Sore, Achy, Stiff Joints?

Sore, achy, stiff joints? Do your joints crack, and pop when you move? If so, it’s time to try some yucca. Yucca is one of my favorite herbs, I have used it for 30 years. Yucca is a desert plant which grows in hot dry conditions. The yucca plant contains steroid saponins which are plant chemicals (phytochemicals). These special steroid saponins work like “scrubbing bubbles” in the body to break down organic wastes like uric acid which can accumulate in the body and trigger sore joints (think gout). They cleanse out minerals which can accumulate in the joint area (think bone spurs), and they have anti-inflammatory properties. Stiff, achy sore joints accumulate toxins and waste; this can cause the joint to stay inflamed and painful for long periods of time (think arthritis). So, if you want to help improve joint health, you can’t simply cover up the pain with a pain killer, you must cleanse the joints to improve circulation into the joint again. Yucca also contains vitamins and minerals which support joint repair in the body.I love yucca. I have seen it help people to activate healing in their body repeatedly over the past 30 years. For example, my mother-in law is 89 years old. When I met her over 30 years ago she had horrible arthritis in her hands. She took 16 aspirin a day to help relieve the pain. Her doctor told her she would have this condition for life. I introduced her to the herb yucca and had her drink more water (to help cleanse her joints). In a few weeks’ time, she cut back her aspirin, and then no longer needed it anymore. Her fingers stopped hurting. Today at 89 years of age, she has no arthritis and no longer needs to take the yucca. Yucca also helps to clean the gut of microbes and help the body to re-balance gut bacteria. Some researchers feel that a major cause of joint inflammation is coming from an imbalance in the gut bacteria, so, more points for yucca!

The purpose of this post was really about quality control with herbs, and how important it is. About a year and half ago, Nature’s Sunshine ran out of yucca for several months. This was pure horror to me, as so many of my clients used It, as did my husband and myself. I called NSP and talked with customer service to find out how they did not have yucca. They told me that an oil company in Northern California, which was near where we got our yucca from, had contaminated the ground water from their fracking practices and thus, the yucca plants got contaminated! Wow, thank you NSP for your strict quality control and assuring us of clean safe herbs. It took several months to find another source of yucca which was not contaminated. During this time, I was in a health food store and saw some yucca from other companies on the self. I thought about buying some as I really missed my yucca. But then I got to thinking, I don’t know these companies the way I know NSP. What is their quality control like? Are they cutting corners on quality? Do they even test their herbs like NSP does? I decided not to buy any and decided to look at other options in the NSP line. I found the Ayurvedic Joint Health formula and had my clients switch over to that formula. Turns out it is a great joint formula which targets cleaning toxins and waste out of the joints, while helping to relieve pain and inflammation. I’ll talk more about that formula in another post.

Happily, NSP found another grower to buy yucca from, so the story has a happy ending, all is well again 😊 Valerie

Disclaimer: Supplement recommendations are not designed to treat a disease condition. Discussions are for educational purposes only. Supplements should be used to nourish and strengthen the natural function of the various body organs and systems so that they will have a greater capacity to heal themselves. It is not intended to replace your doctor's recommendations. Any questions or concerns that you have regarding existing medical conditions, or the use of medications with supplements, should be discussed with your nutritionally oriented medical doctor.