{"id":3109,"date":"2011-10-15T22:30:57","date_gmt":"2011-10-16T05:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/?p=3109"},"modified":"2013-01-17T16:07:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-18T00:07:00","slug":"hormone-balancing-natural-treatment-and-cure-for-arthritis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/15\/hormone-balancing-natural-treatment-and-cure-for-arthritis\/","title":{"rendered":"Hormone Balancing: Natural Treatment and Cure for Arthritis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Also see:
\nArthritis and Hypothyroidism<\/a><\/p>\n

by Raymond\u00a0 F. Peat, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Medical data is for informational purposes only. You should always consult your family physician, or one of our referral physicians prior to treatment.<\/p>\n

(Formerly published in The Journal of the Rheumatoid Disease
\nFoundation, Volume 1, Number 1), The Roger Wyburn-Mason and Jack M.
\nBlount Foundation for\u00a0 the Eradication of Rheumatoid Disease
\nAKA\u00a0 The\u00a0 Arthritis Trust of America\u00ae,
\n7376 Walker Road, Fairview, TN 37062
\nCopyright 1986<\/p>\n

A very healthy 71-year-old man was under his house repairing
\nthe foundation, when a support slipped and let the house fall far
\nenough to break some facial bones.\u00a0 During his recovery, he devel-
\noped inflammatory arthritis in his hands.\u00a0 It is fairly common for
\narthritis to appear shortly after an accident, a shock, or surgery, and
\nHans Selye\u2019s famous work with rats shows that when stress ex-
\nhausts the adrenal glands (so they are unable to produce normal
\namounts of cortisone and related steroid hormones), osteoarthritis
\nand other \u201cdegenerative” diseases are likely to develop.\u00a0 But when
\nthis man went to his doctor to \u201cget something for his arthritis,\u201d he
\nwas annoyed that the doctor insisted on giving him a complete physi-
\ncal exam, and wouldn\u2019t give him a shot of cortisone.\u00a0 The laboratory
\nexamination showed low thyroid function, and the doctor prescribed
\na supplement of thyroid extract, explaining that arthritis is one of the
\nmany symptoms of hypothyroidism.\u00a0 The patient agreed to take the
\nthyroid, but for several days he grumbled about the doctor \u201cfixing
\nsomething that wasn\u2019t wrong\u201d with him, and ignoring his arthritis.
\nBut in less than two weeks, the arthritis had entirely disappeared.\u00a0 He
\nlived to be 88, but without a recurrence of arthritis. (See “Thyroid
\nHormone Therapy: Cutting the Gordian Knot,” and “Stress,” http:\/\/
\nwww.arthritistrust.org.)<\/p>\n

Selye\u2019s work with the diseases of stress, and the anti-stress
\nhormones of the adrenal cortex, helped many scientists to think more
\nclearly about the interaction of the organism with its environment,
\nbut it has led others to focus too narrowly on hormones of the
\nadrenal cortex (such as cortisol and cortisone), and to forget the older
\nknowledge about natural resistance.\u00a0 There are probably only a few
\nphysicians now practicing who would remember to check for hy-
\npothyroidism in an arthritis patient, or in other stress-related condi-
\ntions.\u00a0 Hypothyroidism is a common cause of adrenal insufficiency,
\nbut it also has some direct effects on the joint tissues.\u00a0 In chronic
\nhypothyroidism (myxedema and cretinism), knees and elbows are
\noften bent abnormally.<\/p>\n

By the 1930s, it was well established that the resistance of the
\norganism depended on the energy produced by respiration under the
\ninfluence of the thyroid gland, as well as on the adrenal hormones,
\nand that the hormones or pregnancy (especially progesterone) could
\nsubstitute for the adrenal hormones.\u00a0 In a sense, the thyroid hormone
\nis the basic anti-stress hormone, since it is required for the produc-
\ntion of the adrenal and pregnancy hormones.\u00a0 A contemporary re-
\nsearcher, F.Z. Meerson1, is putting together a picture of the biologi-
\ncal processes involved in adapting to stress, including energy pro-
\nduction, nutrition, hormones, and changes in cell structure.
\nWhile one of Selye\u2019s earliest observations related gastro-intes-
\ntinal bleeding to stress, Meerson\u2019s work has revealed in a detailed
\nway how the usually beneficial hormone of adaptation, cortisone,
\ncan cause so many other harmful effects when its action is too pro-
\nlonged or too intense.<\/p>\n

