An Un-bee-lievable Arthritis Remedy

As outrageous as this may sound, many physicians are using bee venom to treat arthritis patients who do not respond well to conventional medications. The practice is called apitherapy. The results have been impressive, in both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis sufferers, and there are no serious side effects. The secret to success lies in two ingredients: mellitin, an anti-inflammatory agent that is said to be about 100 times stronger than cortisone, and adolapin, which also fights inflammation and pain.

But arthritis isn’t the only condition that apitherapy can relieve. It’s also being used across the country to treat lower back and shoulder pain, asthma, high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, hearing loss, and even premenstrual syndrome!

Bee venom therapy is nothing new. The ancient Egyptians wrote about it in their medical texts, and Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, routinely used it to treat joint pain and swelling in the fifth century B.C. But before you rush out for a dose of bee juice, keep these particulars in mind:

1. Relief is not a slam-dunk. Although the docs who use apitherapy report excellent results, some patients—and some conditions—respond better than others.

2. The injections or bee stings (which some doctors use) can be painful, and you may need more than a dozen of them before your condition improves.

3. This goes without saying (I hope!), but if you’re allergic to bee stings, this therapy could kill you!

You say bee therapy's not your buzz? Try this quirky coffee cure instead: First thing each morning, drink a cup of hot back coffee with the freshly squeezed juice of a large lime mixed into it. It may get rid of your aches for good! 

Overdo It This Summer?

Aaahhh... There’s nothing like late summer’s cooler breezes to get us out of the house to enjoy the day. Unfortunately, sometimes we become overly enthusiastic, underestimate our fitness abilities, and wind up spraining or straining an ankle! Here’s how to keep one step ahead of muscle or tendon pain:

• Pump out the fluid—reduce swelling by gently moving your ankle through its full range of motion. Simply sit in a chair and gently raise and lower your foot, then rotate it as much as the pain allows.
• Wrap it up—a natural way to help your injured ankle back to health is with a comfrey wrap. Buy three or four whole leaves of this traditional trauma-treating herb from health food store. Blanch the leaves by dipping them briefly in boiling water. Let them cool a bit, then drape them over the injured area and cover with an elastic bandage. Replace the leaves daily until the sprain heals.
• RICE is right—E.R. docs see a lot of sprained ankles. Their advice is almost always to take the following four steps: 1) Rest it; 2) Ice it; 3) Compress it. 4) Elevate it. Continue these steps, for at least two days after the injury.

If arthritis, damaged cartilage, or painful swelling and stiffness are making your outdoor activities miserable, then Baker’s Best Maximum Strength Joint Formula is just the relief you’ve been looking for. Its terrific trio of ingredients—glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM—packs a triple-punch to revitalize your joints and put a youthful bounce back in your step.

Treat Your Tootsies!

Are you badgered by bunions? It could be the shoes you’re wearing. If you’re into fashion footwear and buy shoes for style instead of support, you can literally change the ways your foot bones grow. If you can feel a knobby bump at the base of your big toe, that’s a bunion. And that means your shoes are forcing your bones to grow in some pretty unnatural ways.

Short of surgery, there’s no way to get rid of bunions once they form. And surgery is a reasonable choice when they hurt so much that you can’t get around very well or when the pain doesn’t go away even when you slip out of those sleek-looking pumps. But before you consider foot surgery—and the risk of complications that comes with it—you’ll want to explore some gentler ways to reduce the pain and keep the bunions from getting worse. Here’s a few that may help:

·        Place a donut-shaped pad between the bunion and your shoe to reduce the pressure.

·        Wear snug socks. The more tightly your socks cling to your feet, the less likely they are to rub your bunions the wrong way.

·        Stretch ‘em out with rubber bands. Sit with your feet together and loop a thick rubber band around both big toes. Move your feet as far apart as they’ll go, hold the stretch for 5 seconds, then relax. Repeat the exercise 10 times at least once a day.

·        Buy some new shoes that are wide enough for your feet to slip into comfortably, preferably with a low or flat heel.

A comfrey footbath can quickly soothe painful bunions. Comfrey contains chemical compounds that reduce skin discomfort and help sore areas heal. To make a footbath, steep an ounce of dried comfrey leaves (available at health food stores) in a few cups of simmering water for 10 minutes. Add enough cool water to make the temperature comfortable, pour the water into a basin, and soak your feet for 20 minutes or so. If you can’t find comfrey, it’s okay to substitute Epsom salts.

Need a little instant therapy for achy feet? Try our amazing new Foot & Heel Revitalizing Cream—FREE for 21 days! Just massage it in and you’ll feel the therapeutic action immediately as it heals and protects your tender tootsies. Click here to see some of the Love Letters we’ve received from women who L-O-V-E their pretty new feet!

There aren’t many good things to say about back pain, but here’s a small bit of comfort: It usually doesn’t last long, and it’s rarely serious. Most people recover in a few weeks without spending a dime at the doctor’s office.

Okay, now for the lousy news: Sooner or later, just about everyone gets it. Sure, you can injure your back on the job or in a car crash, but by far the most frequent cause isn’t anything catastrophic—it’s everyday weakness and inflexibility in the muscles that support the back.

