The Inflammation War - Part I

Inflammation seems to be a buzzword when it comes to the top chronic conditions: cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and almost all auto-immune diseases. Inflammation is even indicted in allergies and asthma.

But why? What is really happening? And what can you do about it?

Inflammation is actually a healthy response. It is the mobilization of the immune system to respond to acute injuries - an open wound, for example. It's like the border guard firing against illegal aliens who are threatening to invade the homeland.

But when the situation becomes chronic, enemy get mistaken for patriot, and a ceasefire is in order!

To understand why inflammation becomes chronic, we have to go to immune system headquarters: the gut! Yes, 70-80% of the immune system resides in the lining of the intestinal system, where billions of beneficial bacteria are working harder than Homeland Security day and night to keep terrorists at bay. These probiotics have their own special powers to wield against invaders, but they also have a sort of "super walkie-talkie" to alert the body's immune cells - macrophages, lymphocytes, and so forth - when foreigners trespass onto home turf.

Illegals can be anything from incompletely digested nutrients to  carcinogens. They include a whole army of pesticides and food additives. Even "defectors" from inside the body itself, such as used hormones, can becomes insurgents. If the liver has filtered them out of the blood, they are identified as non-patriots and must exit, either via the kidney and urine, or via the gall bladder and feces. As these waste materials pass through the intestines, the border guards shield the re-entry points.

But, if the oppenent's assault is ceaseless, you can imagine that the landscape eventually becomes charred from the constantly smoldering guns. The border patrol is also weakened.

Here are FOUR TOP DEFENSIVE TACTICS you can engage to reinforce your soldiers in their inner war against terrorism:

1. Remove alcohol, sugar, foods containing liquid vegetable oils (soy, cottonseed, corn, etc.) and foods made with additives or preservatives. These are directly implicated in rampant inflammation.
2. Reduce, if possible, your use of antibiotics, steroids, and antacids, which compromise the strength of the guards themselves.
3. Work to get "spies" in the form of intestinal infections (H-pylori, candida, bacterial overgrowth) under control. You place an embargo on their food supply by reducing your intake of refined carbohydrates and eating more of the natural, whole foods that feed your defending troops.
4. Relax! Cortisol, released under stress, is one of the hormones that must be disassembled in the liver. It becomes toxic when it gets out of control. It also tends to shut down the whole digestive process, making the job of the border patrol much more difficult. 

As in all wars, offensive strategies are important, too! We will discuss those in a future post.