If you or someone you know suffers from this debilitating disease you know that we do anything we can to reduce arthritis pain. Painful, swollen and inflamed joints are the hallmark symptoms. Arthritis presents mostly on weight-bearing joints but can affect almost any part of your body and reduces quality of life. Arthritis can also affect anybody at any age, even children, but is mostly considered a disease of our older generation as it becomes more prevalent with increasing age.

The three most common types of arthritis are:

Osteoarthritis –

the most common, usually affecting those aged 50-plus but can also affect other ages. Presents with reduced cushioning of the joints due to cartilage degradation and also affects other parts of the joint including ligaments, lining, and muscles. Any joint can be affected but most often fingers, knees, hips, neck and lower back. Higher risk categories are the overweight or those with a previous joint injury.

Rheumatoid arthritis –

is an auto-immune condition affecting 3x more women than men, and usually presents between the ages of 20-55. This inflammatory condition occurs when the body’s immune system incorrectly attacks the cells around the joints resulting in pain and swelling affecting mostly the hands, feet and wrists. With continued swelling the joint capsule is unable to hold the correct position leading to joint instability and damage. Whole-body inflammation (where other body systems are affected with inflammation) contributes to the pain, stiffness and fatigue found in those with RA. Quality of life is reduced as symptoms make doing daily activities difficult.

Gout arthritis –

is an arthritic condition resulting from the kidneys improperly filtering out uric acid. The excess in the body then forms crystals which deposit in the joints. Severe joint pain, swelling and redness arises suddenly, most commonly in the big toe, and progresses to other joints. Attacks are often short but continued episodes cause damage to the joints and often the kidneys. It can affect anyone and is linked to genetics, diet, weight, age, medications, existing kidney problems, and blood pressure.

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Other types of arthritis are: knee arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, lupus, polymyalgia rheumatica, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, and scleroderma.

Treatment options vary for different presentations of arthritis and severity level but there are self-care options too that can help. These include diet, appropriate exercise movements, joint protection, stress management, hot/cold therapy, weight management and therapies.

Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce Arthritis pain

A long list of research has shown the benefits of increased omega-3 intake in helping to reduce arthritis pain and symptoms through the ability to decrease inflammation. This is particularly true for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) due to it being a result of systemic inflammation.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder. This means the immune system incorrectly attacks the connective tissue (synovium) lining the inside of joint capsules. This membrane lining holds in the fluid (synovial fluid) that surrounds the joint providing nourishment and lubrication allowing ease of movement. When it becomes irritated and inflamed it causes pain and swelling, and bone erosion which subsequently makes movement difficult and painful. So how does Omega-3 help?

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS LOWER INFLAMMATION = reduced arthritis pain:

Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids are 1-stage components in building the molecules that help control the autoimmune inflammatory response. By modulating the immune system, Omega-3 fatty acids block the inflammatory action therefore helping to attenuate this response and subsequently ameliorating pain.

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS REDUCE ARTHRITIS PAIN & IMPROVE HEART HEALTH:

RA is associated with a 1.5-2.0 fold increased risk of heart disease compared to the general population. Omega-3s have been shown to reduce heart attack, stroke incidences and a 45% reduction in sudden death outcome from a heart attack.

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS REDUCE ARTHRITIS PAIN = reduced NSAIDs requirement

Research has shown that adding omega-3 supplements to treatment regimes are beneficial for people with RA because omega-3s help modulate the immune system and block inflammatory action. This helps reduce painful, swollen joints. It’s also noteworthy to mention that research also shows those that take omega-3 supplements are less likely to take NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories), drugs often prescribed to reduce pain of RA.

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Why Our Omega-3 Hemp Oil?

With New Hemisphere Hemp Seed Oil you know exactly where our supplements have come from – we are 100%* NZ grown and operated, with traceability on all of our oils. This means you can trust that what you’re taking is of the highest quality as we can trace everything we make back to the original source farm. So your surety of quality is guaranteed.

Our Hemp Seed Oils are derived from plants.

So there’s no mercury toxicity as can be found with some sources of fish oils*.

Our Hemp Seed Oils also have no chemical residues!

What you’re getting then is pure, unadulterated, free-from chemical residues with no added preservatives or nasties. It’s just plain, cold-pressed oil with all the health benefits of hemp retained – think optimal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 for your health.

Our Hemp Seed plant-based products are sustainable.

Not farmed in reservoirs being feed the omegas they need produce for later human consumption nor depleting our oceans of wildlife through fishing.

And the omega-3 fishy after-taste?? (yuck, no thanks!)

Not here with our Hemp Seed plant-derived omegas.

And no belly repeats!

Fish oil also tends to give some more susceptible people heartburn/acid reflux and nausea. If you already have systemic inflammation brought about by an immune response, this is going to be a problem.

Hemp Seed Plant omega-3s don’t produce the same reactions and are therefore easier to digest.

Our Hemp Seed Oils are in Softgels or Liquid.

We have softgel capsules making them easy to take. Or, if you don’t like capsules, we also have bottled oil that you can take the oil via spoon. So easy. Delicious too.

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Did you know?

Fish oil supplements don’t need to be approved by Medsafe which means the fish supplements available aren’t necessarily tested for safety and effectiveness – manufacturers can sell these supplements with just ‘claims’ that they are safe and effective.

Our products are produced in our own factory and batch-tested to ensure they are of the high quality we’re known for and are always safe for consumption. Our reputation and ethics depend on this.

*New Hemisphere garlic and chilli oils excluded.

**Studies on fish oils have shown either no or negligible amounts of mercury present in fish oils – which translates as: the levels aren’t high enough to cause any harm. The choice you have then is: consume small amounts of mercury or not. And pregnant women are recommended to limit their intake of fish especially fish that are known to contain high levels of mercury. Can you guarantee the source of the fish oil in the supplements? See also the note about Medsafe and fish oil supplements.