19. 2015-16 AHA Stroke Guidelines

  http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/early/2016/05/04/STR.0000000000000098

Healthcare Evolution

Healthcare Evolution

Primary among the next steps to continue that evolution is the need to focus on cost containment and prevention -- neither of which the Act adequately addresses.  We still have much work to do.

"With or without Obamacare, the American health system will continue to unravel -- quickly if Romney is elected, slowly if Obama is re-elected," writes Dr. Marcia Angell of Harvard Medical School. And this is because the law doesn't actually reverse the unsustainable trend line of skyrocketing health care costs. "[Obama] also did nothing to rein in the profit-oriented delivery system that rewards providers on a piecework basis for doing tests and procedures," writes Angell. "So with all the new dollars flowing into the system and no restraints on the way medicine is practiced, the law is inherently inflationary."

As one health care lobbyist told Angell, if the Act cuts into the industry's profits, they'll just raise premiums -- something the new law doesn't prevent. When this happens, more and more people will opt out of the system, choosing to pay the meager penalty -- sorry, Chief Justice Roberts, I mean tax. This will lead to even higher premiums, and the vicious cycle will continue, albeit a tad more slowly than before.

This is because, writes Angell, "Obama gutted the law before it even passed." Aside from keeping most of the current system in place and simply extending it, there were the deals to not allow drug reimportation and the deals that prevent the government from negotiating for lower drug prices [thanks to George Bush]. In 2008, then-candidate Obama took on the latter provision being left out of the Medicare Part D bill: "That's an example of the same old game playing in Washington," he said. "You know, I don't want to learn how to play the game better. I want to put an end to the game playing." He clearly didn't.

Beyond the continuing problems of how to cover treatment once people are sick is the escalating problem that comes one step before that: dealing with efforts to prevent people from getting sick in the first place. Given current obesity and diabetes trends -- and the myriad medical problems associated with them -- it's not enough to focus on coverage. Any plan that doesn't aggressively tackle preventive care can't contain enough costs to be sustainable.

And though the Act has modest preventive care provisions, they're mostly about screenings for various conditions -- which is great, but not nearly enough to reverse the alarming trend lines. And even among those provisions, there are, as many patients -- and insurers -- have already found out, numerous loopholes.

"Perhaps the most pressing public health challenge for the United States today is the epidemic of... obesity," writes Ross A. Hammond of the Center on Social Dynamics and Policy, "which is linked to an array of costly and debilitating health consequences." Since 1960, obesity has risen nearly 35 percent. Looking just at children, nearly one-third of whom are obese or overweight, obesity is associated with over $14 billion in direct medical spending; overall, more than 20 percent of U.S. medical costs are now attributable in some way to obesity.

This obesity epidemic is also helping to fuel the diabetes epidemic (in addition to heart disease, cancer, asthma and a host of other conditions). As Hammond notes, a shocking one-third of all children born in America will develop type 2 diabetes at some point. "Even if the epidemic does not worsen," he writes, "these costs are likely to prove an unsustainable burden on the health system given the long-term growth of the federal debt." On the other hand, just a five percent decrease in diabetes could save an estimated $25 billion every year.

In response to the Supreme Court ruling, President Obama said that "with today's announcement, it's time for us to move forward -- to implement and, where necessary, improve on this law." The "where necessary" implies that it's just a matter of tweaking a few things here and there. But it's not about tweaks. We need to continue to think big. Among the many important aspects of passing the Act was simply putting to rest the notion that nothing can be done. Well, something was done -- but much more, especially on preventive care, still needs to be done.

In the weeks leading up to the ruling, we read a lot about the sense of urgency and alarm and resolve that health care advocates would have if the Affordable Care Act were struck down. Now that it's been largely upheld, we need to keep -- and build upon -- that sense of urgency.