Some of the harmful effects of the cortisone class of drugs
\n(other than gastro-intestinal bleeding) are:\u00a0 Hypertension, Osteoporo-
\nsis, delayed healing, atrophy of the skin, convulsions, cataracts, glau-
\ncoma, protruding eyes, psychic derangements, menstrual irregulari-
\nties, and loss of immunity allowing infections or cancer to spread.
\nWhile normal thyroid function is required for the secretion of
\nthe adrenal hormones, the basic signal which causes cortisone to be
\nformed is a drop in the blood glucose level.\u00a0 The increased energy
\nrequirement of any stress tends to cause the blood sugar to fall
\nslightly, but hypothyroidism itself tends to depress blood sugar.\u00a0 The
\nperson with low thyroid function is more likely than a normal person
\nto require cortisone to cope with a certain amount of stress.\u00a0 How-
\never, if large amounts of cortisone are produced for a long time, the
\ntoxic effects of the hormone begin to appear.\u00a0 According to Meerson,
\nheart attacks are provoked and aggravated by cortisone produced
\nduring stress.\u00a0 (Meerson and his colleagues have demonstrated that
\nthe progress of a heart attack can be halted by a treatment including
\nnatural substances such as vitamin E and magnesium.)<\/p>\n

While hypothyroidism makes the body require more cortisone
\nto sustain blood sugar and energy production, it also limits the ability
\nto produce cortisone, so in some cases stress produces symptoms
\nresulting from a deficiency of cortisone, including various forms of
\narthritis and more generalized types of chronic inflammation.\u00a0 Since
\ncortisol is formed as one of the last steps in a series of reactions,
\nglandular exhaustion means that a whole group of other steroids is
\ndepleted, before cortisol or cortisone.\u00a0 I believe that the safest way to
\nhandle a steroid deficiency is to supplement the precursors of the raw
\nmaterials, so that a normal balance of the various substances is pre-
\nserved.<\/p>\n

Often, a small physiological dose of natural hydrocortisone can
\nhelp the patient meet the stress, without causing harmful side effects.
\nWhile treating the symptoms with cortisone for a short time, it is
\nimportant to try to learn the basic cause of the problem, by checking
\nfor hypothyroidism, vitamin A deficiency, protein deficiency, a lack
\nof sunlight, etc.\u00a0 (I suspect that ultraviolet light on the skin directly
\nincreases the skin\u2019s production of steroids, without depending on
\nother organs.)\u00a0 Using cortisone physiologically, rather than pharma-
\ncologically, it is not likely to cause the serious problems mentioned
\nabove.<\/p>\n

Stress-induced cortisone deficiency is thought to be a factor in
\na great variety of unpleasant conditions, from allergies to ulcerative
\ncolitis, and in some forms of arthritis. The stress which can cause a
\ncortisone deficiency is even more likely to disturb formation of
\nprogesterone and thyroid hormone, so the fact that cortisone can
\nrelieve symptoms does not mean that it has corrected the problem.
\nBesides the thyroid, the other class of adaptive hormones which
\nare often out of balance in the diseases of stress, is the group of
\nhormones produced mainly by the gonads:\u00a0 the \u201creproductive hor-
\nmones.\u201d\u00a0 During pregnancy, these hormones serve to protect the
\ndeveloping baby from the stresses suffered by the mother, but the
\nsame hormones function as a part of the protective anti-stress system
\nin the non-pregnant individual, though as a lower level.<\/p>\n

Some forms of arthritis are known to improve or even to disap-
\npear during pregnancy.\u00a0 As mentioned above, the hormones of preg-
\nnancy can make up for a lack of adrenal cortex hormones.\u00a0 During a
\nhealthy pregnancy, many hormones are present in increased amounts,
\nincluding the thyroid hormones.\u00a0 Progesterone, which is the most
\nabundant hormone of pregnancy, has both anti-inflammatory and
\nanesthetic actions, which would be of obvious benefit in arthritis.<\/p>\n

There are other naturally anesthetic hormones which are increased
\nduring pregnancy, including DHEA, which is being studied for its
\nanti-aging, anti-cancer, and anti-obesity effects.\u00a0 (One of the reasons
\nthat is frequently given for the fact that this hormone hasn\u2019t been
\nstudied more widely is that, as a natural substance, it has not been
\nmonopolized by a drug patent, and so no drug company has been
\nwilling to invest money in studying its medical uses.)\u00a0 These hor-
\nmones also have the ability to control cell division, which would be
\nimportant in forms of arthritis that involve invasive tissue growth.<\/p>\n

