Inflammation Background Information
Inflammation is one of the main causes of damage to the cells and tissues of our bodies. There are a variety of factors that influence and contribute to inflammation. First and foremost, it is important to understand why inflammation occurs. Inflammation is a natural immune response to protect our bodies and allow them to heal.There are two main categories of inflammation, acute and chronic.
Acute inflammation occurs rather rapidly and is normally a result of injury or infection by viruses, bacteria or other pathogens.
Chronic inflammation persists over a longer period of time, and is a much lower grade of inflammation than that experienced during acute inflammation. Chronic inflammation normally occurs due to obesity, high blood sugar levels and high amounts of oxidative stress (free radical damage).
What is inflammation? inflammation is the first response of our immune system that is used in order to help with circulation, and to aid in communication with other immune cells in order to appropriate heal the affected tissue. While acute inflammation is normally addressed rapidly by the immune system, chronic inflammation is left unaddressed for a long period of time, leading to cell damage, and correlates with disorders such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and Alzheimer's.
There are a variety of different ways that you can protect yourself from chronic inflammation with nutritional supplements or by a healthy diet. You may want to perform blood testing to see if you have higher levels of inflammation, leaving you at risk for disease development.
Causes: -Injury -Infection -Obesity/ Poor diet -High Blood Sugar -Oxidative Stress
Symptoms: (Acute inflammation only) -Redness -Heat -Discomfort -Swelling -Loss of function *Chronic Inflammation does not normally present itself with symptoms. It is important to perform the appropriate blood testing in order to protect yourself. You can learn more about blood testing here.
Suggestions: -Curcumin -5-lox Inhibitor (Boswellia) -Bromelain -SODzyme -Omega-3 -Vitamin C -Fast Acting Joint Formula
Causes: Inflammation can be caused by a variety of different factors, including many lifestyle factors. It is important to enhance our immune system and strengthen our tissues as a protective mechanism against acute inflammation. Chronic inflammation can be helped by altering dietary choices as well as by taking dietary supplements. Eating foods which are high in omega-6 fatty acids (arachadonic acid) like red meat, egg yolks, and other foods high in "bad fats" will contribute to amounts of inflammation in the body. Additionally, eating foods high in sugar will also contribute to inflammation through another mechanism.As our lives become increasingly stressful, and it becomes increasingly harder to find time or the resources to prepare healthy, well rounded meals, our bodies are subject to more and more inflammation. When we are stressed, our bodies release cortisol, which leads to a higher accumulation of body fat as well as a weakening of the immune system, leading to higher levels of inflammation. It is important to manage your emotional health and everyday stress levels in order to manage inflammation as well. Stress comes from a variety of different levels, and targeting stress can have a dramatic effect on various other areas of our bodies. You can read more about stress in our stress management protocol.
As the body seeks to repair this damage, it is important to determine what the causative factor was that led to the initial damage. Ask yourself, due to your lifestyle choices, are any of the following probable causes of your inflammation?
Injury: Injury to a tissue can lead to inflammation as the body tries to draw circulation to the area as well as recruit other cells for help in order to repair the damage as quickly as possible.
Infection: Similar to the response when a tissue is injured, when a tissue (collection of cells) is invaded by a virus, bacteria or other pathogen, inflammation will result as a natural immune response in order to alleviate the infection as quickly as possible.
Obesity/ Poor diet: As we mentioned earlier, your ratio of fatty acids has a tremendous impact on the amount of inflammation in your body. You can control this ratio through your diet. Foods high in omega-6's (arachadonic acid) or "bad fats" contribute to inflammation. Additionally, eating foods high in sugar can lead to issues with inflammation as well.
High Blood Sugar: Having high blood sugar contributes to a process called glycation. When you have sustained high blood sugar levels, those sugar molecules attach to proteins and fats (where they shouldn't be!) disrupting and damaging tissues, resulting in the product known as AGE's (advanced glycation end products). These AGE's then bind to the cells, and cause higher amounts of inflammation. You can learn more about how to protect yourself in our high blood sugar protocol.
Oxidative Stress: Oxidative stress refers to the amount of free radicals occur throughout our bodies. Our mitochondria are the site of the most oxidative stress (as the site of energy production), and can become dysfunctional or start to degrade due to poor diet, smoking or other factors.
About the Author
All articles written and intended for use on http://www.vitaminhealthrx.com --Articles written with the purpose of supplying health advice and information to the average American looking for alternative ways to support their health. All articles are written by educated health advisors or health advocates who share a passion for health information and teaching others.
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