Another useful nutrient is MSM (methyl-sulfonyl-methane) - a form of sulfur found in many common foods: fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, milk and eggs. MSM helps to relieve pain and inflammation in joints and muscles. In addition, it boosts blood supply, lessens muscle spasms and softens scar tissue.

Capsium - cayenne pepper extract (Yes! That hot spice!) has been found to be helpful in arthritis pain relief.

Emu Oil - due to its small molecular weight, Emu Oil easily penetrates skin membrane and delivers its soothing relief to sore joints. Its anti-inflammatory properties make preparations with Emu Oil more and more popular among health professionals and sportsmen.

Last but not least, your lifestyle and habits can help you avoid discomfort. Folks who maintain their body in shape and enjoy an active lifestyle have much smaller risk to develop osteoarthritis. OA hits weight-bearing joints first. If joints have to manage extra weight, cartilage is worn out faster than it can repair itself.

Despite belief that osteoarthritis sufferers should not exercise, research proves opposite. Moderate exercise helps to keep joints healthy. Even if they are already affected by arthritis, making them work stimulates restoration process.

Here is a small exercise you can do to keep your knee joints in shape: Bend your knees as if you were going to do at sit-up. Keeping your knees close together, move them in circular motions clockwise and then in reverse direction.

You might not feel like moving when your arthritis reminds of itself with burning pain, but a combination of diet, moderate exercise, supplements and topical preparations can prevent it and allow you to enjoy your favorite activities.

Disclaimer: The above statements were not evaluated by FDA. Always consult your doctor for professional advice.

(C) Natalie Katsman, 2003

Another prevailing and incorrect view concerning lower cholesterol, is that only older people need worry about their cholesterol levels. The reality is that having a predisposition to high cholesterol and heart disease are genetically influenced factors.

High cholesterol levels can stalk even young men who are in seemingly good shape and otherwise take care of themselves.

Indeed, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute advocates that young, middle-aged, and older men lower cholesterol levels, whether it be to prevent heart disease, or because they already have it.

Therefore it's important to know your family history and, accordingly, take necessary preventative steps to lower cholesterol and ensure health of your heart for many years to come.

But what exactly is this "silent killer" known as cholesterol?

It is important to understand that cholesterol itself is essential to good health.

Cholesterol is a non-soluble waxy substance that your body needs for making hormones, cell walls and nerve sheaths.

However, there are two forms of cholesterol. One form is called LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) -- or "bad" cholesterol -- and other is HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) -- or "good" cholesterol.

LDL transports cholesterol to your cells, whereas HDL travels around in your bloodstream picking up excess cholesterol and taking it back to your liver for reprocessing, functioning as a "garbage collector" of sorts.

Too much LDL creates risk of clogging up your arteries, which can lead to heart failure or stroke; too little HDL will result in same problem due to inadequate "housekeeping."

Therefore, most important figure to examine is not your total cholesterol per se, but ratio between LDL and HDL readings, and levels of each type. You want LDL as low as possible and HDL as high as possible.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends that everyone over 20 have their cholesterol checked every five years. For optimal health, total cholesterol should be less than 200, whereas LDL cholesterol remains at less than 100, and HDL greater than 60.

For more information on how to lower your cholesterol please visit:

http://www.man-health-fitness-solutions.com/lower-cholesterol.html