Healing Arthritis by Susan Blum with Michele Bender

It seems like many of us end up with one form of arthritis or another by the time we are elderly. Instead of being one of those statistics, this book could help change those odds. Healing Arthritis: A 3-Step Process to Conquering Arthritis Naturally by Dr. Susan Blum, a leading expert in functional medicine, offers a better approach to healing arthritis permanently. Even more inspiring to me, she shares her own personal healing story in this book along with her expertise.

I have osteoarthritis in an ankle that I broke when I was in my early 20s. I didn't really feel the arthritis until the last couple of years due to a combination of stress and a tendon tear in the same ankle. I don't want to take a lot of medication so I decided to read Dr. Blum's book to see if I could make a difference naturally.

Dr. Blum gives a lot of information in an easy to read format. She first explains the various types of arthritis that one can contract. She also shares stories of real people who have those types of arthritis and how this program helped their lives improve and helped them to heal. As with many health issues, she shares how this issue is best helped by healing the gut first. To me, this makes sense, as I can tell that I have had some digestive issues this past year or two after facing so much stress. I especially like how her 3-step program includes a holistic program. Dr. Blum tells us how we can help ourselves holistically by changing our diet, better handling our stress through various natural methods that she discusses, and by moving more. I like that this program looks at the person's whole lifestyle to make changes. The program she offers patients and has used herself also uses a variety of supplements. I would add that she also sells those supplements but does not require that you purchase hers for the program. For me that is something I will have to budget into our household budget. Thankfully, I have a supportive spouse who wants to see me succeed. I have also done some health changes several years ago working with a naturopathic doctor and had good success with a different health issue, which gives me hope that I can succeed with this one.

I have not gone through the Healing Arthritis program in the book yet. However, I believe that it will be helpful. I don't, however, think it will be overly easy. It will take time and discipline on my part to make the program work. At the same time, I think my health is worth it. Dr. Blum shares in Healing Arthritis her own challenges in making the program work through some large stresses in her life and how she worked through those challenges to do it. Her tenacity in working her own program, sharing stories from other patients who have done the program, and her complete outline of what to do, give me hope that I can also do this for myself and help myself to feel much better in the long run. I would recommend anyone with arthritis read the book and give it a try too. I will try to come back and update after working this program.

I received a copy of Healing Arthritis by Dr. Susan Blum from the publisher and NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for the book. I also pre-ordered a book from Amazon so I could have a hard copy for myself. If you pre-order ahead of time, Dr. Blum also offers some pre-order bonuses.

About the Author:

Susan Blum, M.D., MPH, is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NYC and has been treating and preventing chronic disease for more than a decade. She is the founder of the Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, New York, and an adviser to the Institute for Functional Medicine, and serves on the Medical Advisory Board for The Dr. Oz Show. She lives in Armonk, New York, with her husband and three sons.