Inflammation: The Wrong Type of Inner Fire

by | Feb 26, 2018 | News | 0 comments

I read an amazing book over the past month titled “Unconventional Medicine” by Chris Kresser.

“ALL DISEASES COME FROM THE GUT”, Hippocrates said this more than 2,000 years ago, but we’re only now coming to understand just how right he was. Research over the past two decades has revealed that gut health is critical to overall health, and that an unhealthy gut contributes to a wide range of diseases including diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, autism spectrum disorder, depression and chronic fatigue syndrome.

What is inflammation and why does it cause so many bad things and yet is a good thing for our bodies?

Inflammation is your body’s response to stress – whether from your diet, lifestyle or environment. Think of what happens when you catch a cold. You may experience inflammation in the form of a fever as your body heats up to eradicate the effects of the invading virus.

This kind of inflammation is good, but the modern epidemic of chronic, low-grade inflammation destroys the balance in your body. When your body’s systems experience a constant inflammatory response, you become more susceptible to aging and disease.

When inflammation occurs, chemicals from the body’s white blood cells are released into the blood or affected tissues to protect your body from foreign substances. This release of chemicals increases the blood flow to the area of injury or infection, and may result in redness and warmth.

Acute inflammation is the body’s natural response to illness or injury. It is a safe and natural way for the body to fight infection and toxins. But, when inflammation becomes chronic it is problematic for health and wellness. There are alternatives to combat this inflammatory siege.The following video is a helpful resource in the fight against inflammation:

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Other Causes of Inflammation:

  • Chronic low-grade food allergies or food sensitivities that may cause few symptoms.
  • An imbalance of bacteria and fungi in your gastrointestinal tract, also known as dysbiosis . This causes your immune system to overreact to bacteria in your gut and can be without notable symptoms.
  • Stress! Constant psychological, emotional or physical stress raises the level of cortisol, creating inflammation.
  • Environmental toxicity from our air, water, food pollutants and toxic metals like mercury and lead all contribute to inflammation and have been linked to diseases as varied as endometriosis and cancer.
  • Diet and lifestyle : too much fat, sugar, and protein in your diet, constant dehydration, consumption of too many sodas or caffeine, inactivity, and lack of sleep can all increase inflammation in your body

Knowing what type of inflammation your body is fighting is the first step in recovery.

  • How is your nutrition?

Do you tell yourself that yes my diet is “almost” good, or I deserve a cheat day? Having a poor relationship with food is the first step.

  • How are your movement skills?

Movement is medicine but changing your movement is even more important. Keeping the same walking or workout routine is great BUT our bodies adapt quickly and learn our behaviors. We need to be constantly moving but moving in all directions. If you have kids mimic them for an hour. I typically mention this to most clients that come through the office. We do not get stiff because we are getting old. We are getting stiff because we stop moving how we are supposed to. And when this happens our joints stop moving which starts the downslide into the world of inflammation and degeneration.

  • How many medications are you currently taking? And are these medications simply masking symptoms or actually changing root causes?

There are many resources out there that can help in reducing inflammation.Dr. Anthony Gustin has some great resources on his site.

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