good educational sharing of information, if a little too repetitive with some information and with that a slightly too long book. but the great information it does give makes it all worth it!

Great book, great advice it has helped me a lot with my OA. I only take may be 1 dose of anti-inflammatory drugs per month. I have added 1 and removed 1 food from my diet.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley which does not influence my review. I am extremely grateful to both the publisher and Net Galley for providing me with this book to review.
My own journey with Osteoarthritis began years ago and has taken over my life . I found this book while trapped in bed with a neck, spine and knees that no longer worker due to Osteoarthritis. It has taken me three months to be able to move and I have reviewed this book extensively while I was unable to move. I spent two months crawling and screaming out in pain if I had to get up. For patients like me this book was a true blessing.

The author has written a sensible guide for any layperson to easily understand. I was shocked by the effect our gut and what we eat has on our arthritis. That information alone is a gold mine for patients in this book.

Dr. Susan Blum, is a leading expert in functional medicine, She offers a approach to healing arthritis permanently in this book. What I found inspiring is she also shares her own personal story along with her expertise. Dr. Blum offers a three step program for patients to easily follow which involves a anti inflammatory diet and being mindful of stress and how we treat our bodies. It is a sensible approach that worked for her and many others she has helped.

I will be buying hard copies of this book for myself and as gifts for those i know with arthritis. I highly recommend that every arthritis patient read this book and follow the program. I have only just started but have no doubt this will alleviate my extreme symptoms and pain. .Thank you Dr for sharing this book with the public.

Must admit to quitting half way through. Liked the idea, but then the endless repetitve drone plus totting up the cost for all the bits and bobs along the "therapy" did for me. Maybe I WAS too impatient and maybe I will try some parts that I found interesting, but the essential information could have been conveyed in half the space.

This book was not available for Kindle download. I did manage to get it to my computer, but it was difficult to read from there. I can't give this book a fair review.

I received an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've been a fan of Dr. Blum's work for a while, and this book didn't disappoint. It's a fantastic reference for both patients and practitioners.
Things I love about this book:
1. She thoroughly outlines the different types of arthritis, including symptoms, diagnosis, and conventional treatments.
2. She clearly and concisely educates the reader on gut health and how it's applicable to these conditions and inflammation in general.
3. She offers a wealth of research to back up the information presented. I was especially impressed with the newer research on the possibility that we each have a gut bacteria enterotype that we might default to, depending on our diet.
4. She outlines popular diets to give readers a better understanding of why these diets may or may not be the healthiest option for their condition.
5. She offers a number of test recommendations and diet/supplement/mind-body protocols for different case studies, which practitioners and patients should find helpful.
6. Her 5 simple principles are: reduce processed foods, improve the quality of fats, improve the quality of proteins, increase fiber, micronutrients, and phytonutrients, and limit salt, food dyes and preservatives.
7. She devotes a chapter to the impact of traumatic stress and ACEs on health. This topic needs more mainstream coverage, and I'm happy to see functional medicine practitioners taking the lead.

This book is a comprehensive resource I'll refer to again and again, and I've already recommended it for pre-order to a few colleagues and clients. It's well organized, easy to read, and covers everything you can think of and plenty you'll be happy to learn.

Susan Blum's new book, Healing Arthritis, is a well researched, organized explanation of arthritis and how to alleviate inflammation and pain through diet and supplements. Dr. Blum gives the reader several examples in real life of patients with different types of arthritis and the steps she recommended for treating the disease, including herself and her mother.

I appreciated the format of the book and the layout. Dr. Blum makes it easy to follow and gives complete information on where to get supplements and charts for daily consumption. Often, books like this are overwhelming and confusing to follow. This new book, Healing Arthritis, is straightforward and a very welcome addition to the efforts to help people who suffer from debilitating diseases.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

Healing Arthritis by Susan Blum is subtitled a 3 Step Process to Conquering Arthritis Naturally. Dr. Susan Blum, a leading expert in functional medicine, offers a better approach to healing arthritis permanently. Even more inspiring to me, she shares her own personal healing story in this book along with her expertise.



I have osteoarthritis in an ankle that I broke when I was in my early 20s. I didn't really feel the arthritis until the last couple of years due to a combination of stress and a tendon tear in the same ankle. I don't want to take a lot of medication so I decided to read Dr. Blum's book to see if I could make a difference naturally.


