Preventing The Disease Credited with 50% of all Deaths

Today, we know smoking is bad for you, but it wasn't until the 1960s that the evidence started rolling out, and it was in 1969 when cigarette packages were labeled with the general surgeon warning. Transfats were first used as a food preservative in 1911. They contributed to 50,000 premature heart disease deaths yearly until they were banned in 2004. Today I would like to talk with you about a disease considered to be the most significant cause of death in the world today.

Cancer? No. Heart Attack? No. It's inflammation. 

Inflammation is something you may have heard of but probably don't think or know much about. I believe that one day we will speak of inflammation the way we talk about smoking and Transfats today, but I do not want my patients to wait that long to take action. So today, I hope to create awareness of this disease and offer you the best line of protection from it: Prevention.

What is Inflammation?

If you've ever twisted your knee, cut your finger, or been stung by an insect, you have firsthand experience with inflammation. Inflammation is an essential survival mechanism that helps the body fight off hostile microbes and repair damaged tissue. Yet there is another side of inflammation that can be harmful rather than helpful to human health. There's evidence that inflammation, promoted partly by factors such as obesity, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle, contributes to various diseases. 

Inflammation can be divided into three types based on the time of the process that responds to the injurious cause; acute, which occurs immediately after injury and lasts for a few days; chronic inflammation, which may last for months or even years when acute inflammation doesn't heal, and subacute which is a transformational period from acute to chronic which lasts from two to six weeks. 

• Acute inflammation occurs rapidly, usually within minutes, but is generally short-lived. This is because many of the mechanisms that spring into action to destroy invading microbes or toxins switch gears to cart away dead cells and repair damaged ones. As a result, inflammation dissipates within a few hours or days.

• Chronic inflammation begins as acute inflammation, with the same cellular response but, for some reason, does not shut off, so the inflammatory response continues into a lingering state that persists for months or years when the immune system response fails to eliminate the problem. The problem is always a toxin. It could be anything from a food reaction from a leaky gut, exposure to heavy metals or chemicals, or an immune system reaction that includes viruses, candida, or a parasite infection. 

Unchecked, the immune system prompts white blood cells to attack nearby healthy tissues and organs, setting up a chronic inflammatory process that plays a central role in some of the most challenging diseases of our time, including rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and even Alzheimer's.

Inflammation symptoms differ depending on whether the inflammatory reaction is acute or chronic. Five fundamental signs of inflammation include heat, redness, swelling, pain, and loss of function. 

• The sensation of heat is caused by the increased blood movement.
• The heat reaction will also lead to redness due to increased blood cells passing through the injured area.
• The swelling of the site occurs due to an increase in the permeability and dilatation of the blood vessels. 
• Pain is due to increased pain mediators, either due to direct damage or resulting from an inflammatory response itself. 
• Loss of function occurs due to either simple mobility loss due to swelling or pain or replacement of the cells with scar tissue.
  

Lifestyle choices, diet, and even family history play a role in the diseases and conditions brought about by chronic inflammation. Other causes can be gut health, stress, and pollution exposure. There is recent strong evidence that continuous stress and diverse inflammation in the brain could be a significant and direct cause of dementia and memory impairment due to the constant accumulation of inflammatory cytokines in the brain. 

Diet plays one of the most critical roles in our health. Every time we put food in our mouth, we eat something that is either inflammatory or healing. Muscle testing is a great way to figure out exactly what foods would cause inflammation in your body. This noninvasive test provides biofeedback from your body and creates a list of foods you can and cannot eat for better health. In addition, guided nutritional supplementation from whole foods provides daily dietary and nutritional support for a healthy lifestyle.

I recommend you get muscle tested once a year as a holistic physical to test for inflammation and take a preventative health stance as you do on your regular medical physicals. It's that important!

In general, though, I will tell you the more whole foods closer to Mother Nature we eat, the less inflammation we will have. On the other hand, consuming foods in most markets today creates inflammation due to additives, sugars, bad saturated fats, and all other hard-to-pronounce names used as stabilizers. 

A lifestyle rich in fresh fruits and vegetables freshly picked from local organic farms, and eaten in season, is the best approach for preventing inflammation. Additionally, superfoods such as Spirulina, and other anti-inflammatory foods high in antioxidants, will help reduce damage caused by inflammation. Exercise, sunshine, positive thinking, and other healthy practices like meditation will also help more than we can imagine. 

• Bromelain is an enzyme found in pineapple that breaks down protein and has pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects comparable to NSAIDs. It, too, can help with bowel inflammation and help boost the immune system and fight bacterial infections.

• Quercetin. You've heard the old saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Today, researchers in the field of antioxidants and the effects of micronutrients are beginning to explain why this age-old adage is more scientifically true than we may have thought. Apples and many other colorful fruits and vegetables contain a rich amount of a potent antioxidant called quercetin. Onions have the highest known quercetin content. Other common foods with significant levels of quercetin include apples, cauliflower, grapes, nectarines, spinach, strawberries, tea, and tomatoes. Although quercetin is commonly found in many foods included in a healthy diet, I use it in this supplement at a therapeutic dosage because it's such a potent antioxidant.

• Gotu Kola is great for improving circulation; the more blood flow, the less inflammation. In addition, studies suggest supplementing with gotu kola may help you improve your blood circulation. For example, a study conducted on 87 participants diagnosed with poor circulation showed noticeable improvement when given 30 to 60 milligrams two times a day for 60 days. Additionally, eight more studies reported that Gotu Kola effectively improved circulation while alleviating poor circulation symptoms, including pain, leg heaviness, and swelling. Gotu Kola also helps reduce chronic inflammation by triggering antioxidant activity within the body. 
  

Any disease credited with 50% of all deaths is worthy of your attention. I highly recommend you come in at least once a year for a holistic physical s well as every occasion you feel inflamed. I hope you'll join me in creating awareness of inflammation and commit to a long-term prevention plan. I created one supplement that has all the natural remedies a supplement can have to help you minimize inflammation. It's not a cure, but it will give you an edge and contribute to a healthier lifestyle. Please contact the office to start taking Inflammation Relief.

Know that whatever health ailment you have, reducing inflammation is part of the healing journey, and we can help! With proper nutrition, the body can truly heal and prevent severe and chronic illness. 

As always, don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, need help getting started with your new lifestyle to prevent inflammation, or want to schedule your annual muscle testing appointment.

Yours, in good health.

Dr. Alicia Armitstead

Healing Arts NYC

Additional References

*Chronic Inflammation in the Etiology of Disease Across the Life Span – Nature.com