What happens when topical olive oil interacts with ibuprofen for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis?
Fifty million Americans suffer from arthritis, and knee osteoarthritis is the most common form, making it the leading cause of disability. There are several inflammatory mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of this disease, so various anti-inflammatory foods have been tested. Strawberries can reduce circulating blood levels of an inflammatory mediator known as Tumor necrosis factorbut that does not necessarily mean clinical improvement. For example, drinking cherry juice can lower an inflammatory marker known as IC-reactive proteinbut failed to help treat pain and other symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. However, the researchers said it “provided relief of symptoms.” Yes, it happened when comparing symptoms before and after six weeks of drinking cherry juice, but nothing better than a placebo, meaning that drinking it was no better than doing nothing. Cherries may help with another type of arthritis called gout, but fail when it comes to osteoarthritis.
However, strawberries reduce inflammation. In fact, in a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial, eating strawberries was actually found to have a significant analgesic effect, causing a significant reduction in pain. There are tumor necrosis factor inhibitor drugs on the market now that are available for a low, low cost of only $40,000 a year. For that kind of money, you can expect some really juicy side effects, and they don’t disappoint—like the most deadly lymphoma. I think I’ll stick to strawberries.
One of the reasons we suspected that berries might be helpful is that when people ate the equivalent of a cup of blueberries or two cups of strawberries every day, and their blood was then applied to cells in a petri dish, it significantly reduced inflammation compared to the blood of those who ate placebo berries, as you can see below and at 2:02 in my video. Extra Olive Oil for Arthritis.
Interestingly, the anti-inflammatory effect increases over time, suggesting that the longer you eat berries, the better. Have any other foods been tested this way?
Researchers in France collected cartilage from knee replacement surgeries and extracted it from blood samples of volunteers who had taken high doses of grape and olive seeds. They saw a significant decrease in inflammation, as shown below and at 2:30 for me video.
There have been no human studies examining grapeseed for arthritis, but olive extract has been shown to reduce pain and improve daily activities in osteoarthritis sufferers. So, does this mean adding olive oil to one’s diet can help? No, because the researchers used frozen olive plant water. It is basically what is left after extracting the olive oil; are all water soluble components. In other words, it is all the things in the olive that are not in the oil.
If you give people real olives, a dozen large green olives a day, you may see a decrease in the inflammatory mediator. But according to systematic reviews and meta-analyses, olive oil—by itself—doesn’t seem to provide any anti-inflammatory benefits. What about the papers that claim “remarkable anti-inflammatory activity” in extra virgin olive oil? Their evidence comes from mice. For people, extra virgin olive oil may be better than butter when it comes to inflammation and worse than coconut oil.
So, should we stick to olives? Sadly, a dozen olives can take up almost half of your sodium limit for the day, as you can see below and at 3:47 for me. video.
When tested, extra virgin olive oil did not appear to help with fibromyalgia symptoms, but it was more effective than canola oil in relieving symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any studies that include olive oil in the diagnosis of arthritis. But then why is this blog titled “Can Olive Oil Compete With Arthritis Drugs?” Because—are you ready for this?—it seems to work topically.
Extra virgin olive oil versus gel containing ibuprofen for osteoarthritis of the knee in a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. Just a gram of oil, less than a quarter teaspoon, three times a day, costing less than three cents a day, worked! Olive oil was much better than medicine for pain relief, as you can see below and at 4:37 for me video.
The study only lasted a month, so is it possible that olive oil would continue to work better and better over time?
Is olive oil effective in managing morning swelling pain in fingers and knees among women with rheumatoid arthritis? The researchers went all out, comparing the use of extra virgin olive oil to nothing and rubbing in that ibuprofen gel, and, apparently, the reduction in disease activity in the olive oil group beat the others.
Doctor’s Note
For more on joint health, see the related posts below.
What about eating olive oil? Look Olive Oil and Artery Function.