Dr. Blum gives a lot of information in an easy to read format. She first explains the various types of arthritis that one can contract. She also shares stories of real people who have those types of arthritis and how this program helped their lives improve and helped them to heal. As with many health issues, she shares how this issue is best helped by healing the gut first. To me, this makes sense, as I can tell that I have had some digestive issues this past year or two after facing so much stress. I especially like how her 3 step program includes a holistic program. Dr. Blum tells us how we can helps ourselves holistically by changing our diet, better handling our stress through various natural methods that she discusses, and by moving more. I like that this program looks at the person's whole lifestyle to make changes. The program she offers patients and has used herself also uses a variety of supplements. For me that is something I will have to budget into our household budget. Thankfully, I have a supportive spouse who wants to see me succeed. I have also done some health changes several years ago working with a naturopathic doctor and had good success with a different health issue, which gives me hope that I can succeed with this one.


I have not gone through the Healing Arthritis program in the book yet. However, I believe that it will be helpful. I don't, however, think it will be overly easy. It will take time and discipline on my part to make the program work. At the same time, I think my health is worth it. Dr. Blum shares in this book her own challenges in making the program work through some large stresses in her life and how she worked through those challenges to do it. Her tenacity in working her own program, sharing stories from other patients who have done the program, and her complete outline of what to do, give me hope that I can also do this for myself and help myself to feel much better in the long run. I would recommend anyone with arthritis read the book and give it a try too. I will try to come back and update after working this program.

This book should actually have been called Healing Rheumatoid and Other Auto-Immune Arthritis since the bulk of the book deals with these disorders. Ordinary run-of-the-mill osteoarthritis, not so much. Much of the advice is nothing new. Diet matters. Healthy living matters. Stress needs to be controlled. What's most interesting about the book is the new research findings on the link between gut bacteria and arthritis. Much of what is presented can be found in any reading about arthritis, including on the National Arthritis Association website. Blum provides a recommended diet and a huge list of supplements. The supplements alone would break my bank.

As a rheumatoid arthritis sufferer myself, I had great hopes for this book. Blum's medical background and her personal experience do provide some authority for the subject and she's certainly referenced a variety of sources, but it's irresponsible to create the expectation in readers that they can conquer something as complex and varied as arthritis with a three step program from a self-help book.

Did she choose the three step concept so that her book would fit into the popular self-help genre? Is her goal to actually help people with arthritis or is it to be invited on daytime talk shows?

That said, her emphasis on gut health is excellent and she does provide detailed information for readers who are unfamiliar with gut microbiome research.

Some of her points are valid but there's an alarming emphasis on self-treatment. The first third of the book describes the various kinds of arthritis, then once you've determined what kind you have, you're to turn to that part of the book that deals with that kind of arthritis. Excuse me? Wouldn't it be better to have medical tests to determine this? I mean, arthritis isn't a facebook quiz.

It's not that she doesn't have good information, it's just that she's chosen an inappropriate vehicle for a complex subject. I fear that some readers might avoid medical diagnosis and/or abandon their current care program and instead try to self-cure, using this book as a guide.

The Arthritis Foundation has good information on diet and supplements, but they don't promise that you'll conquer it in three steps:
http://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/arthritis-diet/

A book like this is really hard to rate. Obviously if it works I'd give it a 5 star without a second thought. BUT.... and it is a big ABUT does it work?


I asked to review this book because I actually suffer from rheumatoid Arthritis for the past 16 years. I think I have had every combination of drugs possible. Now I take 42 different tablets daily and have and injection a week, an infusion every 4 weeks and various 3 month period for steroids. So yeah I was kind of hoping for the miracle I've been promised following each treatment. That miracle is to simply go in to remission.


Now Blum encourages you to treat your gut by eating inflammatory foods. It would mean a total life style change and could take weeks before you feel any effects. Now I can not go 4 hours without my pain becoming unbearable. So if I were to start this regime how would I deal with the pain until my body alters to the new regime. Best way to describe Rheumatoid Arthritis is simply your immune system attacking healthy cells. So the treatment is to suppress your immune system. In this book Blum is attacking the inflammation.


I would like to think I can beat arthritis but to be honest I don't think you can. You can however manage it. So what I have taken from this book is how to bring my disease under control and more manageable. But in order to do that much of my life style must be changed and adhered too.


