Arthritis - if you suffer from this illness, I don't have to tell you how bad it is. If you don't suffer from it yet, keep reading - I want to make sure you will do everything in your power to prevent yourself from getting it.

The name arthritis, translated from the Greek (yes, they already were its early sufferers), means joint inflammation. We have many joints in our body, and when they move, they need lubrication (just like the oil in our cars smoothes the engines action). Our body dispenses natural oils to keep every joint running smoothly.

It is when the natural lubrication in our joints slows down or stops, we get into serious trouble. The tissue inside a joint doesn't know why every bone movement, which was nicely insulated by a lubrication before, now causes small scratches. All the joint tissue knows is that it is under attack, and it responds with inflammation, swelling and pain.

Now the situation is getting worse by the minute. The space inside the joints is small, just enough to allow some insulating lubrication. When the inside tissue is being inflamed, it swells and makes any further movement much more painful. Every movement increases the amount of inflammation. As the tissues fight the inflammation by swelling, they actually make the situation worse.

Already in ancient times doctors understood that the inflamed joints suffer from lack of lubrication. So they prescribed oils to be rubbed into places with the most acute pain. Unfortunately the remedy is not that simple. In order to get inside the joints, the oils must penetrate skin and muscle tissues. Very miniscule amounts of those oils can do that.

The good alternative is provided by natural oils supplied from within the body. And here we come to a serious problem. According to estimates by nutrition experts, up to a third of American adult population suffers from non saturated fats deficiency.

Partly we are to blame our narcissistic culture, which equates thinness with beauty. But the huge amounts of commercially processed foods, which we consume because of their convenience, are equally to blame for this problem. Those foods contain huge amounts of hydrogenated saturated fats, which help to insure their long shelf life, but also rob your body of essential nutrients.

So the most important advice we can give to arthritis sufferers and to those, who don't wish to join their ranks, - improve your nutrition. A healthy diet can go a long way to repair the damage already done, but most important it can help you to stop further deterioration.

A natural diet containing generous doses of cold-pressed unsaturated oils can introduce into your joints what they need most - natural lubrication from within. Especially important such a diet is for advanced age, when we tend to eat less in general, but our nutritional needs are higher than ever.

Don't expect instant results. Years of neglect created the damage, it will take many months before you notice a difference in the way you feel. This healthy diet doesn't come instead of the medical treatment you are getting now, but good chances are that it will help to eliminate the need for such treatments in the future.