Dr. Paul Waytz

I think our health in general depends on how we treat ourselves, what we put into our systems, and how we take care of ourselves.

I think our health in general depends on how we treat ourselves, what we put into our systems, and how we take care of ourselves.

Right, right. Well, in general, as we're, when we're younger, our joints and our soft tissue, when I say soft tissue, we're talking about ligaments, tendons, they're Flexibility is maintained by their ability to stretch and move. And some of that or a lot of that relates to fluid. I mean, there's little bits of fluid in our tissues that if you did a biopsy, you might not see it, but it's there.

Right, right. Well, in general, as we're, when we're younger, our joints and our soft tissue, when I say soft tissue, we're talking about ligaments, tendons, they're Flexibility is maintained by their ability to stretch and move. And some of that or a lot of that relates to fluid. I mean, there's little bits of fluid in our tissues that if you did a biopsy, you might not see it, but it's there.

We recognize that, that the chemicals that help us be flexible, the muscles, the tendons. and, uh, uh, and the ligaments as we age, we kind of lose that fluidity and some people lose it at a different age. Um, some people lose it when they're in their forties and fifties, some people not to their sixties or seventies.

We recognize that, that the chemicals that help us be flexible, the muscles, the tendons. and, uh, uh, and the ligaments as we age, we kind of lose that fluidity and some people lose it at a different age. Um, some people lose it when they're in their forties and fifties, some people not to their sixties or seventies.

So what happens is that you lose the flexibility or the ability of the muscle or the tendon and ligament to stretch as freely and as painlessly. And so, um, um, So things are tighter.

So what happens is that you lose the flexibility or the ability of the muscle or the tendon and ligament to stretch as freely and as painlessly. And so, um, um, So things are tighter.

It's like if you had a very, a brand new rubber band that doesn't have the fluid, but as you stretch it more, you know, that it's the opposite issue there, but it's just, it's sadly a natural phenomenon that, that you. You get stiff. So as an aside, you know, Minnesota is home to so many Somali people, Somali people, the Somali language doesn't have a word for stiffness, right? Interesting.

It's like if you had a very, a brand new rubber band that doesn't have the fluid, but as you stretch it more, you know, that it's the opposite issue there, but it's just, it's sadly a natural phenomenon that, that you. You get stiff. So as an aside, you know, Minnesota is home to so many Somali people, Somali people, the Somali language doesn't have a word for stiffness, right? Interesting.

And we would see a lot of Somali patients and I had an interest in taking care of them. And most kinds of arthritis, people feel stiff, especially rheumatoid arthritis and osteo. So they use a descriptive term like it's as if I have metal in my body, which is, you know, if you think about it, it's as if you have metal.

And we would see a lot of Somali patients and I had an interest in taking care of them. And most kinds of arthritis, people feel stiff, especially rheumatoid arthritis and osteo. So they use a descriptive term like it's as if I have metal in my body, which is, you know, if you think about it, it's as if you have metal.

Yeah. And that's a multifactorial thing. With lupus, people die of kidney disease or they can die of brain disease. With... There are other kinds of inflammation. And again, people who don't even have joint problems, they have inflammation of blood vessels such that the blood flow is reduced maybe to the brain or to the heart.

Yeah. And that's a multifactorial thing. With lupus, people die of kidney disease or they can die of brain disease. With... There are other kinds of inflammation. And again, people who don't even have joint problems, they have inflammation of blood vessels such that the blood flow is reduced maybe to the brain or to the heart.

And it's almost as if there's a clot there and they have strokes or they could die or they could have heart attacks. The other thing, and especially with rheumatoid arthritis is that people, With these new medications, that's changed, Clarence, but people would be very sick. They would be bedridden. They couldn't exercise. They couldn't move well. They would get pneumonia easier.

And it's almost as if there's a clot there and they have strokes or they could die or they could have heart attacks. The other thing, and especially with rheumatoid arthritis is that people, With these new medications, that's changed, Clarence, but people would be very sick. They would be bedridden. They couldn't exercise. They couldn't move well. They would get pneumonia easier.

They would just be... chronically ill to the point that they couldn't participate in daily activities. And those people were just sicker in general, and they had earlier heart attacks than the general population. They would get pneumonia, and that would cause death. So that's changed a lot with our newer medications. And With rheumatoid arthritis in particular, there's two issues.

They would just be... chronically ill to the point that they couldn't participate in daily activities. And those people were just sicker in general, and they had earlier heart attacks than the general population. They would get pneumonia, and that would cause death. So that's changed a lot with our newer medications. And With rheumatoid arthritis in particular, there's two issues.

People with rheumatoid arthritis, their cholesterol levels and their lipid levels will go up. So that adds to the cardiac issue. The other issue is that inflammation in our systems will raise lipid levels. And

People with rheumatoid arthritis, their cholesterol levels and their lipid levels will go up. So that adds to the cardiac issue. The other issue is that inflammation in our systems will raise lipid levels. And