Has anyone heard of this or taken it before...

[shirlthegirl]

telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews...

[Hidden]

TRIED IT YEARS AGO V EXPENSIVE DIDNT WORK it is for osteo rather than rheumatoid unfortunately and it 20.00 a bottle, if it worked I WOULD have carried on.. its probably worth a try if you fany it.. harmless with other meds x

[Hidden]

a study of seventy people with less than half the number taking the supplement, I will add that before retitement my mother worked as quality control manager for the firm GR lanes which sells them from its uk licence. I tried them at staff price for three months , might be ok if ra is v mild or under control but when I HAD TO BUY them at full proce of 20.00 a bottle I didnt carry on.. when first ill I TRIED several alternative things .I ONLY ADVOCATE starflower oil and omega fish oils, or turmeric my self x

[lynn-bel]

Hi, I did hear this several years ago but I've never tried it. I take Vit C anyway (which rose hips has?) and several other supplements that help me. I do think natural supplements are worth a try if you feel it could help. As summer says, a lot of supplements are more for osteo than RA. If you try it you should give it a couple of months to kick in. I take starflower oil, fish oil, MSM (sulphur), Vit C, green lipped mussel, a supplement to guard against osteoporosis that includes Vit D, and Vit E !! And yes, i rattle!!! But I do believe it helps me. Turmeric is also good although I dont take it myself and ginger and cinammon good for pain.

Try highernature.com website to have a look. I order some of my supplements from them; they are very helpful as they have nutritionists you can speak with. Prices a little higher than the high street but the sources they use are very good and natural. I also go to Holland & Barrat for some things and they are very helpful too.

Let us know how you get on.

Lynn x

[Hidden]

I can only say that you have to be careful of claims made by daily newspapers, i.e. Telegraph and particularly The Daily Mail (otherwise, called The Daily Hell!). According to those newspapers, there would be no disease left to treat as they come up with miracle cures for every ailments known to medicine.

In addition, these miracle cure costs a lots of money and they may be harmful when taken in combination with the DMARDs.

My advice to you is to ALWAYS check with your G.P. and Rheumatologist before you fork out money on these supposedly miracle cures.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I love some of the stories that the newspapers put out. The Daily Mail has so many of them and often they contradict previous ones. I want to know if the stories are funded by the companies that sell the stuff.

Anyway, this may cheer some people up on this grey wet day,

The Daily Mail Song.

youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OS...(Not working as expected?)

[funkyfran in reply to Hidden]

What about the Daily Express?!

[oldtimer]

I found this review (I always research something before trying it):

Aust Fam Physician. 2012 Jul;41(7):495-8.

Rosehip - an evidence based herbal medicine for inflammation and arthritis.

Cohen M.

Source

School of Health Sciences, RMIT University, Victoria. [e-mail]

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Rosehips - which contain a particular type of galactolipid - have a specific antiinflammatory action. A standardised rosehip powder has been developed to maximise the retention of phytochemicals. This powder has demonstrated antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity as well as clinical benefits in conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.

OBJECTIVE:

To examine the evidence suggesting that standardised rosehip powder may be a viable replacement or supplement for conventional therapies used in inflammatory diseases such as arthritis.

DISCUSSION:

A meta-analysis of three randomised controlled trials involving 287 patients with a median treatment period of 3 months reported that treatment with standardised rosehip powder consistently reduced pain scores and that patients allocated to rosehip powder were twice as likely to respond to rosehip compared to placebo. In contrast to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and aspirin, rosehip has antiinflammatory actions that do not have ulcerogenic effects and do not inhibit platelets nor influence the coagulation cascade or fibrinolysis.

[Hidden]

This bit of the article is what it's all about in my opinion:

"Traditional treatments, such as the disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) methotrexate, have only limited effectiveness.

Newer medicines, including TNF Alpha inhibitors and the latest "smart" drugs that target different parts of the immune system, are now becoming available.

However, they are so costly it is unlikely they will be used widely. Treating just one patient with anti-TNF drugs, which act on a particular signalling molecule, costs up to £10,000 a year."

Of course, as Oldtimer's research suggests, Rosehips may be a viable alternative to NSAIDs or aspirin (but effect is probably only comparable if replacing low doses of NSAIDs) but otherwise all this sudden interest in new (cheap) treatments in the media is a bit suspect, really. The more the high cost of anti-tnfs gets publicised the more I worry that they are going to introduce some official form of rationing of them. (As opposed to the unofficial rationing which already applies.)

Interesting that they state that DMARDs have only limited effectiveness - brilliant though they are for some, mtx & co. are limited in what they can do for many people. Quite refreshing to see it stated clearly.

Got a garden full of rosehips though ...... & I do swish down the apple cider vinegar every day. And eat loads of turmeric. And manuka honey. And spilled half a pint of tea all over my bed this morning whilst trying to get myself comfortable for a spot of reading.

Luce xx

[Hidden]

phoebe and woolly,

@phoebe - fantastic video. This really made me smile and I've forwarded the link to some of my friends. Thank you for mailing the link.

@woolly, I totally agree with your comments. These heartless newspapers are using miracle cures to sell their papers. Certainly not because they care about their readers. We are an aging population who are increasingly concerned about our health. These ruthless newspapers have picked up on this and are using these claims as a strategy to sell their newspapers.

To be honest, I despise these claims because they provide misinformation at the detriment of the people suffering from any of the disease targeted by these newspapers. In addition, the newspapers are advertising the high cost of the Anti-TNF drugs which could eventually elevate the criteria for patient's illegibility to access those drugs.

About rosehips, their positive effects more likely due to their high content of Vitamin C which only costs approximately £3-4 for a month supply. This is is in contrast to £20 a month for rosehips.

Most people would benefit more by getting their vitamin D and B checked by their GP. Particularly so if you live in the North East. This is based on scientific findings and your blood is checked by a GP. If you are low in any of these vitamins, you will have more pain in your joints.

[cazh]

Shirl, interesting reading. I had read about a Danish man who claimed to have had amazing improvement in RA by drinking rosehip syrup. Guess it's another one of those too good to be true claims, but did wonder about trying to make rosehip syrup and see if there are any benefits. In fact I've got large bag sitting in freezer just waiting for me to get around to it. Not sure what the excess sugar will do to me though!

Caroline.

[earthwitch]

I go by the theory that if its advertised, or if it appears in a newspaper or magazine article, then its probably going to have more impact on my wallet than on my health!

[Victoria-NRAS Partner Moderator NRAS]

Hi Shirl

The ARUK report on complementary therapies gave rosehip an effectiveness score of 2/5 for RA (3/5 for OA). You can download that report here:

arthritisresearchuk.org/art...

Kind regards

Victoria

(NRAS Helpline)