Dr. John Ott had already made his mark in history with his development of time-lapse photography. This special technique takes a series of carefully timed 35-mm. photographs of such things as the growth of a plant or the opening of a flower.

But eventually age crept up on him, and Ott retired and moved to Sarasota, Florida. He says that he chose Florida in the hope that sitting in the sun would help his gradually worsening arthritis.

Able to walk only with the help of a cane, he would sit in the sun on Sarasota beach, clad only in sunglasses and trunks. But still no help came.

Then, one day, he broke his sunglasses. Out to the beach he still went, squinting in the sunlight. As he reports what followed, he found within the next few days a dramatic improvement in his condition. But he was certain of it when he was able to discard his cane.

Writing in his autobiography, My Ivory Cellar, Dr. Ott recalls the incident: "The weather had been nice for several days and there was some light work outside that I was doing as best I could with my cane in one hand. Suddenly l didn't seem to need the cane . . My hip hadn't felt this well for three or four years. I began walking back and forth, back and forth. I ran into the house and up the stairs two at a time to tell my wife."

Dr. John Ott was the perfect individual to make such a discovery, for he had spent a lifetime as an optical scientist. Concluding that his arthritis had been solved by the full spectrum, all the rays of sunlight reaching his eyes, he began research work on the subject. He had earlier erected a plastic greenhouse, so the ultraviolet light could reach his plants; now he had taken his sunglasses off, so those ultraviolet rays could reach his eyes. (Ultraviolet light does not pass very well through glass, tinted glass, or plastic.)

Later X-rays of his hip confirmed that which he had been experiencing: "Dramatic healing had indeed occurred! He concluded that his arthritic condition had been helped by the light upon his eyes rather than merely upon his skin.

Having spent a lifetime in research, Dr. Ott went back to work. Hours were spent in medical libraries, and finally he found what he was looking for: Dr. Richard Wurtman, associate professor of endocrinology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had done work in this same field. Formerly with the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, Dr. Wurtman had investigated the effect of light on the pituitary and the pineal glands. He made the startling discovery that both of these ductless glands, located deep within the brain, are stimulated as ultraviolet light enters the eye.

The significance of this can be understood more easily as one considers that these are two key glands in the body. Not only do they affect growth and maturation, but their hormones also have a controlling effect over the entire endocrine system they affect all of the glands in the body!

Unfortunately, this was the only research which Ott found of the effect of sunlight on the ductless glands. No research had been done about hormones and arthritis. Yet that single set of studies by Dr. Wurtman, coupled with Dr. Ott's experience, still reveals a lot.

He also gives some very practical and important suggestions to anyone desiring to do as he has done: (1) Stay outdoors, without sunglasses, as much as you like through the day. (2) Do not look into the sun! This is extremely important, for within a few seconds the direct ultraviolet rays can damage to your eyes. (3) It is necessary to receive some sunlight on your body in order to obtain adequate amounts of vitamin D, which is needed to help the body use calcium. (4) It is not necessary to sit in the sunlight in order to obtain ultraviolet light into your eyes. This can be done while sitting in the shade. But it must be done without window glass, eyeglasses, sunglasses, or plastic sheeting between your eyes and the out-of-doors

Ott provides more suggestions: (5) Substitute ultraviolet- transmitting plastic, in place of glass, in your windows and spectacles. (6) Use full-spectrum fluorescent bulbs instead of the regular kind. He says these are obtainable from Environmental Lighting Concepts 800-842-8848 (1214 West Cass Street, Tampa, FL 33606), which sells the type of full-spectrum light which Ott found was the best.

In connection with this, it should be kept in mind that current scientific research maintains that skin cancer can be caused by an excessive amount of sunlight on the skin.

The London Experiments

Over a lengthy period of time, three scientists gave pantothenic acid to many arthritis patients. Testing the blood of both normal people as well as arthritics, they found that those without arthritis tended to maintain a level of about 107 micrograms of this B vitamin; whereas arthritics, on the average, only had 68.7 micrograms. As later reported in Medical World News for October 7, 1966, they found that any patient with less than 95 micrograms always showed some symptoms of arthritis. And the lower the level, the more severe the symptoms.

