I have been recommending a wide variety of dietary supplements to my patients for past 18 years. Needless to say, this is not norm for physicians. The medical establishment as a whole is treatment driven rather prevention driven. There is much more profit in treating illness and disease rather than preventing it. As a matter of fact, healthcare industry, including American Medical Association (AMA), medical schools, hospitals, research institutions and drug manufacturers, have made a concerted effort to obfuscate truth about health supplements and their intrinsic value. What little legitimate research and data, detailing benefits of supplementation, that actually reaches general public is quickly dismissed by medical community as being "unsubstantiated" or "preliminary." Whenever I relate to a colleague a patient's recovery from a chronic condition by simply adjusting their diet and prescribing appropriate health supplements, I often become recipient of an incredulous laugh or sarcastic comment. At best, I am summarily dismissed with any one of a number of explanations to contradict what I know to be empirical evidence of successful treatment. Supplements can neither treat nor prevent any serious illness or disease according to vast majority of healthcare providers.

"Only highly trained medical professionals are able to successfully treat chronic illnesses." This is mantra of traditional medical community. The most disturbing aspect of this attitude is that medical students receive little or no education regarding nutrition, dietary supplements or any alternative treatments. There is no curriculum that includes preventative medicine. Similarly, physicians do not augment their education with post-doctoral fellowships in nutrition or alternative treatment research. Additional education or training in this area is non-existent. Again, primary motivating factor is not patient's health and well being, it is treatment. The healthcare system is reactive, not proactive, to such an extent that physicians do not recognize they are, in part, responsible for their patients' poor health. Physicians wait for symptoms, diagnose symptoms and then attempt to treat condition. A more pragmatic and cost-effective approach would be to administer healthcare systemically and organically. Ignoring importance of preventative medicine contributes to astronomical cost of healthcare in this country, along with Medicaid/Medicare, frivolous lawsuits and unlimited tort awards. For all these reasons, average person is woefully misinformed about benefits that proper nutrition and quality health supplements offer.

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Aromatherapy blends for treatment of arthritis are usually made from pure essential oils, but also from hydrosols and -- more recently -- phytols. For application to skin they have to be mixed with vegetable oil, a cream base or a carrier lotion. Essential Oils must always be used diluted when applied to skin. A dilution of 3% essential oils in 97% base is generally regarded as very effective and safe.

Since reasons for occurance of arthritis are still not completely established, it is difficult to find a cure for disease. Arthritis could be genetic, it could have to do with bone density loss, it could also be a type of infection caused by toxins released in body. Even more likely it is a combination of several factors. It is -- at this stage -- only possible to treat pain and symptoms caused by arthritis but not it's underlying cause.

Aromatherapy is one form of arthritis treatment, using a variety of essential oils. They can be added to bath, massaged into skin, inhaled or applied as compresses. The right mixture of essential oils will help to relax, promote pain relief and alleviate fatigue. Essential oils can also provide psychological benefits like improving mood and reducing anxiety.