Fillmore Randolph 336-3381

The Evolution of the U.S. Healthcare System

Overview

Between the years 1750 and 2000, healthcare in the United States evolved from a simple system of home remedies and itinerant doctors with little training to a complex, scientific, technological, and bureaucratic system often called the "medical industrial complex." The complex is built on medical science and technology and the authority of medical professionals. The evolution of this complex includes the acceptance of the "germ theory" as the cause of disease, professionalization of doctors, technological advancements in treating disease, the rise of great institutions of medical training and healing, and the advent of medical insurance. Governmental institutions, controls, health care programs, drug regulations, and medical insurance also evolved during this period. Most recently, the healthcare system has seen the growth of corporations whose business is making a profit from healthcare.

Background

Prior to 1800, medicine in the United States was a "family affair." Women were expected to take care of illnesses within the family and only on those occasions of very serious, life threatening illnesses were doctors summoned. Called "domestic medicine," early American medical practice was a combination of home remedies and a few scientifically practiced procedures carried out by doctors who, without the kind of credentials they must now have, traveled extensively as they practiced medicine.

The practice of midwifery—attending women in childbirth and delivering babies—was a common profession for women, since most births took place at home. Until the mid-eighteenth century Western medicine was based on the ancient Greek principle of "four humors"—blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. Balance among the humors was the key to health; disease was thought to be caused by too much or too little of the fluids. The healing power of hot, cold, dry, and wet preparations, and a variety of plants and herbs, were also highly regarded. When needed, people called on "bone-setters" and surgeons, most of whom had no formal training.

Physicians with medical degrees and scientific training began showing up on the American landscape in the late colonial period. The University of Pennsylvania opened the first medical college in 1765 and the Massachusetts Medical Society (publishers of today's New England Journal of Medicine), incorporated in 1781, sought to license physicians. Medical schools were often opened by physicians who wanted to improve American medicine and raise the medical profession to the high status it enjoyed in Europe and in England. With scientific training, doctors became more authoritative and practiced medicine as small entrepreneurs, charging a fee for their services.

 Fillmore Randolph 336-3382

In the early 1800s, both in Europe and in the United States, physicians with formal medical training began to stress the idea that germs and social conditions might cause and spread disease, especially in cities. Many municipalities created "dispensaries" that dispensed medicines to the poor and offered free physician services. Epidemics of cholera, diphtheria, tuberculosis, and yellow fever, and concerns about sanitation and hygiene, led many city governments to create departments of health. New advances in studying bacteria were put to practical use as "germ theory" became the accepted cause for illness. It was in the face of epidemics and poor sanitation, government-sponsored public health, and healthcare that private healthcare began to systematically diverge. Impact

As America became increasingly urbanized in the mid 1800s, hospitals, first built by city governments to treat the poor, began treating the not-so-poor. Doctors, with increased authority and power, stopped traveling to their sickest patients and began treating them all under one roof. Unlike hospitals in Europe where patients were treated in large wards,

American patients who could pay were treated in smaller, often private rooms.

In the years following the Civil War (1865), hospitals became either public or private.

More medical schools and institutions devoted to medical research emerged. A trend toward physicians needing more training led to the Johns Hopkins University's medical school's requirement in 1893 that all medical students arrive with a four-year degree and spend another four years becoming a physician.

Earliest efforts of doctors to create a unified professional organization started in the mid 1800s and, in 1846, the American Medical Association (AMA) was established. With little early impact on American medicine, by the next century the AMA had great influence over the politics and practice of medicine. An early AMA victory was the regulation of drugs.

Just after the Civil War, nursing became professionalized with the establishment of three  training schools for nurses. While nursing began as a gender-based and female stereotyped "nurturing" occupation, over the next 100 years nursing would become more professionalized. By the late twentieth century, more nurses were receiving advanced degrees and playing a greater role in the administration of health care. Rarely trained as doctors even in the early twentieth century, by the 1980s women comprised up to half of medical school student admissions.

As the nineteenth century ended, advancements in biology, chemistry and related medical  sciences meant that the great diseases—tuberculosis, yellow fever, diphtheria, cholera, and others—were practically eliminated with the development of diagnostic tests and vaccines. Extensive public health projects, aimed at fighting the causes of disease or to prevent their spreading, raised the levels of public health. Healthcare extended into the schools through school nurses. Fillmore Randolph 336-3383 .