They next gave niacin to arthritic patients, but not always with worthwhile results. Yet as they worked, adding other nutrients, the results began coming in. Sometimes improvements were slow in coming; sometimes none for the first four to eight weeks. But, as one of the physicians commented: "Just when the patient is deciding that the cure is no good, the symptoms disappear overnight."

They found that the nutritional supplements had to be maintained indefinitely or the symptoms returned. Yet this only involved taking a few tablets every day.

In connection with their work, they found that a substance called cysteine, which, with pantothenic acid, is found abundantly in royal jelly; this greatly aided in the recovery of arthritics.

The Rivers and Robertson Articles

Writing in the New York State Journal of Medicine (Vol. 65, pp. 1235-1238, 1965), Dr. J.M. Rivers, in his article, "Ascorbic Acid in Metabolism of Connective Tissue," made this statement: "Abnormalities in this protein (collagen) are basic to the crippling deformities associated with rheumatic diseases and with a number of congenital connective tissue defects." In his studies, Rivers found that an adequate amount of vitamin C was necessary in the diet in order to maintain the body supply of collagen.

A related study (conducted by Dr. W.V. Robertson and reported in his article, "The Biochemical Role of Ascorbic Acid in Connective Tissue," in the "Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences" [Vol. 92, pp. 159-167, 1961] about his studies on indiced granuloma tissue of prescorbutic and normal guinea pigs) revealed that guinea pigs deprived of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) for only 14 days produced tissue containing only 2 to 3 percent collagen while the tissue in normal guinea pigs contain 14 to 16 percent.

Arthritis, rheumatism, and related diseases are often referred to as collagen diseases because of the definite involvement of this protein in their origin and development. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) must be present in the body so it can produce collagen, and large amounts of this vitamin are necessary for this protein (collagen) to be of a high quality.

Collagen makes up about one-third of the protein in your body. It is used as a "cell cement" to hold your body together! The dreaded disease, scurvy, is nothing more than a lack of collagen, due to an inadequate food intake of vitamin C. Over a hundred years ago, the British Government began issuing its sailors limes to eat, in order to avoid scurvy while out on the ships, far from fresh fruits and vegetables containing vitamin C.

The Rinehard Papers

When vitamin C was first discovered earlier in this century, it resulted in some excellent research that was carried on and published by Dr. J.P. Rinehard and his coworkers between 1933 and 1938. Their investigations clearly linked rheumatoid arthritis with an inadequate supply of vitamin C. We do not have space here to include all of the publication references, but here are three of them: "Studies Relating Vitamin C Deficiency to Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatoid Arthritis," in Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 9, pp. 586-59, 1935. "Reduced Ascorbic Acid Content of Blood Plasma in Rheumatoid Arthritis," in Proceedings of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine, Vol. 35, pp. 347-352, 1936. "Metabolism of Vitamin C in Rheumatoid Arthritis," in Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 61, pp. 537-561, 1938."

This extensive research by Rinehard directly connected the development of the rheumatoid process (both in rheumatic fever and in rheumatoid arthritis)

with a lack of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The amount of his research and conclusions was breathtaking. In addition, he gave confirmation of his findings by producing, at will, rheumatoid lesions in the Guinea pigsimply by combining ascorbic acid deprivation and infection. It conclusively showed that infection alone could not produce these effects.

It is an intriguing fact that, even though this definitive research was done nearly 70 years ago, physicians today generally do not recommend that their arthritic patients take vitamin C.

"Heberden's nodes" is the name given to the bony lumps that form at finger joints. You may have friends who have this problem. It is frequently a very painful condition.

A Northwest physician, Johnathan V. Wright, M.D., of Kent, Washington, made the discovery that Heberden's nodes is quite responsive to vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). He has had very good success in treating this condition with this important B complex vitamin.

Ebba Waerland is a well-known Swedish nutritionist who has helped thousands with their health problems at Kiholm, Sweden. The Waerland diet for arthritic problems includes the following:

Immediately take the patient off all salt. Following bed rest, immerse him in warm soda baths (2 lbs. washing soda to a bathtub). Beginning at 99 F., the patient lies in the bath for 15 minutes, during which time hot water is added until the temperature reaches 104 F. These baths are given under the direction of a qualified professional. As soon as he is taken out of the bathtub, he is quickly dried and placed in bed, where he perspires freely. During and after fasts, the bowels must be kept active, with an enema given night and morning during the fast. But no fasts are given if the person has neurasthenia, nervousness, goiter, or tuberculosis.

