sickness, disease, and the relationship to inflammation

“EVERYTHING IS INFLAMMATION” I was recently at a Standard Process WHOLE FOODS nutritional seminar where the instructor made an interesting statement.  In referring to various disease processes in the body, he said, “Everything is Inflammation“.  What did he mean by this?  Think about it this way.  Practically every single health problem you can name has its foundations in Inflammation.  The funny thing is, I find that very few people have any real idea what Inflammation is, what sorts of things can drive it, or for that matter, how to quench it.

Inflammation comes in two distinct forms, chronic (Systemic) and acute (Localized).  Acute Inflammation is characterized by the Latin terms Rubor (Redness), Dolar (Pain), Tumor (Swelling), Calor (Heat), and Functio Laesa (Loss of Function).  These are the things that happen when you sprain and ankle, burn your leg, put your low back out of place, or hit your thumb with a hammer.   A certain amount of acute inflammation is a good thing, as it is actually necessary for healing.  The problem, however, is not so much the Acute Inflammation that occurs in our bodies, but the CHRONIC SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION that most of us are carrying around with us 27 / 7 / 365. 

Chronic Inflammation is the collective name given to a group of Immune System chemicals that are released by your body in response to tissue damage.  When these chemicals are driven to abnormally high levels — usually due to damage from dietary and lifestyle factors (CRAPPY DIETS, poor exercise choices (too much or too little), SMOKING, heavy drinking, sedentary jobs, DRUGS & CERTAIN MEDICATIONS (ANTIBIOTICS are the worst), emotional or physical stress (HERE), etc, etc); bad things happen —- really bad things.  Before we cover some of the more common disease processes that are driven by Inflammation, it might prove helpful to see the names of some of these immune system chemicals.

Unfortunately, here in America, Inflammation is, to a large degree, controlling most people’s lives.  Where does Systemic Inflammation start?   Usually in the Gut, and almost always via one or both of two different pathways (DYSBIOSIS or LEAKY GUT SYNDROME).  A leaky gut occurs when the small intestine barrier that normally keeps things like large undigested food particles, viruses, bacteria, yeast, MOLD, fungus, PARASITES, and other toxins, out of your blood stream, opens wide the door and lets them in.   Poor Gut Flora (aka Dysbiosis) is the imbalance when bad bacteria and things like H. PYLORI, SIBO, or CANDIDA take over your Gut.    It is highly unlikely you’ll hear any of this from your doctor, even though the peer-reviewed scientific literature is overflowing with studies on these topics. 

Your doctor will continue to treat the symptoms of your various inflammatory health problems (DIABETES, MIGRAINES, THYROID PROBLEMS, ADD / ADHD, OBESITY, etc) without ever touching on — or even mentioning the root causes.  The problem is that not dealing with the underlying cause(s) of Systemic Inflammation frequently leads to AUTOIMMUNITY —- the process whereby your Immune System begins making antibodies against, and attacking its own cells, glands, organs, nerves, joints, muscles, and other tissues. 

As Leaky Gut Syndrome repeatedly damages the intestinal lining and the “MICROBIOME” (one’s flora) becomes progressively dysbiotic, the Gut is increasingly unable to perform its two main functions. Number one, digestion suffers.  It is easy to understand that if you damage the lining of the Gut, you will not be able to break down and absorb nutrients in a proper manner (you might end up with CONSTIPATION or IBS symptoms as well).  But number two could be even bigger.  The second way that Leaky Gut Syndrome destroys health is by destroying your Immune System.  You see, 80% of your entire Immune System is found in your Gut (HERE).  This means that problems in the Gut are going to affect your overall health — usually in a big way! 

As your Immune System continues to attack the foreign invaders that are pouring through the sieve that has become your intestinal lining, your body becomes more and more reactive.  Before long, it starts attacking itself in almost every conceivable fashion.  This is why I have always said that Autoimmune Diseases are like Lay’s Potato Chips —- you can’t have just one.  They tend to swarm around like a pack of hungry wolves.  Once your system is “Autoimmune”, you are just as likely to have several Autoimmune Diseases as you are to have only one (HERE is a list, and HERE is a common mechanism).