By the early part of the twentieth century, doctors had more authority and were better paid than ever before. Associations, such as the AMA and the American Hospital Association (AHA), founded in 1899, became stronger. Employers and labor unions began to offer a range of benefits to workers, including paid medical care. National health  insurance, such as provided by many European nations, became associated with socialism and the concept became unpopular in the United States, opening doors for private health  insurance to cover the rising costs of medical care.

While private health insurance emerged prior to World War I, it was not until well after the War and toward the end of the 1920s that the first large medical insurance company,  Blue Cross, was established.

The 1930s saw rising healthcare costs and an increasing number of health insurance plans. At this time, doctors were paid by a system called "fee-for-service." New insurance  plans, such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield, allowed its members to pay both the costs of  hospitalization and for treatment by physicians. The AHA in the 1930s took an active  role in supporting group hospitalization plans. During World War II, a medical plan

started by Henry J. Kaiser for his employees featured a pre-paid program that paved the way for Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) 40 years later.

The post-World War II era saw great expansions in the workforce, advancements in medical science and medical care, and increasing healthcare costs. The Baby Boom generation, the name given to the large numbers of children born just after World War II, received ever-higher levels of medical and preventive care during the 1950s. Advances in medicine in diagnostic techniques, such as x rays, life saving drugs, such as penicillin, and inoculations against diseases, such as polio, had created an ever-deepening scientific culture that included laboratory technicians, therapists, widening roles for nurses, and increasing specialization among physicians.

These post-World War II technological advances professionalized the roles of non-physician therapists and technicians, including respiratory therapists, physical therapists, x-ray technicians, and laboratory technicians. Improved technology and increasingly sophisticated treatments and therapies also pushed up cost of health care during the same period. U.S. government research and health institutions and programs, such as the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, were established. The 1960s saw the initiation of social programs to aid in the medical care of the aged (Medicare) and poor (Medicaid). Prior to the founding of these institutions, the U.S. government had founded other health programs and institutions, such as the Indian Health Service, the U.S. Public Health Service, the Food and Drug Administration, and established an executive cabinet-level agency, the Department of Health and Human Services.

Between the end of World War II and the late 1980s, most doctors were still independent and compensated through fee-for-service. Through the powerful AMA and other organizations, doctors had fought off political attempts at creating a nationalized, Fillmore Randolph 336-3384 universal coverage medical systems, such as those in Canada, the United Kingdom, and in Europe.

Doctors did not apparently notice, however, the growth of Health Maintenance

Organizations (HMOs). By the mid 1980s, HMOs began to dominate both the

organization of health care and reimbursement to physicians. In the 1990s, HMOs and their varieties would revolutionize the organization of health care in the United States and provoke controversy among recipients of healthcare as well as doctors, who came to find themselves in less control of their practices. Fee-for-service began to fade as doctors increasingly found themselves working for corporations that made profits from pre-paid healthcare by reducing the costs of healthcare, carefully restricting services, and focusing on preventive healthcare. Fee-for-service was slowly being replaced by "capitation," a system that paid doctors a set fee from which they had to care for all of their patients, the sick and the well. Called "managed care," this system also produced changes in the consumers' role in healthcare as greater emphasis was placed on preventive medicine, consumer choice, and being accountable for one's own health and healthcare. Communications advancements such as the Internet and the World Wide Web in the 1990s added to the health information available to consumers. Also at this time, consumer interest grew in "alternative medicine," such as acupuncture, herbal preparations, and vitamin therapies. These interests could be seen as a reaction against the medical industrial complex. Computer and communications advancements also allowed for such practices such as "telemedicine," a system utilizing the Internet by which patients could be diagnosed and often treated by physicians at a distance.Twenty-first-century technology promises to continue changing the nature, complexity,and costs of healthcare. As knowledge increases about the genetic bases of disease, the healthcare system will make greater use of gene therapies, developing ways to prevent genetically caused diseases. Just as the impact of new technologies, such as x rays, antibiotics, vaccines, and surgical advances changed early and mid-twentieth-century medicine socially and scientifically, scientific and medical innovations, as well as social movements and economic realities, will continue to shape twenty-first-century medicine and health care.