A careful diet is described on pages 57-58 of her book, Rebuilding Health.

Dr. N.W. Paul did careful research with 314 patients who had so called "tennis elbow" (technically known as radiohumeral bursitis). This is bursitis in the elbow. His conclusions, as reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association for November 30, 1957, showed that food and nutrition was the real cause of this painful condition. The body is either not getting the proper food or it is not using it efficiently. The second of these two possibilities is caused either by a nervous or hormonal disturbance.

Dr. Paul successfully used the following approach: He sought to remove all stimulants, change the diet, and relieve emotional tension. An "antipurine diet" was given. This is a diet that omits all flesh foods. Dr. Paul had discovered that too much uric acid is present in the bloodstream of arthritics, and foods containing this waste product (such as meat and fish) must be eliminated from the diet.

What do you do when your big toe will not let you rest day nor night? One day while his family was gone, Dr. Ludwig W. Blau, Ph.D., found that it was dinnertime. Confined to a wheelchair because of the pain, he wheeled himself to the refrigerator, but inside only saw meat and cherries. Dr. Blau had gout in his big toe, and his doctor had sensibly told him he could no longer eat meat or the gout would become worse. So the refrigerator only offered the slim pickings of cherries. He took out the bowl and ate them all.

The next morning the pain in his foot was almost totally gone. Could it be the cherries? So he began eating at least six every day. Then he had to go out of town on a business trip and forgot the cherries. Within a few days, the pain was back just as bad as before. So he went back on his cherry diet.

He told his personal physician as well as other people. Soon he had compiled twelve case histories of friends whose gout had been greatly helped by eating cherries. Dr. Blau wrote it all up in Texas Reports on Biology and Medicine (Vol. 8, No. 3, 1950). For some reason, the cherries (eaten whole or drunk as cherry juice) does not help the rheumatoid type of arthritis as well as the gouty type.

Eight years after Blau's report was published, an article in Food Field Reporter (November 10, 1958) told of an experiment involving a number of gout sufferers in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. They drank cherry juice and had results similar to those that Blau experienced.

It is of interest that this 1958 article also mentioned that several local dentists were recommending cherry juice to their patients as a helpful way to treat pyorrhea.

What is in cherries? Cherries have more calcium than phosphorus, much potassium, and very little sodium. The sour varieties have more vitamin A than the sweet kind, and all are relatively low in calories.

J.P. Seegmiller in his book, Gout, a 1967 publication, provides some additional information about this problem that so many suffer with:

"The enzyme, uricase, which is responsible for converting the sparingly soluble uric acid to much more soluble allantoin, is absent in all members of the widely divergent species; man, birds, and reptiles. As a result, uric acid rather than allantoin becomes the end product of purine metabolism. The remarkably inefficient renal [kidney] excretion of uric acid in man causes the human species to have the highest serum urate concentration and thereby makes the whole species in a sense heir to the gout." That is, if they eat a meat diet.

The problem is that man was not designed to eat meat products (meat and fish); vegetarians are very unlikely to have problems with uric acid build-up and gout.

When people eat meat products, they take an excess of purines into their bodies. There are eight types of purines which fall into three main categories. The body tries to break them down into a very acid substance known as uric acid. But the body also produces uric as a waste product of its own processes. When meat is eaten, far too much uric acid in the system is the result. Greatly compounding this problem is the fact that uric acid is not easily disposed of by the kidneys. The result is a gradual build-up of an excessive amount of uric acid in the system. It is stored in various places, such as the joints and other body tissues.

The obvious solution is to stop eating meat. In this way the excessive acid deposits will stop forming. Cherries, in some way, are able to help eliminate some of that acid build-up.

