NSAIDs

When it comes to dealing with arthritis, body aches and other debilitating conditions, we all want relief from what ails us. But is there a way to control pain and inflammation without resorting to aspirin or other synthetic medications?

Thomas Newmark and Paul Schulick believe Mother Nature has had the answer all along: a powerful combination of natural herbs that not only controls pain, but also holds the key to preventing arthritis, Alzheimer's disease--and even certain forms of cancer.

Newmark and Schulick, authors of Beyond Aspirin: Nature’s Challenge to Arthritis, Cancer & Alzheimer’s Disease, explain how the human enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) creates inflammation in the body. They also describe how commercial COX-2 inhibitors have been developed to stop inflammation, which lies at the root of arthritis and other degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Yet Newmark and Schulick question their long-term safety and effectiveness. Instead, they offer natural, herbal sources of COX-2 inhibitors that have been in use since Hippocrates first prescribed them.

Newmark and Schulick describe in their book Beyond Aspirin: Nature’s Challenge to Arthritis, Cancer & Alzheimer’s Disease, conventional medicine has long used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen to control pain. However, these NSAIDs have side effects such as bleeding of the stomach and ulcers. Recently, pharmaceutical companies have introduced synthetic drugs that inhibit the COX-2 enzyme to control pain and inflammation, but these synthetic COX-2 inhibitors also can cause serious side effects. Many herbs are natural COX-2 inhibitors and offer several advantages over these synthetic COX-2 inhibitors.

One herb that is a natural COX-2 inhibitor is turmeric. Other herbs that are natural COX-2 inhibitors are ginger and green tea. These herbs are safer than synthetic COX-2 inhibitors because they work naturally and actually promote wound healing. Newmark and Schulick recommend taking several herbs together in the correct dosages. They recommended Zyflamend, a product from New Chapter that has many herbs for relieving pain in the correct proportions. These herbs are also effective preventive agents, because they block excessive inflammation, which can lead to diseases such as arthritis, Alzheimer's disease and cancer.