RANDOLPH FILLMORE

Further Reading

Books

Biddle, Wayne. A Field Guide to Germs. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1991.

Ehrenreich, John, ed. The Cultural Crisis of Modern Medicine. New York: Monthly

Review Press, 1978. Fillmore Randolph 336-3385

Inlander, Charles B. and Michael A. Donio. Medicare Made Easy: The People's Medical

Society. New York: MJF Books, 1999.

Muff, Janet, ed. Women's Issues in Nursing: Socialization, Sexism and Stereotyping. St.

Louis: The C.V. Cosby Company, 1982.

Starr, Paul. The Social Transformation of American Medicine. New York: Basic Books,

1982.

Periodical Articles

Mark, David, M.D., M.P.H and Richard M. Glass, M.D. "Impact of New Technologies inMedicine: A Global Theme." The Journal of the American Medical Association (17 Nov., 1999).

McGinnis, J. Michael, MD and Philip R. Lee, MD. "Healthy People 2000 at Mid

Decade." Journal of the American Medical Association 273, no. 14 (1996).

Copyright © 2009, Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.  

USC OPTT-RERC Optimizing Participation Through Technology For Successful Aging With Disability

USC OPTT-RERC Optimizing Participation Through Technology For Successful Aging With Disability

Optimizing Participation Through Technology For Successful Aging With Disability

       USC ICT background

        OPTT-RERC [Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center]










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Dealing with the Department of Rehabilitation and US Social Security Administration

Dealing with the Department of Rehabilitation and US Social Security Administration

I, as well as many others have had issues with states'  Departments of Rehabilitation and  the US Social Security Administration related to disability support services, including  the requirement that a disabled person must be released from their permanent disability by a physician, before the agency would even consider evaluating or providing services to the person, or setting up evaluation processes that require a person to miss therapy sessions to participate in their evaluation over an extended period of time.

My focus here is to publish the issues and see if we can find resolutions that overcome these artifical barriers.

First, regarding the US Social Security Administration local Chatsworth, CA office.

The associates I met there have been very helpful and supportive in determining Social Security and Medicare status, with positive suggestions about what to do and how to accomplish it. This includes at least three personal visits and five telephone calls to the office.  [It was so easy that I was continually expecting a major …BUT! to interfere or delay.  Nothing stopped the process, the staff were courteous and helpful, everything happened on time, as explained.]

Next. my experience with the California Department of Rehabilitation has

been one of extreme difficulty, starting with a denial of service [for an initial discussion]! until I, as a permanently disabled person, would be released from my permanent disability by my physician before the agency would even consider evaluating or providing services to me, then after an appeal and a one year delay, setting up an evaluation process that requires me to miss ongoing Occupational Therapy sessions, over an extended period of time [ten consecutive days, six hours per day] despite an alternative schedule being available, or delaying until a time causing me to miss a registration deadline for an educational program [after another full year of delay].

More on the Appeal Process as it unfolds [don’t hold your breadth, unless you

like the color blue!]

I filed an appeal, which resulted in an Arbitration hearing in which the DOR Regional

Administrator agreed to support my IPE [ Individual Plan for Employment (IPE)] – after a vocational and education evaluation.  My IPE includes appropriate training.at CSUN [M.S in Assistive Technologies Engineering and Human Services].

The key is to read the regulations and get the support you need.  Check into

Disability Rights California - http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/

NOTE:  upon completing the Arbitration Process, and the 10-day Vocational Analysis, my DOR counselor retired, and I will have a new counselor assigned.  I did get a confirmation from DOR that they will be supporting my IPE without delays resulting from a new counselor assignment.