Several doctors at the University of Copenhagen teamed up together and administered zinc to arthritic patients. This important trace mineral was suspected to be significantly lacking in the patients with this problem. They later reported, in the British Journal of Dermatology for October 1980, that when they gave oral zinc to psoriatic arthritic patients, that "reduction of joint pains as well as increase of mobility and decrease in swelling of several joints was observed by the research physicians. This provides favorable evidence that zinc can be quite useful in reducing inflammation in arthritic sufferers.

On the other side of the world, Peter A. Simkin, M.D., at the division of rheumatology, University of Washington in Seattle, also gave oral zinc supplementation to arthritics, in this case to rheumatoid arthritis patients. He also obtained favorable results, and commented, "Zinc depletion is common in rheumatoid patients."

Far, and down under, in Melbourne, Australia, a remarkable piece of testing was carried through to completion by Dr. R. Shatin. As later reported in the August 1, 1964, issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, thirty-one rheumatoid arthritis patients at the Alfred Hospital were placed on a very unusual dietetic program. It succeeded so well that twenty of the thirty patients had striking remissions of the disease. By the time that the research project was written up and reported, some of the remissions had continued for as long as eighteen months.

What was this highly unusual diet? It was a meatless, protein diet with vitamin supplements, from which all gluten had been totally eliminated.

Gluten is wheat protein. When water is added to wheat flour, the gluten separates and makes a sticky, rubbery substance. To many people, it also has the quality of being indigestible. But many people who eat wheat products do not always recognize what it is in the wheat that is bothering them. (In connection with this, we should also mention that the acidity of wheat is also a problem to many folk; wheat is the most acid of the grains.)

Some people are allergic to wheat or gluten products while others have no problem with either. Does only wheat contain gluten? Rye flour also has gluten in it, to a lesser extent.

It is known that there is an unusually large amount of gamma globulin in the blood serum of arthritics. Dr. Shatin's theory is that people allergic to gluten "produce the extra gamma globulin in order to fight off the offending wheat gluten in the intestines."

Very likely, there is far more to the arthritis problem than merely wheat gluten. But, at least, Dr. Shatin has given us clear evidence that gluten can, for some people at least, be part of the problem.

Reporting their research work in Annals of Rheumatic Disease, Vol. 23, 1964, Drs. E. Abrams and J. Sandson told of their findings, that the synovial fluid becomes thinner when serum levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) are high. The significance of this insight is important when one realizes that part of the arthritis problem is a thickening of the synovial fluid. But when a person is obtaining adequate vitamin C in his diet (or through additional supplementation by tablets), he is on a far safer path.

I. Machtey, M.D., and L. Quaknine, M.D., conducted a lengthy series of research studies, using vitamin E, at an Israeli hospital on the edge of Tel Aviv. In the course of their work at the Hasharon Hospital, they noted that some of their patients with osteoarthritis had what is known as the "restless leg syndrome." Checking into this more closely, they found that this set of symptoms (which produce a crawling, aching sensation deep within the muscles and bones of the legs) was related to a vitamin E deficiency.

Armed with this new information, they decided to give vitamin E to their arthritis patients. A variety of arthritic conditions (gonarthrisis, spondylosis, Heberden's nodes, and osteoarthritis) were tested with vitamin E therapy. The patients were divided into two groups (without their knowing about it); half received vitamin E and the other half placebos (tablets with nothing of value in them).

The end of the study found more than half of the vitamin E patients in better condition than earlier. Only one placebo patient felt better. Their research was later written up and published in the July 1978 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

From up in Canada, additional information has been presented about the importance of nutrition in the control of arthritis. Dr. W.J. McCormick of Toronto gave massive doses of vitamin C to cases of "incipient arthritis" with very favorable results. In reporting on his work in the Archives of Pediatrics for April 1955, he stated that by "massive doses," he meant from one to ten grams of ascorbic acid daily. This is the same as 1,000 to 10,000 milligrams of vitamin C per day.

William Kaufman, M.D., a New England physician conducted a study on 455 arthritic patients. Determined by the severity of their condition, he administered to each one niacinamide in amounts varying from 400 mgs. to 2,250 mg. per day. This important B vitamin dilates blood vessels, thus increasing muscle strength and bringing more blood to organs, muscles, bones, and joints. In nearly every patient, Dr. Kaufman was able to measure improvement in the use of joints and recession of arthritis.

