The Inflammation / Disease Connection

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The Inflammation / Disease Connection

All of us who lead active lives are familiar with the nagging pain and the debilitating effects of muscular inflammation. Typically the better living through chemistry reaction is to take a couple of aspirin or ibuprofen and wait for the effects to subside. As common as this scenario is, few of us consider the linkage between inflammation and disease. When I think of the Inflammation/Disease connection, My Aunt Dora comes to mind. Aunt Dora was life-loving, mentally sharp, and took good care of herself. In the 1970’s, at the age of 55, Aunt Dora was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Like all people with debilitating conditions, she began the intricate search for a cause and a cure. After visiting many doctors, she was shocked to discover that she had many allergies to foods she had been eating for years! In order to properly diagnose a compounded medical condition, both the dietary issues and the inflammation had to be treated. She began her journey by managing her diet and isolating foods that she was allergic to. Her primary doctor felt there was a strong relationship between her food allergies and rheumatoid arthritis.

Today, the buzz in talk shows and books is about cellular inflammation, aging, and the disease connection. Aunt Dora’s story and many others like it allow us to focus on the seriousness of the issue by framing the buzz within the context of their lives.

In Dr. Perricone’s book, “Take 10 years off In 10 Days, The Perricone Promise. Look Younger, Live Longer in 10 Easy Steps”, he believes that cellular inflammation is the single most cause of the signs of aging. Inflammation is also associated with chronic diseases, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and arthritis.

Food is either inflammatory or anti-inflammatory. Potatoes, bread, pastries, juice and chips convert quickly to sugar in the blood stream. This sends inflammatory chemicals throughout our bodies. Over consumption of sugar can lead to these stiff sugar bonds sticking to the protein molecules in our collagen, veins, arteries, ligaments, and bones. This glycation area creates inflammation and produces enzymes that break down the cells. As a result, we age and may suffer from aching and stiff joints, hardening of the arteries, and have failing organs. Dr. Rozen states in his book, You, Staying Young, that drinking more than two fizzy, syrupy based drinks a day can increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 90 percent compared to people who never consume these drinks. Even though drinking coffee can decrease the risk of developing sugar diabetes by 25 percent, adding sugar to the coffee will increase the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Drinking sugar free drinks isn’t the answer either, as they are associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome and can lead to insulin resistance or inflammation.

When you hear the term inflammation at the cellular level; what does this mean? Cells have hundreds of mitochondria and mitochondria are the fundamental drivers of metabolism. You age according to their function or dysfunction. After the mitochondria coverts food in to energy, they produce oxygen free radical molecules. When these molecules spill over, they cause inflammation in the mitochondria as well as the rest of the cell. The oxidation and mitochondrial damage in the heart happens when your body no longer consumes oxygen and glucose efficiently. Mitochondrial damage is seen in diabetes and brain related diseases too. The more oxidative damage there is, the more DNA is damaged, the more that damaged DNA replicates itself, the higher the risk of developing cancer. We need more antioxidants in our diet to counter the affects of these free radicals. Dr. Chilton who wrote the book Inflammation Nation stated this too. Chilton explains C-reactive protein as being the marker for inflammation. It has been discovered recently that high levels of C-reactive protein can be a precursor to a heart attack or stroke in seemingly healthy people.

The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition stated in their September 2010 issue that B6 supplementation produced an anti-inflammatory benefit to rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Dr. Rozen states in his book, “You, Staying Young”, “low grade inflammation occurring in response to LDL cholesterol (which combined with inefficient mitochondria, cause the major ager of oxidation) sounds the alarm that summons your body’s reinforcement immune cells called macrophages. These macrophages eat the LDL cholesterol, becoming engorged with fat and blowing up like marshmallows, then attach to the arterial walls. Pathologists call them foam cells, as they clog the artery walls. An arterial plaque is born.” Dr. Rozen goes on to describe calcification in the arteries and how inflammation plays a role in different types of heart disease. Dr. Rosen says arterial inflammation can be reduced and the artery walls relaxed after consuming omega – 3 oils These oils have double thus, flexible bonds. See DHA & EPA

Inflammation is one factor that can contribute to bone mass loss in older people, especially in people who have inflammatory forms of arthritis. You need to do all you can do to counter he affects of toxins, infections, and mitochondrial damage to decrease your chances of developing cancer as well. One way to reduce inflammation throughout the body is to take one half of a regular aspirin a day with 2 glasses of warm water. Aspirin can have side effects but Dr. Rosen believes the positive effects outweigh the risks. He also suggests supplementing your diet with 800 IU vitamin D for people under 60 and 1000 IU for people over 60 years of age. Do not go over 2000 IU a day. Shaklee's new D3 supplement

Diabetes is the scariest disease but also the most controllable. Here is a tip - 30 grams of chia seed taken with bread can decrease the sharp blood sugar spike. Chia has more antioxidant properties than blueberries.

