Healthy Tidbit

 This might be worth looking into with your doctor...

(Berkeley Wellness)

Flavocoxid: A “Medical Food” for Arthritis?

Flavocoxid (brand name Limbrel) is sold as a treatment for osteoarthritis. It’s an unusual product, but there’s reason to think it might help.
In a sense, flavocoxid is a dietary supplement. But it’s actually classified as a “medical food”—and you need a doctor’s prescription to get it.
Flavocoxid is a combination of flavonoids, a large group of plant chemicals that act as pigments and have other functions for plants and probably for humans who eat the plants. Flavo­noids are plentiful in fruits, vegetables, red wine, and green tea, for example.
Like aspirin and other NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), flavonoids have anti-inflammatory effects and thus may help reduce arthritis pain. But you cannot consume enough from foods to get a significant effect. The flavonoids in flavocoxid come from non-edible plants, Scutellaria baicalensis (also called Chinese skullcap) and Acacia catechu.
The action of flavocoxid is similar to that of NSAIDs. It suppresses enzymes that produce pain, but may be less likely to cause the side effects of NSAIDs, notably gastrointestinal bleeding.
Medical foods are not regulated in the same way as prescription drugs—that is, manufacturers are not required to submit research showing effectiveness. Preliminary research on flavocoxid, however, has been promising. Some researchers think it may prove superior to NSAIDs. But some people do report side effects, including stomach problems, and there may be interactions with anti-clotting drugs. And flavocoxid doesn’t work for everybody, according to the latest study, though that’s true of drugs, too.
Still, if you have arthritis and can’t take aspirin or other NSAIDs, you might discuss this medical food with your physician. One problem: not all insurance covers it. And it is expensive—about $4 a day, though discounts are often offered.