Inflammation, what it does to the body and how to reduce it.

Inflammation is the body’s normal defense mechanism against damage caused by injury, a virus, bacteria or fungal infection or an environmental toxin. The body responds by increasing histamine release which dilateas and increases permeability of blood vessels. This means an increase in blood flow which provides nutrients to help repair and activates the immune system to the site to help fight the invading pathogen or heal the injury. Once their work is done, the inflammation process is turned off.

Damaged cells release prostaglandins, chemical messengers which activate inflammation, initiate pain and fever. Some prostaglandins are hormone-like substances that are responsible for labour (and the associated pain), others are responsible for influencing blood clotting by either forming platelets to clot the blood at the site of an injury, or inhibit it if needed. Prostaglandins can perpetuate pain and inflammation.

High concentrations of prostaglandins cause pain by directly working on nerve endings and at low concentrations, they markedly increase sensitivity to pain. This effect of prostaglandins is long-lasting and cumulative, so that continued production of even small amounts can sensitize nerves to other irritants.

Inflammation becomes chronic when the body is always fighting off a repeat offender, such as, for instance, Candida, H.pylori, undiagnosed food sensitivies and allergies, environmental mould in the home or office, heavy metal toxicity or chemical toxicity. At this point, the body’s inflamation process fails to shut down. When this occurs, the body is weakened over time because it is overstressed.

Think of the inflammation process as a machine. When left to run continuously, the machine will burn out much faster than if it’s turned off when it’s not needed. When the inflammation process fails to turn off, the immune system becomes compromised because it is simply overworked and overused. Once the immune system is compromised, ALL forms of chronic disease can occur—not just inflamatory diseases. That’s why diseases seemingly unrelated to inflammation occur. These may include such disease as;

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Obesity
• Cancer
• Heart Disease
• Stroke
• Alzheimer’s
• Lupus
• Muliple Sclerosis
• Parkinson’s
• Fibromyalgia
• Rheumatoid and osteoarthritis (as well as gout)

Diet and lifestyle both contribute to our state of inflammation. Eating inflammatory foods can aggravate the tissues of the gut, and contribute to inflammation elsewhere in the body. Lifestyle factors like smoking, chronically high stress levels, chronically disturbed sleep patterns, and dehydration also increase inflammatory markers.

Eating plenty of food that reduce inflammation and minimising foods that exacerbate it, will help keep inflammation in check.

Use plenty of;

• apple cider vinegar,
• turmeric,
• ginger,
• garlic,
• chilli (if not sensitive),
• onions,
• cinnamon,
• basil and other herbs,
• fresh vegetables such as; mixed leafy greens, alfalfa, sprouts, cabbage, celery, broccoli, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, snow peas, beetroot, carrots, capsicums, tomatoes, avocadoes,
• fruits such as; tomatoes, avocadoes, pawpaw, pineapple, apples, berries, grapes and sour cherries.
• pomegranate as it is the richest source of anti-inflammatory polyphenols called ellagitannins
• omega 3 fatty acids found in fatty fish such as; Salmon, mackerel, trout, herring, cod liver oil. Omega 3 fatty acids are also in flaxseeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, walnuts and soybeans.
• seaweed as it contains fucoidan, an anti-inflammatory omplex carbohydrate
• mushrooms
• nuts & seeds
• green tea
• dark chocolate and raw cacao
• herbs such as boswellia, liquorice (avoid with high blood pressure), ashwaganda, slippery elm, rosemary and cayenne(as well as turmeric of course!!).

Foods high in fibre such as; whole rolled oats, psyllium husks and fibrous vegetables such as celery, are also important for reducing inflammation.

Eating good quality protein, but not overdoing it (for the saturated fat – if it is animal protein, as well as the increased inflammation protein can cause, particularly in certain blood types). We only need enough animal protein to fit in the palm of our hand (and no thicker than our own palm).

Aim for 2 – 3 servings of low fructose fruit and 9 servings of vegetables, particularly leafy greens, daily. One “serving” is half a cup of a cooked fruit or vegetable, or one cup of a raw leafy vegetable.

Try to have 25gms of fibre daily.

Have 4 servings of both alliums (onions, garlic, leeks, spring onions) and crucifers (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts) per week.

Have at least 3 – 5 serves of oily fish per week.

Keep saturated fats to less than 10% of your diet.

All these foods may help reduce systemic inflammation throughout the body.

 

Image courtesy of stockdevil at FreeDigitalPhotos.net