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that sea cucumber is not only anti-inflammatory but antiarthritic, treating the disease as well as its symptoms. Australia's Department of Health has approved sea cucumber as an effective treatment for arthritis, and researchers such as Mitchell Kurk, M.D., director of the Biomedical Revitalization Center of Lawrence, N.Y., have found that approximately 70 percent of the arthritis patients they treat with the product improve. |
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Because heat destroys the enzymes in food, some arthritis researchers theorize that inflammatory conditions may improve if patients add digestive enzymes to their food whenever they eat something cooked, baked, fried, steamed or boiled. Lina Lee, Ph.D., advises patients to take the plant enzymes protease, analase, lipase and cellulase to increase digestion. This is a simple strategy because digestive enzymes are inexpensive, widely sold and safe. |
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The digestive enzyme bromelain, which comes from pineapples, has been the subject of numerous studies. According to the Textbook of Natural Medicine, it is effective in virtually all inflammatory conditions, regardless of cause. It works by blocking the formation of certain prostaglandins (hormone-like substances) that trigger inflammation while increasing the body's levels of natural anti-inflammatory substances and breaking up fibrin, a substance that collects in areas of inflammation, leading to pain and swelling. |
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Intestinal bacteria are important for many digestive functions, and an abundance of ''friendly'' bacteria, |
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