Get moving at the Arthritis Foundation’s Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis this holiday season. Join the thousands of walkers and runners who will hit the nation’s pavements, pathways and parks this winter to fight the nation’s most common cause of disability. It’s an event aimed at raising desperately needed funds for research, health education and government advocacy to improve the lives of people with arthritis.

The 2009 Jingle Bell Run/Walk is a fun and festive way to kick off the holidays with family, friends and coworkers. There are several options. You can sign up to walk as an individual or start a team and organize your very own holiday-themed costumes. You can even raise funds online by creating a free personal website and emailing donors or collect donations and turn them in prior to the event. Every dollar raised brings us one step closer to a cure. Participants will tie jingle bells to their shoelaces, don holiday attire, and complete a 3 mile route.

Arthritis or chronic joint symptoms are more widespread than imagined, affecting 46 million Americans, or one out of five adults and approximately 300,000 children.

As the nation’s largest holiday run/walk event, the Arthritis Foundation’s Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis offers a three-mile fun run and a three-mile fun walk with activities for the entire family.

This year’s event will also provide a run for dogs and 1K children’s race.  There are nearly 120 Jingle Bell Run/Walks for Arthritis nationwide with more than 80,000 participants. In years past, the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis has raised upwards of $3 million. To find an event near you check out the Arthritis Foundation website.

Eswar Krishnan, MD, assistant professor of Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford University School of Medicine, has found that high uric acid levels are a link between Gout and Heart Failure.

Our friend, Timothy Spaulding, a Top Health Blogger for the Arthritis Community on Wellsphere and author of the Current Arthritis News and Research Blog explains in his recent article.

Spaulding explains that uric acid naturally occurs in the body as a byproduct of many different foods. High levels are best known as a cause of gout.

According to Dr. Krishnan, the “study shows that high levels of uric acid significantly increase your risk of developing heart failure later in life.”

The good news is that the test for measuring this is very cheap and easily available. In fact, a simple $2-blood test may allow doctors to determine whether a patient is at risk of developing heart failure sometime in their future.

Dr. Krishnan analyzed data obtained from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute participants of the Framingham Offspring cohort study. That study began in 1971 and the participants were followed for cardiovascular events for 25 years.

There were 4,989 participants in the Framingham Offspring study, and of those, 4,912 were eligible for Dr. Krishnan’s study. There were 196 cases of heart failure recorded.

After adjusting for a long list of variables including smoking, weight, alcohol use, diabetes, kidney problems and use of anti-hypertensive medications, Dr. Krishnan found the occurrence of heart failure was significantly higher among those with high uric acid levels.

So if you suffer from Gout make sure to talk to your doctor about your risk for heart problems. Also check out Flexcin the all-natural Joint Pain Supplement. The primary component of Flexcin is CM8™, which relieves joint pain at its source, reduces inflammation and irritation of the joints and tissues. It has been helpful for many sufferers of arthritis, gout, bursitis, sports injuries and fibromyalgia.

This study appeared online in August in the journal circulation of Heart Failure. Check out Timothy Spaulding’s full article here and other interesting topics on his Current Arthritis News and Research Blog.

We all know that a healthy diet is important but what about it effecting Arthritis pain. The foods arthritis sufferers eat can play a key role in the management and reduction of pain. Some foods can reduce some symptoms, others can trigger painful attacks. The elimination of animal protein, nightshade vegetables, and dairy products has helped some people with arthritis. The results are not the same for everyone, but many people report that if they follow a healthy diet, they see improvement in the arthritic pain. So, what arthritis foods should you avoid and which ones should be included in your daily diet?

Here are some foods to avoid which most people report lead to more pain when ingested:

· Nightshade vegetables: Tomatoes, white potatoes, peppers, belladonna, and eggplant

· Citrus fruits

· Dairy Products

· Phosphorous rich food: Red meat, red flesh fish, organ meat like kidney, liver, processed meat, and soft drinks.

· Corns, wheat, oats, rye, and barley

· Eggs

· Fried food, vegetable oil, margarine: Omega 6, present in vegetable oil, worsens inflammation.

· Alcohol

· Coffee

· Foods that are rich in oxalic acid or oxalates: Star fruit, black pepper, parsley, poppy seed, rhubarb stalks, amaranth, spinach, chard, beets, cocoa, chocolate, most nuts, most berries, and beans.

· Foods that easily get mold which can cause allergy: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, nuts, berries, cantaloupe and honeydew melon.

Not everyone reacts the same to the food groups above so it’s recommended that arthritis suffers monitor the type of foods that can aggravate the pain.

Here are some foods that are found to be friendly to arthritic conditions:

· Green, yellow, and orange vegetables: Artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, chard, collards, lettuce, spinach, string beans, summer or winter squash, sweet potatoes, tapioca, and taro.

· Anti-inflammatory foods: Ginger, garlic, turmeric and apples.

· Brown rice: This is recommended instead of corns, wheat, oats, rye, and barley

· Cooked or dried fruits: Cherries, cranberries, pears, prunes.

· Fish: Salmon, mackerel, herring, tuna, as they are rich in Omega 3 essential fatty acid

· Nuts & Seeds: Walnuts, almonds, linseeds, pumpkin seeds which are unsalted

· Water: Drinking plenty of water is known to help.

It is advised to include arthritis friendly foods in your diet for four weeks without any trigger foods at all. After four weeks, you can easily identify foods that cause flare-ups by bringing back the food which you eliminated previously into your diet one at a time. Observe when the pain increases and note your dietary changes. It is not advised to reintroduce major triggers such as meats, dairy products, or eggs into your diet. They can also cause hormone imbalances that may lead to joint pain.

Many people who are changing their diets are also changing their choices for medication by choosing to go all-natural. Flexcin is helping thousands of people around the nation and even the world find relief in a safe and all-natural arthritis pain solution. The primary component of Flexcin™ is CM8™ (cetyl myristoleate). Of all the ingredients in Flexcin, CM8™ is the most powerful. CM8™ functions in three different ways. First, it acts as a highly effective lubricant in the joints, muscles and other tissues, allowing them to move smoothly. Decrease or loss of morning stiffness is commonly noted shortly after commencing treatment. Next, CM8™ functions as an anti-inflammatory. Relief from swollen joints is often seen after the 4th or 5th week of treatment. Third, it is also an immune system modulator, which can be effectual against autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and juvenile arthritis. CM8™ relieves joint pain at its source, reducing inflammation and irritation of the joints and tissues. It also has been helpful for many sufferers of muscle tension and fibromyalgia. All of these characteristics make CM8™ the most important ingredient in Flexcin.

In addition, Flexcin is proudly manufactured in the United States in a state of the art facility under the strict guidelines of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Good Manufacturing Practices, or G.M.P. Before you buy any drug, medical food or dietary supplement, always ask whether it was manufactured under FDA GMP Standards.