I read that at The Peoples Pharmacy some time ago, specifically for knee pain. Apparently Certo and grape juice have a lot of fans. This has been a bad year for my knees, so after playing with the idea for awhile I bought some. But I haven't tried it yet because I can't get the grape juice open. lol I keep forgetting to ask my son to do it for me.

The benefits of pectin on arthritis has been known for sometime and many people have reported very good results. It is an anti-inflammatory and a prebiotic. You can get pectin supplements at the health food store.

The juice counteracts any effects of possible constipation.

Ha-ha, Alisande! Ain't 'dat de truth? We once rented a condo that had no kitchen scissors, so we bought a pair. Trouble was, they came encased in rigid plastic. We needed a scissors to get to the scissors. When you can open the juice, do let me know if this works.

gardengal -- Thanks for the help. I appreciate hearing that the pectin could cause constipation sans juice. I have enough trouble with that due to requiring Tylenol-4 twice a day for back and neck pain -- bone loss due to requiring steroids for 40 years to *breathe*. (Can't win!)

Interesting.

Last Saturday's People's Pharmacy, available to listen to this Monday, was on researched results for the effectiveness of tart cherry juice on a range of problems, arthritis included. Strongly recommend listening to it.

I was seriously considering trying this until I looked at the price of Certo in Walmart yesterday.

Sheesh! Tart cherry juice works quite well, when I remember to buy it and drink it. Turmeric capsules also are very helpful, again, when I remember to buy them and take them.

Alisande, I find a pair of water pump pliers a big help in the kitchen. In fact, a necessity, for opening many things.

Rusty

Thanks, Rusty! I have those in my toolbox. I'll put them to use!

Laceyvail, please save us a little time . . . What was the bottom line on the tart cherry juice? I've read for decades that it's helpful, but I never tried it for an extended period as it tends to be expensive. Current level of discomfort might motivate me now.

This is great! Now I have my answer and a bunch of other things to try. I'm afraid of waking up one morning with every joint completely *frozen*. I'm already wearing a little menthol patch on my neck and a big lydocaine one on my back overnight. In the 'grateful for small favors' column, at least it's not rheumatoid -- 'just' osteo.

Rusty -- Those 'water pump' plyers look superior to the ordinary ones I use almost every day to open one thing or another -- even the cap on a bottle of milk, and then the little sealer inside the cap! The abilities we take for granted before we deteriorate!

Apples and citrus fruits have significant amounts of pectin - and other fiber too. Perhaps upping one's intake of those might be beneficial as well?

Natural pectin isnt digestible. I assume you need to digest the pectin for it to work because otherwise it just passes through as fiber. Commercial pectin is modified (MCP means modified citrus pectin) The huge molecules are changed to break them up somehow. It makes it possible for the pectin to pass out of the intestine into the bloodstream. I have no idea what they do but I know it has to be modified. I dont know if it works but it wouldn't hurt.

Just a 'regular' pliers works quite well on smaller bottle tops, and for pulling up the little sealer things, but the water pump style can handle much larger jar lids. And they also work for opening the pull top cans when I've misplaced the handy dandy little gadget I have for that job.

Rusty

The bottom line is that whether you use a concentrate or make a drink from frozen tart cherries you want to be getting the equivalent of 50-100 cherries a day. But there was a great deal more info worth listening to.