When taking this B vitamin, it should be kept in mind that it comes in two forms: niacin and niacinamide. Both are equally helpful; but one of these, niacinamide, does not cause a temporary flushing (reddening) of your face when you swallow it.

Dr. Kaufman developed elaborate measuring devices, so he could tell exactly how much improvement was gradually being made in the joint motions of the arms, legs, and wrists. In this way, he could actually measure improvement or the lack of it.

Kaufman did not confine himself to niacin; but, in most cases, he also gave quite large doses of vitamin C, thiamine (Bl), pyridoxine (B6) and riboflavin (B2). The amount of niacin he gave was in relation to the severity of the patients condition and the improvement he was making; the better he was doing, the less niacin was given to him.

In some cases, dramatically rapid improvement was made; but, for most, it took more time. Yet taking nutritional supplements was not a difficult task.

In his extensive studies, Dr. Kaufman noticed several things that could cause complications. (1) Food allergies: Some patients had to avoid certain foods (chocolate, wheat, eggs, etc.), or they could not make improvement. (2), Repetitive work done every day in an uncomfortable or awkward position. Such employment was almost bound to create joint problems. Here are some examples that he discovered: holding a phone in an awkward position for long conversations; working with certain tools and machinery; very poor posture maintained for years; uncomfortable, tight-fitting, or high-heeled shoes; improperly clad limbs in colder weather (causing hand, wrist, elbow, or ankle-knee problems). (3) Sodium retention: Many people need to eat less salt in order to recover. (4) Psychosomatic arthritis: Some people are stress- type personalities. Things that do not bother others terribly irritate them. Still others live under seemingly unbearable conditions which apparently cannot be changed. These may develop joint symptoms, probably caused by psychosomatic blockage of nutrients, or, because of tension, a too-rapid utilization of nutrients.

On the average, Dr. Kaufman's patients had a "joint range index" of 6-12 points in the first month of nutrient therapy and, thereafter, a more gradual improvement of one-half to 1 point per month. But in order to do this, the patient had to eat a nourishing diet without junk food, in addition to the vitamin supplements. Also he must not mechanically injure the afflicted joints.

Eventually, an "index range" of 96-100 (no joint dysfunction) was achieved. But in order to remain in such good shape, the patient must continue on maintenance doses of niacinamide and a good meatless diet thereafter.

Dr. Kaufman found that, if joints had earlier fused together (ankylosis), there could never be a full recovery.

He also noticed that his patients also improved in other ways: Taking the nutritional supplements frequently strengthened their stomachs, livers, muscles, etc.

Dr. Kaufman gave niacin in its niacinamide form, and he reported that he never found any harmful side effects from the large doses of this vitamin that he gave to his patients.

We would recommend to any researcher into arthritis, that he try to procure a copy of William Kaufman's out-of-print book. It is titled The Common Form of Joint Dysfunction: Its Incidence and Treatment. From the above description, the reader can see that Kaufman conducted a far broader investigation into arthritic cause than did most other researchers.

The Bingham Therapy Program

Dr. Robert Bingham (an orthopedic doctor in Desert Hot Springs, California) has, over a period of years, worked out a definite program that he puts arthritis patients on.

"No person who is in good nutritional health develops rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis," says Dr. Bingham. Having worked with hundreds of these sufferers, he has concluded that the average arthritic typically does not get either enough food or enough of the right kind of food. As a result, he tends to be tense, nervous, worried, overactive, and has both poor resistance to infection coupled with a history of infectious or chronic inflammatory diseases. Last but not least, he is frequently overweight.

At this point, you are probably wondering what Bingham does to help them. Here is a brief overview of many aspects of his program:

(1) Bed rest to begin with, 16 hours a day. (2) Increase water intake to 8 or more glasses a day. (3) Gradually reduce all drug medications to the barest minimum, without producing pain. (4) Reduce and slowly stop all corticosteroid medications. (5) All foods must be fresh, raw, natural, and (if necessary) blended. (6) A moderately high protein diet is provided. (7) Tobacco, alcohol, refined carbohydrates, and saturated fats are totally eliminated. (8) Vitamins, minerals, and enzymes are given. (9) 2,000 mg. of natural (not synthetic) vitamin C each day. (10) Special calcium supplements. Sometimes this is given in the form of raw milk (because he says that pasteurized milk lacks the "anti-stiffness factor" that raw milk has). But we would suggest that you can generally obtain all the calcium you need from calcium gluconate, calcium lactate, or calcium citrate, obtainable in a health-food store. (11) Overweight patients are urged to reduce.