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Rehabilitation Robotics & Brain Plasticity + Stem Cell Research

REHABILITATION ROBOTICS AND BRAIN PLASTICITY

CSUN Center of Achievement: Rehabilitation Robotics and Brain Plasticity - presentation

This was a portion of a presentation at CSUN:  Center of Achievement 11/21/2011 on Rehabilitation Robotics and Brain Plasticity - specifically demonstrating the MYOMO mPower 1000 Robot and my presentation slides

          CLICK HERE

           SIGN IN TO YOUR FACEBOOK, then

          CLICK HERE FOR The full slide presentation on Rehabilitation Robotics and Brain Plasticity:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150467042521151

Another resource for information about Brain Plasticity.

    http://bluemarblegameco.com/news/video-games-and-neuroplasticity-251/

MYOMO Demonstration Video [after 1 1/2 months of therapy]

          FIRST CONTROLLED THUMB MOVEMENT  CLICK HERE

          Beginning volitional control of my left Biceps & Triceps  CLICK HERE

Pre-MYOMO Video  PRE-ROBOT USAGE” 08/30/2011

           LIMITED ARM MOVEMENT  CLICK HERE

           LEFT ARM CONTROL AND RANGE OF MOTION (2)  CLICK HERE

STEM CELL RESEARCH

Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC   CLICK HERE 

Keck School of Medicine    CLICK HERE

USC/Keck Stem Cell Research     CLICK HERE

Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF   CLICK HERE

University of California, San Francisco Stem Cell Research CLICK HERE

Stem Cell Research    CLICK HERE

Stem Cell Research Questionnaire   CLICK HERE

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Northridge Hospital Center for Rehabilitation Medicine

Northridge Hospital Center for Rehabilitation Medicine

Northridge Hospital Center for Rehabilitation Medicine

ROBOTICS

MYOMO (My Own Motion) Robots to the Rescue!


NHMC Awards for Excellence
Stroke Rehabilitation
Stroke Center
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Patience

Living with a disability!

   Kermit

   Patience

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Brain Fitness, Physical Fitness and Food Fitness

What are the benefits that I can get from using the Brain Fitness Program? 

People who use the PositScience Brain Fitness Program experience a wide variety of cognitive benefits and improvements in their everyday lives. In fact, a recent clinical trial called the IMPACT study found that people who used the Brain Fitness Program ended up with an
 ·       average increase of 131% in processing speed.

 ·       Faster auditory processing helps people keep up with conversation, which in turn 

           ·      improves comprehension and memory. 88% of people in the IMPACT study who completed the program reached processing speeds typical of people under age 40. (No one in the study was under age 65).
 ·      Brain Fitness Program users also gained an average of 10 years improvement in memory, and 

     ·       three out of four people in the study reported benefits in their everyday lives such as being able to remember a shopping list without writing it down, hearing conversations more clearly in noisy restaurants, and feeling more confident and better about themselves overall.

·       #1 Trying New Things

o   Having the energy and excitement to try new things is one of the more surprising benefits of brain fitness. But it's something we hear over and over. By engaging important brain chemicals, speeding up thinking, and sharpening focus, the Brain Fitness Program awakens curiosity and motivates people to seize life by the horns.

·       #2 Getting things done

o   The InSight brain fitness software helps people be faster, more efficient, on top of things—so they can do more and do it well. Users tell us InSight™ helps them be more effective and error-free in all kinds of tasks, from grocery shopping to choir practice to projects at work. It's just another benefit of brain fitness.

·       #3 Safer Driving

o   Even the best drivers face dangerous conditions on the road. By speeding up how quickly your brain can spot dangers—a truck merging into your lane, an obstruction in the road, a patch of ice on the highway—DriveSharp helps you react to them more quickly. That speed can help you feel more confident and comfortable behind the wheel.

·       #4 Sharper listening

o   Having the energy and excitement to try new things is one of the more surprising benefits of brain fitness. But it's something we hear over and over. By engaging important brain chemicals, speeding up thinking, and sharpening focus, the Brain Fitness Program awakens curiosity and motivates people to seize life by the horns.

·       #5 A better memory

o   The Total Training Package includes both our auditory and visual brain fitness programs. The Brain Fitness Program for auditory processing improves auditory memory, so you remember more of what you hear. The InSight program does the same for visual memory, so you remember more of what you see (faces, text, visual details…). When used together, they offer the most comprehensive and effective memory workout available.