While these substances, so abundant in pregnancy, have the
\nability to substitute for cortisone, they can also be used by the adrenal
\nglands to produce cortisol and related hormones.\u00a0 But probably the
\nmost surprising property of these natural steroids is that they protect
\nagainst the toxic side-effects of excessive adrenal hormones.\u00a0 And
\nthey seem to have no side-effects of their own; after fifty years of
\nmedical use, no toxic side effects have been found for progesterone
\nor pregnenolone.\u00a0 Pregnenolone is the material the body uses to form
\neither progesterone or DHEA.\u00a0 Others, including DHEA, haven\u2019t
\nbeen studied for so long, but the high levels which are normally
\npresent in healthy people would suggest that replacement doses, to
\nrestore those normal levels, would not be likely to produce toxic side
\neffects.\u00a0 And, considering the terrible side effects of the drugs that are
\nnow widely used, these drugs would be justifiable simply to prevent
\nsome of the toxic effects of conventional treatment.\u00a0 It takes a new
\nway of thinking to understand that these protective substances pro-
\ntect against an excess of the adrenal steroids, as well as making up
\nfor a deficiency.\u00a0 Several of these natural hormones also have a
\nprotective action against various poisons \u2014\u00a0 Selye called this their
\n\u201ccatatoxic\u201d effect.\u00a0 (If a toxin, for example a bacterial product, is
\ninvolved in a sickness, such as arthritis or colitis, these catatoxic
\nsteroids might be helping by blocking the toxin and strengthening
\nthe patient.)<\/p>\n

Besides many people whose arthritis improved with only thy-
\nroid supplementation, I have seen people use one or more of these
\nother natural hormones for various types of arthritis, usually with a
\ntopical application, and I know of several other people who used
\nprogesterone topically for inflamed tendons or other inflammations.
\nOnly one of these, a woman with rheumatoid arthritis in many joints,
\nhad no significant improvement.\u00a0 An hour after she had applied it to
\nher hands and feet, she enthusiastically reported that her ankle had
\nstopped hurting.\u00a0 But after this, she said she had no noticeable im-
\nprovement.<\/p>\n

The first time I saw arthritis disappear after treatment with
\nprogesterone was accidental.\u00a0 A woman who began using progester-
\none for her epilepsy decided to dip her arthritic fingers in the oily
\nsolution, and a few days later proudly demonstrated that she could
\nbend them without pain.<\/p>\n

About a year later, a friend in Mexico City complained about a
\nknee that had been increasingly stiff and painful for about a year.
\nTwenty minutes after applying progesterone the pain was gone, and
\nwhen I asked him about it a few years later, he said it never hurt
\nagain.\u00a0 Knowing that those \u201craw material\u201d steroids, pregnenolone,
\nprogesterone, and DHEA, could be converted into anything the body
\nneeds, such as cortisone and sex hormones, but that they protect
\nagainst the toxic effects of other hormones, many other people (in-
\ncluding physicians and researchers) were interested in trying them
\non their own joint problems.<\/p>\n

