 100 different conditions, that affect joints and that pose unique problems for diagnosis and treatment.

Some common types of arthritis include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, pseudo-gout, ankylosing spondylitis, polymyalgia rheumatica, psoriatic arthritis, Reiter’s disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, and fibromyalgia.

Most types of arthritis involve joint inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury or infection.

For an example of inflammation, take a simple scratch…your body automatically releases chemicals that cause fluids to accumulate and white blood cells to gather around the area of the scratch.

As your body fights foreign substances and bacteria, inflammation…redness…heat…swelling…and pain occur at the sight of the injury.

In arthritis, unfortunately, this natural defense mechanism goes awry. Elements from the blood designed to fight infection and repair injury attack the body instead.

And, unless this inflammatory process is halted, it will continue to attack the body and cause joint destruction.

So you can begin to see how treatments that just relieve the pain associated with arthritis — but that do not reduce inflammation — may not adequately treat this disease.

Getting proper treatment early on is important…because proper care can help arthritis sufferers lead more active and comfortable lives.

Top 9 Things to Avoid If You Have Arthritis

1. Highly acidic foods have been associated with the exacerbation of arthritis symptoms.

2. Saturated fats found in meat, dairy, and fried foods, as well as alcohol and aspirin, produce prostaglandin-E2, which suppresses the immune system, causing inflammation and pain. Pork is one of the worst offenders, whether it is in the form of ham, bacon, or any food cooked in lard (a hidden ingredient in some restaurant foods).

3. A small percentage of people with arthritis need to avoid the nightshade family of vegetables: tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and bell peppers. You can tell if these foods affect you by staying away from them for 30 days and then eating all of them in one day. If you do not feel any worse after challenging yourself in this way, then you need not worry. If pain in the joints worsens, stay away from these foods.

4. Other substances to avoid are stimulants like coffee and tobacco (both members of the nightshade family), caffeinated tea, sugar, and salt, as well as artificial colors, food additives, and preservatives.

5. Carbonated drinks are high in phosphates, which change the mineral balance in the body.

6. Margarine is unhealthy because of the partially hydrogenated trans-fatty acids, which our bodies cannot digest.

7. Overcooked and processed foods rob the body of essential nutrients and can pave the way for arthritis symptoms.

8. Anti-inflammatory medications may appear helpful initially but in the long term, they are destructive.

9. Another thing to avoid, for those with arthritis, is prolonged immobility of lengthy care of plane ride. To prevent the increased knee, ankle, or foot pain that can result from such a ride. Travelers should try to exercise periodically during the trip if this is at all possible.

CAUTION: Now I need you to pay very close attention to this

This 3 step strategy completely reverses arthritis in 21 days or less

Imagine for a moment your arthritis completely vanishing right now.

If, in a moment, your pain and stiffness melted away. And your joints all of a sudden functioned like a well-oiled machine.

Like a magic wand was waived, you’d be able to jump up from your chair and run around the room like a kid.

And imagine that you’d never have to suffer as much as a pinch of arthritis stiffness or pain ever again.

This is not a fantasy. Thousands of people have permanently healed their arthritis following the 3 simple steps explained here…