·       #6 Quicker reactions

o   A quicker brain means a quicker body. After all, your body can't move at all without getting instructions from your brain. So whether you want to field a ball more cleanly, like Howard, or catch a sippy-cup falling off a table, it helps to have the fastest brain you can. The InSight brain fitness software can help you get there.

·       #7 Lower crash risk

o   You might not think of car crashes as a function of brain health. But in fact, when you're behind the wheel your brain is important safety equipment. If another driver runs a red light or a deer runs in front of your car, it's up to your brain to notice and send a message to your feet to step on the brake. Even a minor fender bender that doesn't harm you can hurt your wallet.

Even the best drivers can stay safer on the road with DriveSharp. Buy it for yourself or a loved one today!

·       #8 Finding words

o   Something like this has happened to all of us—and with age it often gets more common. But it's happening a lot less often to Cindy Ryan now that she has used the Brain Fitness Program.

By improving auditory processing and fluency, the Brain Fitness Program helps people find words more easily, making them feel sharper and more confident in conversation.

·       #9 Self-confidence

o   With age, our brains tend to slow down a little. We have wisdom on our side, but we can start feeling a little less sharp—and that can affect self-confidence.

The Posit Science Brain Fitness Program sharpens your auditory system—how well your brain takes in what you hear. The InSight program does the same for your visual system. Together, in the Total Training Package, they provide a comprehensive brain workout that helps you think faster, focus better, and remember more, rebuilding confidence from the roots up.

·     #10 Sharper vision

o   Eagle-eyed vision doesn't just depend on your eyes. The brain is an equal partner. The eyes take in visual information, but the brain processes that information.

The InSight brain fitness program sharpens your visual processing. Take in more visual details, react to what you see more quickly, and remember better with InSight. You might just find that life gets a little easier—and more enjoyable.

·       #11 Faster thinking

o   What could faster thinking help you accomplish?
Now is your chance to find out. The Brain Fitness Program speeds up the brain, so you can think faster in every situation.

·       #12 Good mood - Memory, sharpness, focus

o   —these are words you might associate with brain fitness. But a better mood might not be the first thing that comes to mind.

It makes sense, though. Our programs are designed to help the brain produce dopamine and other brain chemicals that help people feel alert, rewarded, and upbeat. And the self-confidence that comes through faster thinking, sharper focus, and better memory can result in a more positive mood.

       Physical Activity and Exercise Recommendations for Stroke Survivors

        © 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

American Heart Association

                   Learn and Live 

AHA Scientific Statement

Physical Activity and Exercise  Recommendations for Stroke Survivors

An American Heart Association Scientific Statement From the Council on Clinical Cardiology, Subcommittee on Exercise, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Prevention; the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing; the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism; and the Stroke Council

Neil F. Gordon, MD, PhD, Cochair; Meg Gulanick, PhD, APRN, Cochair; 
Fernando Costa, MD; Gerald Fletcher, MD; Barry A. Franklin, PhD; Elliot 1. 
Roth, MD; Tim Shephard, RN, MSN

Key Words: AHA Scientific Statement· stroke· exercise • rehabilitation· physical activity • risk.

       Introduction

Annually, 700 000 people in the United States suffer a stroke, or 1I person every  45 seconds, and nearly one-third of these strokes are recurrent.  More than half of men and women under the age of 65 years, who have a stroke die within 8 years...




By clicking on any of these links
    ckick here
    American HeartAssociation
    [download, view or email this document  
    full document at AHA website]

  Food Fitness Recommendations for Stroke Survivors

A Diet That Helps Soothe Osteoarthritis

Easing arthritis symptoms isn't just about exercise and pills. The foods you eat could help joints with osteoarthritis feel better, too.

By RealAge

Page 1 of 1

Food as medicine. It's a wonderful concept because it gives us an empowering and fun way -- eating -- to do something helpful for our bodies, like easing joint pain. And some day, doctors may very well prescribe exercise, medication, and a special diet to help keep people's arthritic joints healthy.