Be aware that the underlying Inflammation has probably been smouldering for years — or even decades before a named disease process actually becomes visible to the point where doctors can actually put a name on it (one reason that MUPS is one of medicine’s biggest dirty little secrets).  I have created a list of some of the more common Disease Processes that are intimately related to Inflammatory Processes.  Many of these are also of the Autoimmune Family as well (see previous link).  Just remember that any time you see the word “itis“, it is the Greek word for Inflammation (Arthr–itis, Burs–itis, Gastr–itis, etc, etc, etc).

A FEW COMMON HEALTH ISSUES AND DISEASES RELATED TO INFLAMMATION

ATTACKING INFLAMMATION AT ITS SOURCE We know that Inflammation is an Immune System response.  Other than giving patients various IMMUNO-SUPPRESSIVE DRUGS, NON-STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MEDICATIONS (NSAIDS), or CORTICOSTEROIDS, there is little that modern medicine is effectively doing to help people with these above-mentioned problems.  It’s not that these drugs don’t work.  In fact, these drugs can sometimes provide nearly miraculous short-term results.  It’s just that said results are both short-lived and cause serious and even deadly side effects (can anyone say VIOXX?).  Covering Inflammation with drugs is similar to your mechanic covering your “check engine” light with duct tape — and then patting you on the back and telling you your problem is solved, while charging you big bucks to do it.  As you might imagine, this approach always leads to further problems. 

Several months ago, I wrote about the cause and cure of practically all kinds of sickness and disease. A small but growing body of mainstream physicians are starting to come around to the way that the “Alternative Practitioners” have been thinking for decades.  According to Dr. Mark Hyman, author of The Blood Sugar Solution, Inflammation is the root of all kinds of disease process.  Just listen to his words from a 2010 blog about healing Autoimmune Diseases.

INFLAMMATION IS A “HOT” TOPIC IN MEDICINE. It appears connected to almost every known chronic disease — from heart disease to cancer, diabetes to obesity, autism to dementia, and even depression.

And what, pray-tell, might be the best ways to deal with Inflammation-induced Autoimmunity?  To grasp the answer, you first need to see some of the things Dr. Hyman listed as triggers.  Hidden Infections such as H. PYLORI, YEASTS, MOLDS, SIBO, and other forms of DYSBIOSIS.  Food Sensitivities — particularly GLUTEN (he talked about using an ELIMINATION DIET if you would rather not get tested). Heavy metal toxicity — particularly lead and MERCURY (although not a “heavy” metal, ALUMINUM is equally damaging).  There are also ADVANCED GLYCALATION END-PRODUCTS, HEAD TRAUMAS, PARASITES, OVER-MEDICATION, along with many many others.  He went on to talk about FIXING THE GUT, PROBIOTICS, FISH OIL, and other nutritional helps.  This goes hand in hand with checklist created by FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGIST, Dr. David M. Marquis, called, “How Inflammation Affects Every Aspect of Your Health“.

 Diet: Alcohol, Gluten, Casein, Processed Foods, Sugar, Fast Food Medications: Corticosteroids, Antibiotics, Antacids, Xenobiotics Infections: Such as H-Pylori, Yeast or Bacterial Overgrowth, Viral or Parasite Infection Stress: Increased Cortisol, Increased Catecholamines Hormonal: Thyroid, Progesterone, Estradiol, Testosterone Neurological: Brain Trauma, Stroke, Neuro-degeneration Metabolic: Glycosylated End Products (inflammatory end products of sugar metabolism), Intestinal Inflammation, Autoimmune 

Hopefully you are beginning to see how big a deal Inflammation is, as well as the terrible consequences of letting it spiral out of control.  Truthfully, it is not a stretch to say that Inflammation is at the root of the vast majority of all sickness and disease (and as I showed you, death) here in America.  If you can effectively manage your Inflammation, you have just put yourself on the path to getting well. 

Where is the best place to start?  How about looking at the importance of an ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET — my favorite being PALEO.  For some of you, getting out of pain and returning to health might take a bit more than just changing your diet.  For an incredible generic protocol for taking control of inflammation, take a look at THIS SHORT POST.

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