Ray Peat's Miracle Arthritis Salve

A homemade $40 concoction appears to eliminate arthritis symptoms

“The true method of knowledge is experiment.”
-William Blake

For a decade or more, I’ve spent much of my free time and intellectual effort learning about health topics. It seemed an excellent calisthenic for the mind. Basically, nobody knows how the body works or the root causes of disease and we all seem to be getting sicker, year after year. Doctors contradict one another, saying “we need more research”, or protesting “that’s not my specialty.” National organizations blame scapegoats like butter or saturated fats and then quietly excuse them a few years later. I find the whole mess exhilarating, because it leaves open the opportunity for new discoveries.

It only occurred to me a few years ago, after reading Ray Peat’s essay Can art instruct science? William Blake as biological visionary that the most efficient route through scientific controversy is simply performing your own experiments. I took this advice to heart and quickly discovered techniques to alleviate my own lingering ailments. And when I ran out of those, I turned to those of my family members. One rediscovery I made, which I’ve now tested on over eight people with a >80% success rate, is a remarkably inexpensive way to alleviate arthritic aches and pains.

Here’s the recipe, if you would like to try it out at home. It’s developed from Ray Peat’s 1986 Patent.

Ray Peat's Miracle Arthritis Salve

Ingredients

• 30 grams Progest-E (available online)

• 5 grams powdered DHEA (available online)

• 12 grams olive oil (I recommend Californian)

Instructions

Mix powdered DHEA into Progest-E until completely dissolved. Add olive oil and apply in a thin layer to affected area. Let sit undisturbed on affected area until completely absorbed.

Troubleshooting

If you are not finding relief, you can try increasing the amount of the salve used, spreading it over a larger area, rubbing it in more thoroughly, ensuring it doesn't get rubbed off before being absorbed, or trying a different formulation. Wrapping the area of application with plastic wrap can improve absorption and prevent the salve from being rubbed off.

That’s it. You could stop reading this article right now, find an arthritic person, and try it out on them. Nobody can stop you.

Or, if you would like to learn more about why this might work, the safety of the ingredients, and some testimonials, you can continue on.

Disclaimer

I am not a doctor, pharmacist, or medical provider in any capacity. Before making any medical decision, I encourage you to consult with a trusted and empathetic healthcare provider to ensure what you're doing is safe for you. The information provided here is educational and not medical advice. There is an additional, more extensive disclaimer at the bottom of this document.

What is this intended to treat?

According to the patent, it is intended to treat:

• rheumatoid arthritis, 

• osteoarthritis, 

• arthritis associated with psoriasis and with lupus and other auto-immune diseases 

• non-specific joint pain associated with stress or incidental to another ailment

Ingredients

There are only four ingredients in the salve. The ingredients and the composition by weight is as follows, and approximate:

• ~70% Vitamin E (tocopherols)

• ~20% Organic, extra virgin olive oil

• ~5% DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone)

• ~3% Progesterone

Safety of ingredients

In addition to being produced endogenously, DHEA has been approved by the FDA to treat "women experiencing moderate to severe pain during sexual intercourse (dyspareunia), a symptom of vulvar and vaginal atrophy (VVA), due to menopause." DHEA is also available over the counter.

Progesterone is also a naturally occurring hormone, which has been used as a medication (as corpus luteum) since 1904. No toxic level has ever been reported in humans in the medical literature. It prevents acute poisoning and reduces the incidence of birth defects and cancer. It is available over the counter for topical applications in products like Progest E. Most progesterone is derived from Dioscora yam which grows in Mexico and is often called "Mexican yam."

Vitamin E is a ubiquitous fat soluble vitamin, necessary for many of the body's natural functions and acts as an antioxidant. It is widely available over the counter. We choose vitamin E isolated from wheat germ because it retains helpful long chain fatty alcohols known as policosanol.

Olive oil helps improve the absorption of the active ingredients above.

How to use

1. Ensure hormones are fully dissolved. If separation has occurred, stir the salve until there is no powder visible.

2. Apply the salve to the skin surrounding the painful areas, using 400 mg-1000 mg or 0.05 ml-0.2 ml per square inch.

3. Rub the salve thoroughly into the skin, and cover the area if necessary to avoid rubbing away the compound before absorption.

4. Warmth may be applied locally to speed absorption.

5. Results are often noticed between 20 minutes and 2 hours

6. This can be repeated up to twice a day.

Troubleshooting

If you are not finding relief, you can try: increasing the amount of the salve used, spreading it over a larger area, rubbing it in more thoroughly, ensuring it doesn't get rubbed off before being absorbed, or trying a different formulation, such as an oral formulation. Wrapping the area of application with plastic wrap can improve absorption and prevent the salve from being rubbed off.

Follow up

If you decide to use the salve, please find some time to write down your experiences and share them with me or comment below. All feedback is extremely welcome and informative.

Case studies

I took these directly from the patent, and I would encourage you to read them to get a better understanding of how this has worked in practice in the past.

Case 1

A 78-year-old man. He was considered to have mild osteoarthritis, mainly in his knees. For a few years, he had found it increasingly difficult and painful to rise after sitting and to walk. He coated each knee and the immediate adjoining area with a solution containing 2.5% DHEA and 2.5% progesterone in a solvent consistent of equal amounts of mixed tocopherols and olive oil, and remained sitting for two hours. He rose easily, walked without pain, and his knees remained comfortable without another application of the solution. A week later he applied a 3% solution of DHEA to his hands, and reported elimination of pain and increased flexibility within an hour. He has remained free of symptoms for eight months with continued treatment.

