Alcohol: Natural Remedy rheumatoid arthritis?

Could drinking alcohol be a natural remedy for rheumatoid arthritis? According to research by scientists at the University of Sheffield and partly funded by Arthritis Research UK, drinking alcohol eases the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as well as appearing to reduce its severity too.

In the study, 873 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 1,004 people who did not have it were asked how often they had drunk alcohol in the month prior to the start of the study plus completed a detailed questionnaire, had X-rays and blood tests taken and a nurse examined their joints. It was found that patients who had drunk alcohol most frequently had symptoms that were less severe than those who had never drunk alcohol or only drank it infrequently. This may possibly be attributed to the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of alcohol. X-rays further showed that there was less damage to their joints, blood tests showed lower levels of inflammation. Patients reported less joint pain, swelling and disability.

CAUTION: Arthritis Research UK do not recommend rheumatoid arthritis sufferers to take this research to mean that they should go out and start drinking alcohol frequently and in large amounts as this could be detrimental to their health. Some RA treatments, like the immunosuppressant drug methotrexate, could damage the liver when taken with large amounts of alcohol.

Books on rheumatoid arthritis

Patient A: CDL Final Report

Urinalysis: Biochemistry
Specific Gravity: 1.015 (1.005-1.03)
pH: 6.0 (5-7)
Protein: Negative
Glucose: Normal
Ketone: Negative
Urobilinogen: *Normal
Bilirubin: Negative
Nitrite: Negative
Haemoglobin: *(+) 10 /uL
Leucocyte Esterase: Negative

Urinanysis: Microscopy
RBC: H2 /uL (0-1)
WBC: Negative uL (0-3)
Epithelial cells: Negative
Casts: Negative
Crystals: Negative
Bacteria: Negative
Others: Spermatozoa 1+

Complete Blood Count
HGB: 145 g/L (130 - 170)
HCT: 0.43 (0.4-0.5)
RBC: 4.82 10e12/L (4.5-5.5)
MCV: 88 fl (77-97)
MCH: 30.1 pg ((24-33)
MCHC: 340 g/L (310-370)
RDW: 13.0 % (11.6-14)
WBC: 5.1 10e9/L (4-10)
Platelets: 266 10e9/L (150-400)

Glucose: 4.1 mmol/L (3.9-6.1)
Glucose: 73.8 mg/dL (70 - 115)

Lipid Profile
Triglyceride: 4.1 mmol/L (< 1.7)Total Cholesterol: 4.7 mmol/L (< 5.2)HDL Cholesterol: 1.42 mmol/L (> 1.1)
LDL Cholesterol: H 2.94 mmol/L (< 2.59)

Endocrinology
Testerone: 21.6 nmol/L (8.4-28.7)
Total PSA: 0.86 ng/L (0-4)

Clinical Chemistry
Glucose: 4.2 nmol/L
Uric Acid: 281 umol/L

Renal Function Test
Sodium: L 135 nmol/L
Potassium: 4.0 nmol/L
Chloride: L 99 nmol/L
Carbon Dioxide: 25.4
Anion Gap: 15
Urea: 4.7
Creatinine: L 77

Liver function test
Total protein: 77
Albumin: 39
Globulin: H 38
Total Bilirubin: 11
Conjugated Bilirubin: 3
Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) L 12
Aspartate Aminotransferase: 15
Alkaline Phosphatase: 75
G-Glutamyl Transferase: 21

Lipid Profile
Triglyceride: 0.71
Total Cholesterol: 4.6
HDL Cholesterol: 1.52
LDL Cholesterol: H 2.76

Special Chemistry
HBA1C: 5.4 %

Food for hypertension - beetroot juice

Natural remedy for high blood pressure - drink beetroot juice. Want to bring down your blood pressure? Drink beetroot juice.

Amrita Ahluwalia, Professor of Vascular Pharmacology at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry researching the effect of drinking beetroot juice or taking nitrate tablets have shown that both brought down blood pressure within 24 hours. Apparently, the higher the blood pressure, the greater the magnitude of decrease in blood pressure. Their research paper was published the US journal Hypertension

It seemed the nitrate in the beetroot juice when eaten is changed to nitric oxide gas
and this gas keeps the blood vessels open and relaxed and thus reduces the blood pressure.

Beetroot at Amazon