Written by: Dr Terrie Van Alstyne, ND
Inflammation is an important part of the immune response. If you’ve ever sprained an ankle or banged your knee, you have experienced acute inflammation. What if the inflammation is chronic? Do you know whether you have chronic inflammation? Because if you do, this needs to be reversed asap!
Understanding Acute Inflammation
What is Acute Inflammation?
In acute inflammation like with an injury, there is a cascade of signals where molecules are sent to antennae-like receptors on cells in the injured area and the cells allow those signalling molecules inside and get instructions from them for how to deal with the injury.
Acute Inflammation results in pain, swelling, heat and redness in the injured tissue. Blood vessels then dilate allowing more blood flow to the injured area and this is what causes the heat and redness. Immune complexes called antibodies are sent to the injury to kill bacteria and viruses. White blood cells are sent to the tissue including neutrophils to kill bacteria and fungi. With injuries there is a release of inflammatory cells called Cytokines to immobilize the area so that no further damage can happen to it. This is a normal response in an acute inflammatory state caused by an injury.
Chronic Inflammation: A Hidden Threat
What Causes Chronic Inflammation?
Chronic inflammation is entirely different.
Did you know the immune system causes chronic inflammation as well? The cause of chronic inflammation can be a viral or bacterial infection, or it can be an environmental allergen, or an autoimmune reaction where the body is attacking itself which results in a persistent ongoing body-wide inflammatory state.
Immune cells called monocytes mature and become macrophages that then enter the tissues where they digest microorganisms like bacteria and viruses as well as old dying cells. These macrophages release inflammatory chemicals that corrode and damage all of the body’s tissues leading to chronic pain and chronic disease.
Below is the list of chronic inflammatory diseases:
Asthma
Inflammatory bowel disease
Rheumatoid arthritis – autoimmune
Gingivitis
Gastritis
The chronic diseases that have an inflammatory component:
Obesity
Diabetes
Atherosclerosis- inflammation and plaque on the interior lining of the arteries
Cancer
Alzheimer’s disease – an enflamed brain or a brain on fire
The reasons why some people have chronic inflammation and others don’t, comes down to genetics, metabolism and an individual’s constitution.
If we can reverse inflammation, we may be able to reverse chronic disease.
What is the trigger for inflammation? The environment.
Which environmental factors play a role in reducing or treating chronic inflammation?
Anti-inflammatory drugs
Essential fatty acids
Immune modulating herbs and nutrients
Antioxidants that prevent a free radical cascade
Is inflammation the cause or effect?
Inflammation is the universal response or effect to any functional imbalance- an imbalance in how the body functions. It is the initiation of self-repair and is always initiated by the immune system. Treating inflammation is never treating the cause of the problem because inflammation is the effect or the result of what is wrong in the body.
Direct treatment of inflammation decreases it and, indirect treatment treats the underlying cause of inflammation. What do you think is used to treat the cause of inflammation? The cause of why the body is creating this painful inflamed state. Often part of the cause is a nutrient deficiency so treating the cause of inflammation requires vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, enzymes if there is a deficiency, HCL (hydrochloric acid) if there is a deficiency, probiotics if they are deficient and natural products to decrease stress hormones as stress is often part of the picture.
Blood sugar may need to be balanced and chromium is great at doing this. You can check your blood sugar with a glucometer or blood sugar test with your doctor. When blood sugar is chronically high this can lead to diabetes.
Antioxidants including vitamins A, C, E, selenium and turmeric or its active ingredient curcumin are important in quenching inflammation by suppressing free radical damage. Other important anti-inflammatory nutrients include omega 3s, zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium, CoQ10, B12, silymarin, resveratrol, chromium, B vitamins, flavonoids, enzymes and probiotics.
If you have heart disease the most important nutrients to support are CoQ10, magnesium, folic acid, B12 and Omega 3s.
Stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin may need to be addressed through diet, lifestyle and specific nutrients.
A healthy healing diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables is required to heal from chronic inflammation. The omnivore diet seems to be ideal for longevity with mostly produce and smaller amounts of beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, meat, fish, tofu and eggs.
