Reducing Inflammation — the natural anti-inflammatory approach to good health

In the past two years there have been studies suggesting that chronic inflammation may be the root cause of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, and many other immune disorders. Most of the diseases and complaints associated with aging — including aging skin — can be partially explained by chronic inflammation.

What is Chronic Inflammation?

The inflammatory response is a basic mechanism of our immune system. But there is danger in having too much of a good thing: while a healthy immune response includes sporadic bouts of acute inflammation, it’s not okay to stay perpetually inflamed. When you get to the point where the built-in checks and balances of your immune system can’t contain your inner fire, inflammation is considered chronic and systemic.

Chronic inflammation gradually destroys and upsets the delicate balance among all of our major systems: endocrine, central-nervous, digestive, and cardiovascular/respiratory, creating health issues with one or several or all. In a healthy body, these systems communicate with and respond to one another. With chronic inflammation, that cross-talk no longer works properly.

We all face inflammatory triggers from our diet, habits, and the environment. We have even learned that inflammation can come from psycological stress. Cortisol directly influences your insulin levels and metabolism. It also plays a role in chronic inflammation and your immune system — but again more research is needed to understand the mechanism. I’m sure you’ve seen this relationship in your own life: how many times have you worked endless hours only to go on vacation and get sick? Your body is good at keeping a lid on things, but it can’t do it forever. Coping with persistent stress takes a steady toll on your immune system, your adrenals and your central nervous system.

It’s no wonder inflammation is on the rise. But once you understand the causes of inflammation, you’ll understand how to reverse it.

Many experts now see inflammation as arising from an immune system that’s out of control. When you catch a cold or sprain your ankle, your immune system switches into gear. Infection or injury triggers a chain of events called the “inflammatory cascade.” The familiar signs of normal inflammation — fever, pain, swelling — are the first signals that your immune system is being called into action.

In a delicate balance of give-and-take, inflammation begins when pro-inflammatory hormones in your body call out for your white blood cells to come and clear out infection and damaged tissue. These agents are matched by equally powerful, closely related anti-inflammatory compounds, which move in to begin the healing process once the threat is neutralized.

Acute inflammation that ebbs and flows as needed signifies a well-balanced immune system. But symptoms of inflammation that don’t recede tell you that your immune system switch is stuck on high alert — even when you aren’t in imminent danger. In some cases, what started as a healthy mechanism, like building scar tissue or swelling, just won’t shut off.

Many experts believe that chronic inflammation (and a lot of other health issues) start with the gut. Two-thirds of the body’s defenses reside in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract — yet it is often the last place traditional practitioners look.

Intestinal bloating, frequent bouts of diarrhea or constipation, gas and pain, and heartburn and acid reflux are early signs of an inflamed digestive tract. It’s not surprising that your immune system clicks into hyperdrive in your digestive tract first — it was designed to eliminate viruses and bacteria in your food before they infect your body. It has to glean the wheat from the chaff: taking sustenance from the food you eat and ridding your body of the rest.

And we give our digestive systems plenty of work. Our evolution from the hunter-gatherer diet to convenience and fast food has overwhelmed our metabolism and GI tract. The deck is now stacked in inflammation’s favor. The modern diet has the wrong ratio of fatty acids (omega-3, -6, and -9), too much sugar and carbs, and high levels of wheat, dairy and other common allergens.