But right now, the only way diet likely enters your osteoarthritis conversation with your doctor is when you talk about losing weight. Because although there's no way to cure arthritis through food, if you are overweight, a weight loss diet may be one of the best things you can do for the health of your joints.

Still, quite a bit of promising research has shown that certain foods and nutrients may help ease osteoarthritis symptoms. More study is needed to confirm the results, but since most of the foods studied to date are good for you anyway, incorporating some of them into your diet could be a great way to support your current treatment program. And in the end, you may boost your overall health as well.

So think about your joints the next time you visit the grocery store. Here are five foods you may want to add to your cart -- and two you may want to take out:

5 Foods Your Joints May Love

• Strawberries: Why? They are packed with vitamin C. Some studies suggest vitamin C may stymie the progression of osteoarthritis and the accompanying cartilage loss. Other good C sources: oranges, peaches, and red bell peppers. (Try a new take on berries with this Strawberry Spinach Salad.)
• Olive oil: You know how the Tin Man's joints loved oil? Well, your joints may love olive oil just as much. Research shows that polyphenols in olive oil may help reduce inflammation in the body -- always a good goal if you have arthritis.
• Salmon: This fish is loaded with two joint-soothing nutrients: vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids. If you are deficient in D (and many adults are), boosting your intake could help with osteoarthritis pain and disability. And omega-3 fatty acids have long been promoted by health experts for their anti-inflammatory qualities.
• Green tea: This brew is brimming with antioxidants called catechins, inflammation quieters that could delay cartilage damage in people with arthritis. (Try cooking with green tea with this Stir-Fried Noodles and Green Tea recipe.)
• Leafy greens: The more plant-based foods you add to your diet, the better it probably is for your joints. A Mediterranean-style diet that emphasizes fruit, nuts, and veggies may help quiet inflammation. (Leafy greens also happen to be rich in vitamin K, a nutrient that seems to play a role in osteoarthritis prevention.)

Give These Foods the Brush Off

And while you're amping up your intake of fruit, veggies, and omega-3 fatty acids, here are foods you should consider scaling back on:

• Corn oil: The fats in corn oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil are predominantly omega-6 fatty acids. And although these fats are not harmful in and of themselves, some research suggests that a big imbalance in your omega-3 and omega-6 intake could trigger inflammation. So use omega-3-rich olive oil whenever you can.
• White bread: Grabbing high-fiber whole-wheat bread instead may help your joints in two ways. Early research shows that refined grains may be proinflammatory. On the other hand, high-fiber diets may help quiet inflammation. And high-fiber diets may help with weight control, too.

Treating Arthritis in the Kitchen

Currently, there is no guarantee that changing your diet will help your joints feel better. But most of the foods that seem to make the most sense for joint health happen to be great for your body in other ways as well. So the decision to eat right should be an easy one. Start soothing your joints in the kitchen with this collection of joint-friendly recipes from the RealAge Recipe Finder.

Restock Your Fridge - 

YOU: On a Diet Tip from RealAge

      Finished clearing your kitchen of bad fats, sugars, and carbs? Start shopping for the good-for-your-waist foods that make it easy (and automatic!) to eat right.

Include fire-extinguisher munchies -- good foods that will put out three-alarm starvation fires. Pick up ready-to-eat snacks for those times you're likely to reach for waist-killing chips or sweets. Our list includes almonds, peanuts, or walnuts; bags of prechopped fruits and veggies; dried fruit (apricots, cranberries); and edamame (soybeans -- look for microwavable bags in the frozen-food section).

Learn how munching on a handful of walnuts will promote heart health.

Overall, the trick to navigating through grocery store aisles is to look for
less . . . on the label. Generally, fewer ingredients equal better foods. For instance, natural foods that come from the ground usually don't require labels. That's why any produce is basically OK for you. One caveat: Make sure it has a great feel, a healthy smell, and has not been waxed. Also, we believe in working from the inside of the store out, so that heat and bacteria have less time to sap nutrients from your produce before you get home. Use the YOU: On a DietMenu Planner to create your meal plan, get recipes, and generate your shopping list.

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