On my last trip home to Malaysia, I met up with Joseph and his family for breakfast. Jane, his sister and my close friend, and I were already seated at our table when Joseph and his family arrived. I immediately noticed his limp. I hadn’t noticed that he had a limp during my previous visits home. So I asked him why he was limping.
“Oh, it’s my ankle. I injured my ankle playing soccer when I was younger.” I knew that he was an avid soccer player and played the sport well into his 30s. I did not realize however that he had suffered some kind of injury to his ankle. It appears that his old injury has developed into arthritis. He is in his early 50s today and his arthritic ankle must have hurt enough to make him limp. I asked him what he was doing to treat his arthritis.
“Not much,” was all he said. And then he asked me, “Do you know of any medicine I could use to treat my arthritic ankle?”
“Err, you can try changing your diet. Did you know that certain vegetables and red meat are bad for arthritis? You should not eat beef, or shoots like bamboo shoots, asparagus, and even our local favorite, the “midin” (a kind of fern).”
“Really? I didn’t know that!” he said.
“Oh, one more thing, you should stay away from bar-be-cued meats and beer.” He like me, is from an ethnic group that loves to eat bar-be-cued pork, and drink beer.
I don’t know if those dietary restrictions will help him much but one of my friends whose father suffers from gout swears that staying away from those foods help her father’s gout problem. The Chinese believe that certain foods are considered “cold” and people with joint pains should stay away from those kinds of foods, the kinds that I told Joseph to stay away from.
Our conversation at the breakfast table turned to food supplements. Joseph wondered if there were food supplements he could take that would help ease his joint pains. I told him about glucosamine and chondroitin which are supposed to be good for joint pains.
I wished I had known about Joseph’s arthritic problem before I made my trip home late last year. I would have brought several tubes of Freeze It Gel for him to use on his hurting ankle. Based on testimonials of those who have used Freeze It, I am sure Joseph would have found similar relief on his ankle after using the product. Not only is Freeze It effective for relieving arthritis pain, it is also effective for treating sore muscles and strains.
I am planning another trip to Malaysia sometime in the middle of next year, and this time I will remember to bring some Freeze It for Joseph.