Some typical cases are described below:
\n1.\u00a0 A 72-year-old woman.\u00a0 She was considered to have mild
\nrheumatoid arthritis which was degenerating into porosis, with her
\nfingers being the most seriously affected joints.\u00a0 A 3% solution of
\nDHEA in olive oil was applied to one index finger, and a 10%
\nsolution of progesterone in mixed tocopherols was applied to the
\nother index finger.\u00a0 All of her fingers had been rigid for over a year,
\nwith the result that she was extremely disabled.\u00a0 Forty minutes after
\nthe DHEA solution had been applied, the finger treated with that
\nsolution could be bent enough to touch the base of her thumb, with-
\nout significant pain, but none of her other fingers showed any im-
\nprovement.\u00a0 Several days later, the DHEA solution was applied to all
\nof her fingers, with similarly good results.\u00a0 After about 6 months,
\nstiffness and pain returned in spite of her use of DHEA.\u00a0 Although
\nthyroid was suggested, she had been taught to be afraid of that
\nhormone, as have millions of other women.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 A 60-year-old woman with a long history of rheumatoid
\narthritis had serious degeneration of many joints.\u00a0 She had under-
\ngone surgery several times, for implantation of two artificial joints
\nand for repair of joint cartilage.\u00a0 She walked a little as possible and
\nexperienced pain, inflammation and fatigue with excessive walking.
\nShe applied a solution containing 7% DHEA and 3% progesterone
\nin a solvent consisting of olive oil and tocopherol.\u00a0 She applied the
\nsolution several times one afternoon and the next morning to all
\naffected joints, including hands, wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles.
\nShe experienced what she said was \u201ccomplete relief,\u201d and spent the
\nnext two days walking around the town sightseeing, without any of
\nthe after-effects she had previously experienced from walking.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 A 62-year-old man.\u00a0 His knees had been stiff, painful, and
\ninflamed for over two years, following an accidental fall onto his
\nknees.\u00a0 Arthroscopic examination revealed damaged cartilage in his
\nright knee, and surgery was recommended to restore function.\u00a0 The
\npatient refused surgery, even though he walked with difficulty and
\nhad to use his left leg (which was also affected) to lift himself slowly
\nup steps.\u00a0 He said he had not slept well since he had developed the
\narthritis, because the pain woke him repeatedly during the night, and
\nonly the use of an analgesic would allow him to go back to sleep.\u00a0 He
\ncoated his knees and the skin around them, about four inches above
\nand below, with a total of nearly an ounce of a solution similar to that
\nused in case number two.\u00a0 Within 30 minutes, he appeared to able to
\nwalk more normally, and about 45 minutes after applying the solu-
\ntion, he remarked that he believed he was able to walk more easily.
\nHe repeated the application that night before going to sleep.\u00a0 Around
\n10 o\u2019clock the next morning, he returned and laughingly demon-
\nstrated his knees by running up the stairs, and said that he had been
\nable to sleep through the night for the first time in years, and had not
\ntaken his usual analgesic.\u00a0 Topical treatment was discontinued after a
\nfew days, and he remained free of symptoms while taking 60 mg of
\npregnenolone orally, daily.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 A 61-year-old woman.\u00a0 Painful and stiff joints in her hands
\nhad interfered with her work as a musician, and had made it impos-
\nsible to sleep through the night, since the pain woke her two or three
\ntimes during the night.\u00a0 A solution similar to that used in cases three
\nand four was applied to the painful joints early in the evening, and a
\nfew hours later she was able to go to sleep without taking aspirin and
\nslept through the night.\u00a0 She occasionally uses the same solution
\npreventatively, and has not had a recurrence of the joint pain or
\nstiffness.<\/p>\n

We often hear that \u201cthere is no cure for arthritis, because the
\ncauses are not known.\u201d\u00a0 If the cause is an imbalance in the normal
\nhormones of adaptation and resistance, then eliminating the cause by
\nrestoring this balance will produce a true cure.<\/p>\n

Informed patients who suspect that their health problems are
\nrelated to stress should encourage their physicians to investigate the
\nuse of thyroid hormone, progesterone, pregnenolone, DHEA, and
\nthe anti-stress nutrients, especially magnesium and vitamins A and
\nE.<\/p>\n

References <\/strong>
\n1.\u00a0 Meerson, F.Z.\u00a0 \u201cThe role of stress in the mechanism of long-
\nterm adaptation, and prevention of stress-related injuries,\u201d transla-
\ntion and summary available, Ray Peat\u2019s Newsletter,\u00a0 3977 Dillard
\nRoad, Eugene, OR 97405.
\n2.\u00a0 Cleary, M.P., Shepherd, A., and Jenks, B.\u00a0 \u201cEffect of DHEA
\non growth in lean and obese Zucker rate,\u201d J. Nutr. 114(7): 1242-
\n1251; 1984.
\n3.\u00a0 Coleman, D.L., Leister, E. H., and Applezweig, N..\u00a0 \u201cThera-
\npeutic effects of DHEA metabolites in diabetes mutant mice,\u201d Endo-
\ncrinology 115(1): 239-243; 1984.
\n4. Rosenfeld, A. \u201cSuperpowder,\u201d Omni magazine; 1980.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Also see: Arthritis and Hypothyroidism by Raymond\u00a0 F. Peat, Ph.D. Medical data is for informational purposes only. You should always consult your family physician, or one of our referral physicians prior to treatment. (Formerly published in The Journal of the Rheumatoid Disease Foundation, Volume 1, Number 1), The Roger Wyburn-Mason and Jack M. Blount Foundation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[333,11,144,735,9,7,503,596,661,737,730,6,363,575,453,357,471,736,4,142,496,728],"class_list":["post-3109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-arthritis","tag-cholesterol","tag-cortisol","tag-cortisone","tag-dhea","tag-estrogen","tag-functionalps","tag-hypothyroidism","tag-magnesium","tag-meerson","tag-pregnenolone","tag-progesterone","tag-pufa","tag-ra","tag-ray-peat","tag-rheumatoid-arthritis","tag-rob-turner","tag-selye","tag-stress","tag-thyroid","tag-unsaturated-fats","tag-vitamin-e"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3109"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8515,"href":"https:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3109\/revisions\/8515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.functionalps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}