Joint pain as experienced in arthritis occurs in both men and women. Osteoarthritis is the most common arthritis, but there are other types of arthritis: * rheumatoid arthritis * arthritis from lupus * gout * psoriatic arthritis * reiter's disease * infective arthritis As you age, the constant movement of the joints creates wear and tear. Toxic wastes that circulate in the blood, dead cells, uric acid, inorganic acids and liquid can accumulate in the various joints and cause inflammation and pain. Continual inflammation can cause damage to the joints. In some cases, the cartilage that coats the bone ends, wears down and joints then rub bone to bone causing extreme pain. There are several conditions and lifestyles that contribute to arthritis: * Obesity * Diabetes * Heredity * Poor nutrition * Poor digestion * Lack of water * Allergies * Repetitive use of fingers, hands, legs or arms * Body injuries - sports or accidents Arthritis is a difficult disease to treat because there is usually more than one cause. Just working on one cause may not help enough to give pain relief. But it always helps to know the many things the contribute to arthritis so that different nutritional and lifestyles changes can be made. The use of omega-3 is known to provide anti-inflammatory benefits. In my other fatty acid articles, I point out that the breakdown of omega-3 eventually produce prostaglandins. It is the prostaglandins that provide the anti-inflammatory relief. So by using the omega-3, GLA, and EPA/DHA or Fish Oil supplements, you can get some pain and inflammation relief from arthritis. This will prevent some damage from occurring in your joints. It is recommended that you use a good dose of, * Borage oil * Primrose oil * NKO oil * Fish oil * Flax seed oil Using these oils spread across the day provides the benefit of feeling reduce joint stiffness and pain in the morning. One additional benefit of using these oils is the coating protection that GLA has in your stomach lining. The standard treatment for arthritis is the use of NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors. These, however, have undesirable side effects such as attacking the stomach lining. Thousands of deaths and visits to the emergency are associated with the use of NSAIDs. You can benefit greatly if you use NSAIDs by adding fatty acid oils to your diet. By using fatty acid oils your can reduce arthritis pain and protect your stomach lining from acid attack.