Osteoarthritis affects over 20 million Americans and is the most common degenerative disorder in the United States. It causes more disability than any other degenerative disease and is occurring in epidemic proportions in our country. In this novel approach to understanding and treating osteoarthritis, orthopedic surgeon Peter Bales highlights the nutritional connection to this painful and debilitating condition. Dr. Bales focuses on new genetic research, which shows that the same poor nutrition responsible for causing increased inflammation in our bodies, along with epidemic rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, is also fueling the development of osteoarthritis. Among the topics discussed are the following: *The mechanisms by which our joints become destroyed. The culprits are increased inflammation, increased oxygen free radicals causing our joints to "rust" from chronically elevated blood sugar levels, and hormonal imbalance. *Dietary strategies to decrease the production of oxygen free radicals and to turn off genes that lead to cartilage breakdown. *Joint nutrients that can combat osteoarthritis and specific dietary recommendations for the treatment and reversal of osteoarthritis based on the most current genetic and nutritional research. *The disadvantages of treating osteoarthritis with drugs and the exciting promise of using nutritional intervention that directly affects the expression of our genes. The only book to emphasize the link between poor nutrition and this often-disabling disease, Osteoarthritis: Preventing and Healing without Drugs offers hope for arthritis sufferers and will be of interest to anyone concerned about good health.