But you don’t have to twiddle your thumbs and wait for Father Time to cure your aching back—you can help him along. In fact, you should, because if you treat a back problem in the early stages, you may reduce the likelihood of long-term pain and disability. Back pain that’s severe or doesn’t start getting better within a week or two should always be checked by a doctor.  For garden-variety aches, though, here’s what you need to do:

1.   Move and keep moving. The worst thing anyone with an achy back can do is to sit still. In fact, resting for more than a day or two reduces muscle flexibility and strength and can lead to further disability. Let your pain be your guide and do everyday activities as you can tolerate them.

2.   Grab an oversize exercise ball and give this mini-workout a try. First, lie face down across the ball with your hands and feet on the floor. Lift one arm and then the other as high as you can, raising your torso from the ball. Pause for a count of 10, then return both hands to the floor. Next, place both hands behind your head and lift your torso as high as you can. Hold for 5 counts, then release. Repeat as many times as is comfortable.

3.   Even if your back pain has you lying on the floor, you can stretch your arms and legs, elongating the tissues in your back and drawing healing blood and oxygen to the area. Just remember to stay relaxed, cushion your back with a pad, and use slow, gentle movements as you extend your arms over your head and stretch your legs along the floor. Hold each stretch for about a minute, then relax.

4.   A traditional Epsom salts bath can help ease spasms and relieve pain. Add 2 cups of the salts to a hot bath, sink down, and feel the relief. Afterward, place an ice pack on your back.

The special blend of aloe vera, emu oil, lidocaine, menthol, and more in Baker’s Best Arthritis Pain Relief Cream combines old-time healing wisdom with the miracles of modern science. Its quick penetrating action can help bring temporary relief to an aching back in just minutes, so you’ll be back on your feet in no time at all. And best of all, you can try it—FREE for 21 days!

Are your hinges (joints) so creaky in the morning that you feel like the Tin Woodman without his trusty oilcan? By age 40 or so, many of us begin showing a few signs of arthritis. Here’s how to ease the strain while strengthening your muscles—and make you feel like a new person!

1.   Hide the high heels. Wearing heels higher than 2 inches shifts your body weight onto your hips and the inner part of your knee joints, often making arthritis the result.

2.   Cut the calories. Gaining a single pound makes it feel like four times that much on your knees. If you lose as few as 11 pounds, you can reduce knee pain by 50 percent.

3.   Lay off the lattes. Drink more than four cups of coffee a day and you’re doubling your risk. The caffeine alters the mineral balance that’s needed to make cartilage and dries up the fluid that keeps your joints lubricated.

4.   Stretch yourself. Stretching for 20 minutes a day will make you feel a whole lot better. Check with your doctor to make sure you’re doing the most appropriate exercises for your form of arthritis.

5.   Exercise your options. Regular exercise lubricates your joints and helps with weight loss.

Of course, exercise is a tricky issue if you have arthritis. You obviously don’t want to push yourself too hard when you’re hurting. On the other hand, regular exercise lubricates your joints and helps with weight loss. If you’re ready to start an exercise program—and you have the go-ahead from your doctor—keep the following points in mind:

·        You’ll get the most benefit by alternating high-impact forms of exercise, such as jogging, with low-impact workouts, such as yoga or cycling. Obviously, this is true only if your arthritis is pretty mild.

·        Walking is almost always a good choice. If you have too much knee or ankle pain to walk, ride a stationary bike.

·        Swimming is a very safe and effective form of exercise. And because water supports your body weight, there’s little or no painful pressure.

Don’t let arthritis, damaged cartilage, or painful swelling and stiffness make you miserable. Our Maximum Strength Joint Formula is a special blend of not one, not two, but three clinically tested ingredients in one powerful new supplement. It’s specially designed to help maximize joint health, ease arthritis pain, increase flexibility, and give your sore joints a whole new lease on life. Try it—FREE for 21 days!

We’re trying something new here at Baker’s Best Health, and we’re pretty excited about it! If you regularly receive mailed advertisements from us, you may have noticed the new QR code on the pages of this month’s mailing. It’s the funny looking black and white square that’s actually a two-dimensional barcode. The QR code allows us to participate in “mobile tagging,” and if you found this site using your smartphone, here’s a big warm welcome to you!

And to those of you who are regular readers, thanks for stopping by again!

This week, I thought I’d let you in on a few techniques I’ve learned over the years for dealing with back pain. As most of us unfortunately know, few conditions can cause more trouble than persistent backaches. So try one or more of these simple strategies to get your back healthy in a hurry:

1.    Get up and moving as soon as you can to increase circulation and bring healing nutrients to damaged muscles. Lying in bed can make your suffering muscles weaker and tighter.

2.    As soon as your back starts hurting, apply a cold pack to your sore muscles. Cool the area for about 20 minutes every few hours for at least a day after the pain starts.

3.    Find at least one position, and possibly more than one, that puts the least strain on your overworked muscles. The less strain you put on your back muscles, the more quickly the injury will heal.

4.    Wear shoes that have plenty of cushioning. Cross-training or walking shoes are just what the doctor ordered.

5.    Aspirin, ibuprofen, and similar drugs often work as well as prescription drugs for back pain. They work directly on pain, and they have anti-inflammatory effects, which reduce painful swelling.

If you feel like persistent pain is robbing you of the things you like to do, whether it’s gardening, dancing, hiking, or even tying your shoes, then Baker’sBest Arthritis Pain Relief Cream could be right for you. Click here to see what folks have to say about living pain free!