Olive Oil beats drug gel for osteoarthritis of the knee

A double-blind study in Iran has shown that sufferers of osteoarthritis had greater relief of physical symptoms from rubbing olive oil into an osteoarthritic knee compared with Piroxicam gel (a common anti-inflammatory gel) over a four week trial. 200 people aged between 40 and 85 years were selected for the trial and were randomly assigned either the olive oil or Piroxicam gel (in identical tubes and form). An improvement in pain and greater physical function was noted after just 2 weeks of olive oil rubbing. So not only is olive oil better than Piroxicam at alleviating osteoarthritis symptoms but it is cheaper and you can lick your fingers after rubbing it in! (Source: www.clinicaltrials.gov)