With 10 million or more people with arthritis, most of them will have degenerative arthritis. This arthritis is called osteoarthritis. Degenerative arthritis occurs when the joints are overstressed, rub against each other, experience excess friction, and slowly degenerate.

Most joints rub against each other, but bone joints have a protective layer called cartilage. This cartilage does not have blood vessels or nerves, so it cannot receive nutrients directly. This cartilage serves as a cushion or pad between the bones so that the bones do not wear out and you do not feel pain.

Cartilage should not wear away if its surfaces remain lubricated with the oils you eat. But if you are not eating the right oils or the right amount, then your cartilage can dry out. Under these conditions, the cartilage will slowly deteriorate, leading to degenerative arthritis.

Once your cartilage is damaged or sagged, it is difficult to regenerate it. Cartilage is not living tissue and is not directly nourished by blood vessels. It is composed of mucin, albumin, and sulfuric acid. Absorbs oils and nutrients by osmosis.

Osmosis is the movement of oil from an area of ​​high oil concentration, passing through a membrane, to an area of ​​low oil concentration. So if your cartilage is oil-deficient and you don’t eat the oil you need to minimize the friction between cartilage and cartilage, degenerative arthritis will occur over time.

Consuming oil that is high in vitamin D and iodine is what is needed for good cartilage strength and function. Oil like cod liver oil is ideal as a lubricant for cartilage function. Fish oil is another good oil to eat. When you eat cod liver oil, this oil passes through the lining of the joint into the joint cavity. Once in the cavity, this oil is absorbed into the cartilage through osmosis.

Once the cartilage is properly lubricated, it has elasticity and lubrication so that when it rubs against other cartilage there is little friction and degeneration of the cartilage.

There is another process that can affect the integrity of the cartilage. Calcium can deposit in the bone near the cartilage and break down in the cartilage and wear it down.

To prevent this condition, calcium must be kept in solution in the lymphatic fluid. This is done by maintaining a balanced diet.

Degenerative arthritis is a process in which the cartilage at the end of the bones in the joint structures slowly breaks down. This degradation is produced by the lack of adequate oil in the diet and by the accumulation of calcium in the bone joint. Joint degeneration begins to occur after age 20 and can continue if the proper diet is not followed.

It is difficult to eat the right foods to prevent degenerative arthritis if you have grown up eating the wrong kinds of food. But as an adult, you can now choose whether you will have osteoarthritis when you are older if you continue to eat the wrong types of foods.