INFLAMMATION: FRIEND OR FOE?

When it's good, it fights off foreign invaders, heals injuries and mops up debris. But when it's bad, inflammation ignites a long list of disorders: arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis, blindness, cancer, diabetes and, quite possibly, autism and mental illness.

What is inflammation? It’s red, it’s puffy, it’s painful and it’s hot to the touch!  Yes, that’s inflammation!!

It’s what occurs when there is an injury to your body.  It’s a natural process and part of your immune system whereby certain components (cells) of the immune system are produced to begin the process of healing.

Outside of your body, it’s a friend. Inside your body, it’s an entirely different story. While we can’t see the signs as we do outside, the same conditions exist. But here is where it becomes a foe! And another set of problems arise.

What causes inflammation? Inflammation is a reaction to a stimulus:

outside the body, it can be due to bacteria, chemicals, burns, viruses, fungi, chemicals, radiation.  

Inside the body, it’s due to food or a drug.  How do we know we have inflammation inside our bodies?

Inflammation inside THE BODY:

Of course, you can’t see it as you do on your skin, but inflammation inside the body has the same process as outside the body. There is swelling, irritating compounds produced by what the invading factor does to cells, and frequently, pain.  Symptoms can include but are not limited to:

• Chronic fatigue

• Constipation

• Diarrhea

• Joint pain and/or swelling

• Brain fog

• GERD - aka gastroesophageal reflux disease

• Mental symptoms such as depression and anxiety 

• Gas or bloating

• Headaches

What to do:

The best place to start is your gastrointestinal tract.  All disease begins in the gut. So why not look at your diet?

The most common ones, you probably already know, are fast foods, processed foods, canned foods, gluten, nuts, seafood, dairy, alcohol, and sugar. You know these as food allergens but inflammation is a product of that allergy. Processed foods are another culprit in the inflammatory process, but actually, any food can cause inflammation if our body sees it as an enemy.

We can also look to herbs for another great treatment for quelling inflammation. Curcumin (the active ingredient in tumeric), garlic, green tea, rosemary, ginseng, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, holy basil, and rose hips. You can ease these into your cooking or take them in supplement form. Know that although these botanicals are anti-inflammatory happy, they are not a license for still ingesting foods that can cause inflammation for you. The best cure is to omit those foods that are detrimental and include those that are healing.

MANY PERSCRIPTION MEDICATIONS ARE A HUGE CAUSE OF INFLAMMATION IN THE BODY ~ REMEMBER TO HYDRATE.

BOTOM LINE: FRESH IS BEST. KNOW WHAT YOU’RE INGESTING AND HYDRATE CONSTANTLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY … WITH WATER!

Ready for more?

Exercise!  For all the benefits that it offers, exercise also increases lymph flow which speeds along the removal of toxins produced by the inflammatory process.  The faster they are excreted, the faster you heal.

Pay attention to your liver! It’s the great detoxifier of your body.

Herbs like milk thistle and dandelion, veggies such as artichoke, radish, beetroot are all loved by the liver! But once again, all of these are easiest to take in a supplement form as opposed to having this mammoth salad to eat every day! 

Lemon juice! It’s a fabulous detoxifier of the liver. I’m talking about real lemon juice, not the bottled concentrate. Add some to the water you drink every day and since it tastes so good, you will be drinking more … water that is!

What is the number one food that kills inflammation?

Avocados. Avocados are often sought after for their creamy texture and satiating taste. But they are also powerhouses when it comes to fighting inflammation.

So what if you ignore chronic inflammation?

Chronic, aka ongoing, inflammation will become a foe and cause greater and more serious problems.

As the body responds to the inflammation, your immune system is challenged by the toxins (chemicals) produced by the damaged cells. Because of this, your immune system goes into overdrive and, BOOM, you have an autoimmune disease such as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, Hashimoto’s hypothyroid disease, and many more as the body continues to function in a defensive mode.

Taking it one step further:

As always, it’s a good idea to check with a medical professional for any symptom that causes you concern.  The symptom list above could also be caused by other disease conditions, but no matter what, it’s a good practice to look to the foods you eat as the first step toward stopping inflammation.

Considering it is such a detrimental condition, it is wise to do all we can to prevent it so that we can all live the vibrant and healthy life we all desire and deserve!

PERSONAL NOTE: WHILE I WAS GOING THROUGH MENOPAUSE I WAS ALSO DEALING WITH THE LOSS OF MY HUBBY AND, ON TOP OF THAT .. CHOSE TO DRINK MY PAIN AWAY .. A LOT OF WINE OVER A LONG TERM (2 YEARS) CREATED A DANGEROUS AMOUNT OF TOXIC INFLAMMATION WHICH ENHANCED THE EARLY ONSET OF OSTEOARTHRITIS. I WAS SUFFERING IN MUCH PAIN AND I WAS EXTREMELY BLOATED. I WAS MADE AWARE OF THE LIFEWAVE TECHNOLOGY AND THEIR PRODUCTS X39 (STEM CELL ACTIVATION PATCHES) AND THE AEON (DETOX INFLAMMATION) PATCHES. I SWEAR BY THEM AND THE TECHNOLOGY ENABLED ME TO START LIVING AN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE AGAIN PAIN-FREE AND THE BLOATING DISAPPEARED. REMEMBER: THIS STILL INCLUDES A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE (GOOD NUTRITION, EXERCISE AND HYDRATION. NO MORE ALCOHOL!)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT ME HERE: SHARONBRUNEAU@HOTMAIL.COM