What about inflammation of the gut? Add probiotic organisms (the good bacteria) to help resist infection, problems caused by stress, and enhance immune function. Many believe that live yogurt cultures reduce the occurrence of colds, allergies, and hay fever. Yogurt also contains calcium which helps reduce weight gain. (See my other article Dr. Oz Rocks, regarding this interesting phenomena) Probiotics can also be found in kefir, sauerkraut, and pickled vegetables.

Jez, I don't know about you, but I never eat these things. So, I figure a good solution is to supplement the diet with high quality Shaklee supplements.

Remember that consuming prebiotic foods are vital to encourage the probiotic organisms to survive and thrive. Foods that have prebiotic carbohydrates are bananas, berries, whole grains, oatmeal, tomatoes, greens, legumes, garlic, onions, and chicory. This might help take the quesswork out of the nutrition equation!

Sage alleviates the inflammatory conditions created by rheumatoid arthritis, bronchial asthma, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. Sage has antioxidant enzymes too. Dr. Perricome talks about 10 superfoods in his book and has an entire chapter about spices, herbs and their benefits. Remember, the greater the toxins in the body like mercury, pesticides, plastics, exhausts, and other chemicals in the water and food, the greater the chances for inflammation.

Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) acts as an antioxidant and increases cellular metabolism. It occurs naturally inside the cell’s mitochondria and is both water and fat soluble. ALA can repair liver damage, especially when used in addition to milk thistle, give energy to the cell, and regulate blood glucose. Alpha Lipoic acid can also be applied topically and absorbed in to the skin. It is a free radical fighter and has anti-glycation properties.

Neuropeptides are released by the brain cells and some neuropeptides function as neurotransmitters and others as hormones. These increase production of collagen, increase circulation, and give radiance to the skin. Dr. Perricome has a three step program that will increase the power of positive peptides which can decrease inflammation in every organ system increase metabolism resulting in cellular repair, improve your mood, and rejuvenate the immune system. Peptides consist of two or more amino acids chain together by a peptide bond. Dr. Perricome wants to see people adopt a natural way of slowing down and reversing the aging process. There are anti aging solutions! He says “Notox to Botox.” Control your diet and control your stress.

Cortisol production can be toxic over long periods of time and reoccurring periods of stress. The same neuropeptides send signals to your skin and produces an inflammatory response while other areas of the body have a higher chance of getting inflamed too. Meditation, hypnosis, and acupuncture can reduce the inflammatory response. For more information regarding cortisol and stress, see my other article from the Naturapathic Doctor’s lecture.

There is an inflammation epidemic in the United States. Incidents of sugar diabetes, heart disease, mental malfunction, autoimmune diseases, obesity, and cancer run rampant. The number of Americans suffering from allergies has doubled in the last 20 years to 50 million people! My Aunt Dora would not have survived the 20 years following her diagnosis if it hadn’t been for the positive changes she made in her life style. She reduced the inflammation created by her many allergies and rheumatoid arthritis by revamping her diet, taking food supplements, and controlling the stress in her life. We know so much more now and I wish she could have had the above information 40 years ago! Well, we are the new generation and now we know better and hopefully, we will do better, in preventing inflammation.

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TESTIMONIAL: Here is a note I received April 8, 2008 from a friend of mine. Colleen Jammer from Phoenix, AZ writes: "I wanted to thank you for introducing me to the Natural Food Supplements (above) and to Dr. Ehrlich. I have been seeing Dr. Ehrlich regularly for acupuncture, and I am taking the Vitality daily & enjoying the Pomegranate energy tea mix daily too. I have not been on my anti-depressant or energy medications for the past 3 weeks, and I've been feeling much better. I've had more energy than I've had in a long time."

Refer to the Naturopathic Doc page for more information about Dr. Ehrlich.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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