Bingham also uses water therapy, such as hot packs and hot baths. He encourages his patients to study and learn more about medical and nutritional aspects of the disease. He says that this encourages them to stick by the program and make a more complete recovery.

The drugs which he takes them off of include the pain-relieving drugs, tranquilizers, and hypnotic drugs. He has noted that these tend to interfere with physical healing and metabolic normalization.

Bingham has studied deeply into the problem of arthritis; and, when he speaks, he speaks from knowledge: "Diseases of the bones and joints which are due to deficiencies in a single nutritional factor are many. They include scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency; osteoporosis, from lack of calcium and protein; neuropathy, caused by vitamin B complex deficiency; and degenerative joint disease are due to a combination of nutritional deficiencies."

In addition, Dr. Bingham believes a major part of the problem is caused by (1) the highly processed "civilized foods" we now havesuch as soft drinks, cake, ice cream, and similar things; (2) a lack of several vitamins and minerals, particularly C, B complex, D, pantothenic acid, calcium, and iron; (3) an excess of sugar, starches, and fats in the diet; (4) a deficiency in good protein; (5) environmental dangerssuch as pesticides, additives, smog, and even radioactive fallout; (6) and, lastly, a "rheumatoid personality" type of individual. But he maintains that good nutrition is more important than all else in the battle with arthritis.

The files of researchers are seemingly overflowing with studies on non-drug, surgical methods of treating arthritic and rheumatic problems. But, for some strange reason, you rarely hear about them. Here are several of them:

The calcium content of the soft tissues increases by as much as 500 percent in rats that have been made deficient in vitamin E. The abnormal laying down of calcium in soft tissues is part of the arthritis problem in humans (S.R. Ames, J. Bio. Chem., Vol. 169, p. 503, 1957).

Individuals with arthritis frequently have a serious deficiency of the B vitamin, pantothenic acid (R.J. Williams, Biochemical Individuality, 1956).

Rats deficient in the B vitamin, pantothenic acid, have an abnormality similar to arthritis (J.J. Barboriak, et al., J. Nut., Vol. 63, p. 583, 1952).

Rats kept on a diet that is high in phosphorus and low in calcium have developed arthritis. The problem was eliminated when they were then given a diet containing twice as much calcium as phosphorus (A.G. Hogan, et al., J. Nut., Vol. 41, p. 203, 1950).

Human volunteers given a diet deficient in vitamin B6 gradually developed sore joints that were similar to arthritis. When the vitamin was administered, the problem disappeared (R.E. Hodge, et al., Am. J. Clin. Nut., Vol. 11, p. 180, 1962).

Arthritis was induced by injections of formaldehyde, in rats, and injections of bacteria in vitamin-C-deficient guinea pigs. Both were forms of stress, and both caused arthritis. But if the rats were given very large amounts of vitamin E and the guinea pigs large doses of vitamin C, both were somehow protected from developing arthritis (H. Selwe, Brit. Med. J., Vol. 2, p. 1129, 1949 and B. Tuchweber, Am. J. Clin. Nut., Vol. 13, p. 328, 1963).

Twenty-five mg. of pantothenic acid were given daily to several arthritic patients as their only dietetic change. Some had a decrease or disappearance of pain and stiffness within two weeks (L. Eising, J. Bone Joint Surg., Vol. 452, p. 69, 1963).

When the amount of vitamin C in test animals is very low, an arthritic type condition results (A.F. Morgan, J. Bio. Chem., Vol. 195, p. 583, 1952).

When vitamin C is given to test animals in large quantities, it greatly delays the onset of arthritic-type symptoms; when pantothenic acid is given to them, these symptoms are completely prevented (J.J. Barboriak, et al., J. Nut. Vol. 63, p. 601, 1957).