Finally, toxins must be removed to heal from chronic inflammation.
Top 9 Causes of Chronic Inflammation:
1. Sugar and refined carbohydrates
2. Food allergies/sensitivities
3. Obesity
4. Excessive alcohol
5. Toxins – heavy metals, pesticides, drugs, solvents, silicone implants
6. Stress
7. Chronic antibiotic use
8. Excessive exercise
9. Nutritional deficiency
Studies have found:
C reactive protein is a marker of inflammation and is present in the blood of obese patients. Weight loss decreases this marker. Fat tissue secretes several inflammatory factors like adipocytokines. A high glycemic index and glycemic load stimulates inflammation due to higher and more rapid increases in blood glucose. A study of overweight adults found by following a low glycemic, low-calorie diet resulted in a 48% decrease in C-reactive protein- the inflammatory marker. But those who restricted fat and calories only and not sugar, had only a 5% reduction in the inflammatory marker. Sugar damages the heart, kidney, liver and pancreas and it acts like sandpaper in the arteries.
Studies have found:
When magnesium is deficient, inflammation increases. Magnesium relaxes muscle and is a common deficiency in 68% of the population. When vitamin B6 is low this causes inflammation. Low B6 is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and Rheumatoid arthritis. B6 is particularly low in smokers, African Americans and the elderly. When vitamin C levels are low, inflammation results. Supplementation of 1000 mg of Vitamin C per day for 2 months, decreased the inflammatory marker by almost 20%. Also, vit C can protect against cardiovascular disease and gout. These are diseases with inflammatory components. Vitamin D deficiency correlates with inflammatory diseases like inflammatory bowel and is linked to certain cancers as well as cardiovascular disease therefore we need to supplement with Vitamin D in the winter in Canada and aim for 10-30 minutes of sun exposure several times per week the rest of the year.
Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients:
Vitamin E is anti-inflammatory, and sources include nuts and seeds, beet greens, collard greens, spinach, pumpkin and red peppers. Vitamin E is not destroyed in cooking whereas, vitamin C is.
Beta carotene is anti-inflammatory – sources are carrots, orange squashes, tomatoes, red grapefruit, watermelon and guava.
Astaxanthin is also anti-inflammatory and is found in shrimp, salmon and other seafood
All fruits and vegetables have shown to decrease inflammation therefore a diet high in fruits and vegetables, low in sugar and low in simple carbohydrates like baked goods is essential.
Curcumin from turmeric, garlic and ginger are all anti-inflammatory.
Alpha lipoic acid found in tomatoes, green leafy vegetables and cruciferous vegetables is a potent antioxidant and is anti-inflammatory. A 4-week study using ALA caused a significant decrease in interleukin6, an inflammatory marker of atherosclerosis- arterial plaque.
Many studies have shown that fish oil at a dose of 2.7g for 12 weeks significantly decreased the number of painful and stiff joints.
In our Western diet the general ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids is much higher than the 3:1 ratio it should be for a non-inflammatory state.
We must ensure that our HDL cholesterol levels are high, and our LDL cholesterol is low to heal the damage in our arteries.
Regulating blood sugar is part of this and taking fish oil and niacin will also heal the damage and plaque in our arteries and of course decreasing or ideally eliminating saturated fats in meat and dairy, trans fats in hydrogenated oils – margarine, lard and shortening, deep fried, oils at high temperature and oils like canola, corn and vegetable are contributing to plaque in the arteries and rising cholesterol levels.
More ways to increase HDL – the good cholesterol to eliminate chronic inflammation in our arteries and prevent us from dying of heart attacks and strokes?
Aerobic exercise – swimming, biking, walking, running, hiking…
Lose weight
Increase monounsaturated oils like olive oil
Eat more fruits and vegetables which are high in soluble fibre
Do you wonder what causes high triglycerides?
A diet high in carbohydrates, being obese, diabetes, thyroid disease and certain medications all cause triglycerides to go up.
Toxicity is one of the 9 causes of inflammation and one of the many conditions I treat.
Click here to Book an Appointment with Dr Terrie Van Alstyne!
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