Are you aware of the increased risks for serious health conditions coming from excess body inflammation that continues to persist? And are you aware that you will most likely not even realize it is happening, and as it continues to increase and build into a chronic condition?
These situations and risks do exist. Consequently, it is very important for your ongoing health to learn more about chronic inflammation, along with the natural inflammation remedies that can help keep it from occurring.
Chronic Inflammation – The Secret Killer
Time Magazine published an issue discussing inflammation as the cover story. It was coined ‘The Secret Killer’, and ever since there has been an increasing awareness that inflammation factors into growing list of serious health problems.
Studies and research, including those done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that diseases including heart, respiratory, stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, nephritis, and some types of cancer are related to chronic inflammation. And this group comprises seven of the ten leading causes of death in the US.
There are also conditions that may not have a mortality factor, but that people suffer from every day. Some people have asthma and allergies. Others have constant problems with their gums bleeding each time they brush their teeth. And then there are deteriorating joint problems and arthritis. These badly impact millions of people each year, with tremendous pain and loss of mobility.
And all of these different health conditions and diseases may have different levels of severity, but they are all closely related as highly inflammatory disorders.
In light of this, it becomes clear why having effective natural inflammation remedies are so critical. These remedies become further important, because the anti-inflammatory drugs and medicines often used for treatment, have known serious adverse side effects. In fact, it has been shown that overall medical costs are higher for treating the problems that the drugs cause than they are for what they were prescribed for
I Can’t See It Or Feel It – Does Chronic Inflammation Really Exist?
When I began studying and learning about inflammation; I had some fear mixed, but it was mixed with some skepticism. It sure sounded real, but was this just an ‘explanation’ for ‘things’ that health professionals didn’t diagnose?
I can easily understand inflammation that I can see and feel, because it comes from swelling and pain from an injury or damaged joint. As someone who has been involved with athletics all my life and constantly works out, I knew about inflammation and sports injuries all too well. But the idea that there was ‘something’ going on inside of my body that was going to damage my health, except I didn’t know if it was really there was difficult to take seriously.
However, so many of the studies and available information seemed too credible and compelling to ignore. Furthermore, there certainly is no downside to living in a way that promotes healthy living, while eliminating the possible risks from chronic inflammation as I got older.
Not All Inflammation Is Chronic Inflammation
When considering inflammation and its health impacts, understand that not all inflammation becomes a chronic condition that won’t go away. There are two types of inflammation: acute inflammation and chronic inflammation.
Acute inflammation is the immune system’s way of reacting to an infection or injury, and then protecting your body from its effects. Additionally, without this important and necessary function, the problem would get worse instead of healing. However, when the cause for this inflammation is resolved and goes away, so does the inflammation.
But if inflammation is necessary and beneficial, then why is chronic inflammation not only very unhealthy, but also a symptom of so many major health problems and diseases?
The answer to this comes from how chronic inflammation is very different from acute inflammation. It is not a normal mechanism stemming from the body trying to protect and heal itself. Instead, this is a process where previously healthy tissues and cells are now being attacked and damaged, slowly harming our body in many ways – and all without any apparent signs or health problems
Causes Of Chronic Inflammation
There are many reasons for chronic inflammation. And the primary cause is usually diet and the inflammatory problems that come from the foods being eaten.
Besides problems with the nutritional deficiencies, a large imbalance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is being created. This imbalance is known to be very inflammatory.
There are other problems that are related to diet. These include excessive eating that leads to become overweight or even obese. As more fat cells are created, so is the secretion of arachidonic acid, which is a highly inflammatory process. Additionally, there is also a problem from eating too many foods that constantly raise blood sugar levels. When this happens there are spikes in insulin that also raise arachidonic acid levels.
Another cause comes from oxidative stress, which is a process where free radicals cause cell and tissue injury. When this happens the injured cells are also turned into free radicals. As this process continues to progress over a long period of time, the immune system becomes affected and chronic inflammation develop. This is a reason why there are so many recommendations for antioxidants; they can destroy free radicals.
So, when thinking about life style changes and natural inflammation remedies, be sure that you start with changing your diet. And then you will want to look into supplementing your diet and adding important anti-inflammatory benefits. There are excellent natural anti-inflammatory supplements and antioxidants that are strongly recommended by nutritionists and health professionals.
Natural Inflammation Remedies For Treating Chronic Inflammation
The typical Western diet is highly inflammatory. Serious inflammatory problems come from so much consumption of processed foods, bad cooking oils, white flour and large amounts of sugar. Then there are all of the doughnuts, along with the fast foods that are often deep fried and full of trans-fats. And the list of foods causing inflammation goes on.
Natural Inflammation Remedies Begin With Making Dietary Changes
What is specifically happening from eating like this is the development of a large imbalance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and this is highly inflammatory.
There is a recommended balance of 2:1, or 2 times more omega-6 than omega-3. However, it has been seen that the average ratio shows that omega-6 is around 15 times greater than omega-3.
These excessive levels of omega-6 cause chronic inflammation. Additionally, they also minimize anti-inflammatory benefits from omega-3. Another dietary problem stems from levels of antioxidants like vitamin C and E, along with other nutrients that are also anti-inflammatory, being too low.
Further related to dietary problems coming from specific foods and nutritional deficiencies are the impact this has on digestion and the digestive system. This can lead to issue from a ‘toxic’ colon and tissue permeability, excess growth of yeast, and inflammatory digestive conditions. These also will impact the ability for the immune system to function properly.
And the result from all of this is chronic inflammation. Again showing how important it is to alleviate dietary problems, in order to lower the risks for inflammatory health conditions and diseases.
When talking to a nutritionist about diet and inflammation, I asked the question: what is the biggest problem you have with your clients? The immediate response was that people think they can correct their dietary issues without changing how they eat, if they will take anti-inflammatory supplements.
This is not possible; think of the following analogy.
When building a house the builder constructs the walls without using any nails, but then builds the strongest roof possibly. And what happens – the house of course falls down, even though the roof remains intact. This is essentially the same thing as thinking you can ‘fix’ your inflammatory diet with anti-inflammatory supplements.
Make the necessary changes, and especially correct the omega-3:omega-6 imbalance. And then when you take the best dietary supplements, they will be able to really provide anti-inflammatory benefits and minimize the risks from chronic inflammation.
Effective Natural Anti-Inflammatory Supplements
From my experiences, very good natural anti-inflammatory supplements and digestive health supplements include those below. Click on the links to learn more about the important benefits from these natural inflammation remedies.