Case 2

A 72 year old woman. She was considered to have mild rheumatoid arthritis which was degenerating into osteoarthritis, with her fingers being the most seriously affected joints. A 3% solution for DHEA in olive oil was applied to one index finger, and a 10% solution of progesterone in mixed tocopherols was applied to the other index finger. All of her fingers had been rigid for over a year, with the result that she was extremely disabled. Forty minutes after the DHEA solution had been applied, the finger treated with the composition containing DHEA could be bent enough to touch the base of her thumb, without significant pain, but none of her other fingers showed any improvement. Several days later, the DHEA solution was applied to all of her fingers, with similar good results. After about 6 months, stiffness and pain returned in spite of use of DHEA, and progesterone added to the treatment caused continued improvement.

Case 3

A 60 year old woman with a long history of rheumatoid arthritis and with serious degeneration of many joints. She had undergone surgery several times, for implantation of two artificial joints and for repair of joint cartilage. She walked as little as possible, and experienced pain, inflammation and fatigue from excessive walking. She applied a solution containing 7% DHEA and 3% progesterone in solvent consisting of tocopherol, 90%, and olive oil, 10%. She applied the solution several times one afternoon and the next morning to all affected joints, including hands, wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles. She experienced what she said was complete relief, and spent the next two days walking around town sightseeing, without any of the after-effects she had previously experienced from walking.

Case 4

A 61 year old man with mild, unclassified arthritis of the thumb and fingers of his right hand, which prevented him from playing golf, but was otherwise not seriously disabling. A solution essentially identical to that used in case 3 was rubbed into the painful joints. In less than 15 minutes he said that all the pain was gone, even with pressure and movement.

Case 5

A 62 year old man. His knees had been stiff, painful, and inflamed for over two years, following an accidental fall onto his knees. Arthroscopic examination revealed damaged cartilage in his right knee, and surgery was recommended to restore function. The patient refused surgery, even though he walked with difficulty and had to use his left leg, which was also affected, to lift himself slowly up steps. He said he had not slept well since he had developed the arthritis, because the pain woke him repeatedly during the night, and only the use of an analgesic would allow him to go back to sleep. He coated his knees and the skin above and below the knees to a distance of about four inches from the knee, with a total of 20 milliliters of a solution essentially identical to that used in Case 3. Within 30 minutes he appeared to be able to walk normally, and about 45 minutes after applying the solution he remarked that he believed he was able to walk more easily. He repeated the application that night before going to sleep. Around 10 o'clock the next morning he returned and laughingly demonstrated his knees by running up the stairs, and said that he had been able to sleep through the night for the first time in years, and he had not taken his usual analgesic. Topical treatment was discontinued after a few days, and he remained free of symptoms while taking 60mg of pregnenolone orally, daily.

Case 6

A 61 year old woman. Painful and stiff joints in her hands had  interfered with her work as a musician, and it had made it impossible to sleep through the night, since her pain woke her two or three times during the night. A solution essentially identical to that used in Case 3 was applied to the painful joints early in the evening, and a few hours later she was able to go to sleep without taking analgesic and slept through the night. She occasionally uses the same solution preventatively, and has not had a recurrence of the joint pain or stiffness.

Case 7

This is from someone who has struggled with severe arthritis for over a decade, a middle-aged woman.

The ointment makes my knee much better. Quickly. I notice the difference in hours. This morning both my knees ached. I used Brad Salve on only one and it doesn’t hurt and the other one does.

…

My knee hurt slightly when I rode a stationary bike in PT about 30 minutes after applying the ointment. But it has been good since then. Not entirely without soreness. Does not impede my walking at all. Usually I walk with a limp when my knee hurts. It’s nice to have a rainy day when my knee doesn’t hurt!

…

My knees were really hurting this morning. It is drizzling outside. I applied the ointment to my left knee at 8:45am and it started to work almost immediately. My knee is much better. I have tried other creams for my knee but they didn’t work fast enough for me.

How does it work?

Arthritis is often treated with cortisone or cortisol-based salves. These can have a beneficial immediate effect, but if used over a long period of time they are associated with many unwanted side effects, including hypertension, osteoporosis, and cancer. Chronic use can hinder the body’s natural cortisone production -- “adrenal fatigue” -- which can exacerbate arthritis symptoms and cause generalized inflammation.

An alternative to cortisol treatment, which avoids triggering the body’s stress response, involves supplying the body with the necessary “raw materials” needed to address the issue. DHEA and progesterone are two such precursor hormones. Ray Peat observed that most forms of arthritis tend to subside during pregnancy when a woman’s body produces substantial progesterone. The active ingredients in this preparation -- vitamin E, progesterone, and DHEA --- all exhibit anti-inflammatory effects, and several protect against toxins. Their combined effect may be synergistic, supporting the patient’s intrinsic ability to heal themselves.

Additional reading

I would recommend reading the patent in full, which I have provided below, as well as these articles by the inventor, from which I have quoted liberally for this article.

1. Patent 4,628,052: Pharmaceutical Compositions Containing Dehydroepiandosterone and Other Anesthetic Steroids in the Treatment of Arthritis and Other Joint Disabilities

2. Progesterone, Pregnenolone & DHEA - Three Youth Associated Hormones

3. The Progesterone Deceptions

4. Origins of Progesterone Therapy

5. Hormone Balancing: Natural Treatment and Cure for Arthritis