So I ended up giving the book 4 stars. Reason being I need to try this new regime out before I could ever give it 5 stars. Maybe I'll return and increase the stars but then again it may needd to be reduced. Who really knows?


I would recommend it because honestly when you live with pain 24/7 you would sell your soul to the devil for relief. Maybe not the devil in this case maybe just Susan Blum.


*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*


amazon 14 october


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2065774676

Having been diagnosed with some lovely pain conditions, I was extremely interested in reading Healing Arthritis, and it provided a lot more information than I was prepared to deal with (I'm an 'ignorance-is-bliss' believer), but I'm very glad I read it. It has practical information about a holistic approach to dealing with arthritis (the several kinds of arthritis), and while I think that the title can be a bit misleading, I do think that there are very good points in changing a lifestyle to increase your physical and mental health to at least dial back the arthritic issues that can be crippling.

Patient heal thyself is a well known mantra. In an quickly changing information world the area of health is the one in which contradictory explanations 'often stated as facts' bombard the public.
Dr Susan Blum, an American medic takes on the issue of one of the major chronic illnesses across the world (particularly in the West) arthritis in a detailed read in which, of course, there is a thread of Blum's favoured treatment regime.
However, the book begins with a helpful overview of the different types of arthritis which may be of help to readers struggling with their own symptoms. As a sufferer myself it clearly links trauma on joints (in my case an road traffic accident) with the progression of osteoarthritis. There are also an overview of infections and viruses which can trigger joint damage and here Blum begins to emphasise her link with the effect of 'gut health' impacting on our skeletal development. I am no scientist (although I was a nurse) and there is a lot of detailed description of the inner workings of the gut system and of course the effects of what we put in our mouths and stomachs. It is then that Blum extols her recipe to heal with a collection of herbal and probiotic mixtures - that either she sells or she links to preferred distributors of these mixtures.
I don't want to make this review hostile to Blum because she clearly understands the problems of arthritis. She outlines her own health issues (which is how she developed her elimination diets and lifestyle methods) and I did find many parts of the book helpful- the idea that my favourite red peppers and tomatoes could be triggers for inflammation in arthritis is one I'll take on board -reluctantly! Blum's views on medication are carefully phrased. I think many people realise the side effects of some painkillers and of course antibiotics can seriously impact our stomachs so should be reviewed regularly and the need to liaise with your own GP before starting any major alterations to your diet particularly can cause other health problems.
Blum has written a previous book on the Immune System which links directly to this one on arthritis. But like all medical/diet self help books it adds to our knowledge. It can also confuse and cause more distress as patients over worry about their day to day living. I think Blum's book is worth a read and like her determination to try and take on the American obesity crisis (now also here in the UK) but most of us know the score - eat well with good stuff and exercise more. Now there's a book idea..........

I gave this book a three because it is one that will take a little time to test out and see results but it is so worth the effort and the time to try. It is a great additional tool in the fight against this painful condition. This would me a great gift for someone else or yourself.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Being a sufferer of arthritis herself and researching into the condition, Susan discusses how to hack gut health and heal inflammation key things which partly play into arthritis.

A complex condition which can overlap greatly with other conditions, it can be hard to find which type you have. The book is in depth and highly informative with symptoms and tests to be aware of and ask for.

Personally this book is amazing, as a sufferer of Fibromyalgia and other rheumatoid based issues, this is a guide that gives you everything about the conditions effecting you and hope of easing symptoms with simple changes.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Susan Blum offers an alternative approach to the common suffering caused by the condition of arthritis in its many forms. Her thinking derives from her own personal experience with the disease which then goes on to inform how she developed her 3 Step Arthritis Protocol. The motivation for this book are the shortfalls in the conventional methods of treating arthritis which damage the gut, suppress the immune system and giving of pain medication that temporarily ameliorate symptoms but without addressing the root causes. Blum begins by looking at the different types of arthritis. She then goes on to explore the gut connection and what the options for treating it are. There is a strong focus on anti-inflammatory foods and supplements and how they can help. Recipes are included for those who need help in this area. The emotional link is outlined along with relaxation techniques to help. I should point out the approach offered by Susan Blum is not for those searching for a quick fix solution. It requires a shift to a permanent life style change that can help to manage arthritis and perhaps even reverse the condition. Highly recommended to those who suffer from arthritis and those who have an interest in the subject. Thanks to Scribner for an ARC.