Arthritis Elixir aka “Jim’s Joint Juice”

Good Morning!

So I wanted to share a little functional drink concoction that I came up with a while back that has been a game changer for me in terms of joint mobility and a key factor in my fight against early signs of arthritis.

I started feeling stiffness and periodic pain in my hands and fingers last year. Arthritis runs in my family. Even though my 80 year old Mother plays golf and tennis like there’s no tomorrow (at her age that phrase carries a lot of weight), she struggles with arthritis in her hands. I’m sure you can imagine how frustrating that can be for an avid tennis player to have pain and stiffness in your hands. I turned her on to my joint juice mix and she thanks me almost every day.

Here is my morning health hack that has worked wonders for my hands and fingers….

• 1/2 bottle of cold pressed Pineapple juice.
• 1/2 bottle of “Cayenne Cleanse” Kombucha by Health Ade
• 1 Turmeric “Immunity Shot” by SUJA ORGANIC.
• 2 tablespoons tart cherry juice concentrate.

I mix all that up in a big glass or cup to make a big 16-18 oz beverage and I drink that almost evert morning and after doing that for a a couple of weeks I noticed a different and after a year of making that mix for myself, my fingers don t feel stuff at all. It’s like the arthritis has completely disappeared.

I highly recommend giving this concoction a try. I know that if you are avoiding sugar and/or you are on a very strict anti sugar regimen, this might not ft into your game plan BUT… I think this is an exception that is totally worth it. Only because it works and the relief you’ll feel outweighs the extra sugar intake. It’s not processed sugar by the way, you are just throwing back some fructose from juice… so it’s not really that bad.

Total sugars in this juice mix: 40 grams

It’s MOSTLY from the Pineapple juice. The entire bottle of cold pressed pineapple juice contains about 44g of sugar and if you use half of that bottle you only get about 22g of sugar.

ALSO, if you don’t want to use the Cayenne Kombucha. Maybe a slightly spicy juice mix is not your thing. Totally understandable. The Kombucha is not critical. You can do this without the “cayenne cleanse” and just add 6-8 oz of spring water to the mix. That’s actually how this recipe originated. I just got crazy one day and added that. kombucha flavor because I thought its sounded delicious and it was INDEED…. DELICIOUS.

So here are a few functional facts that shed a little extra light on the effectiveness of this drink…

• Pineapple juice is rich in antioxidants, which help protect your body from damage and disease but the big x- factor is Pineapple juice is and enzyme called BROMELAIN. Bromelain is a group of enzymes that may reduce inflammation, improve digestion, and boost immunity. Cold pressed juice is the way to go. Yes, it is more expensive to keep in your fridge on a regular basis but it’s also a higher quality juice that maintains more of the nutritional integrity you need to get the most of your functional drink. Do your research. You’ll see what I’m talking about.
• The immunity shot by Suja Organic contains 5000mg of turmeric. Turmeric has a long standing and fast growing reputation as a miracle spice or superfood because it’s filled with curcumin, a compound that acts as a powerful antioxidant to fight free radicals while at the same time lowering levels of enzymes that cause inflammation.
• Tart cherry juice! Research shows that the antioxidants in tart cherry juice can reduce pain and inflammation from osteoarthritis. A 2012 study showed that drinking cherry juice 2X a day for 21 days reduced the pain felt by people with OA. There have also ben a few studies showing that tart cherry juice can help reduce discomfort for people who suffer from Gout. Again, do your research.
• Kombucha!! Again, I add this more for taste than anything else BUT… there seems to be a growing belief in the health and wellness world (and scientific community) that eating gut-friendly foods may help lower inflammation in the intestinal tract, and for this in particular, kombucha can contribute to success.