In this issue:
Meow,
INFLAMMATION: A REVIEW
A health riddle: What do atherosclerosis, fibromyalgia, depression,
Alzheimer’s, arthritis, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis have in common?
The answer is “chronic inflammation.” Surprised? You shouldn’t be.
Here’s why. Tissues involved in these diseases are inflamed, and they have
remained inflamed for excessive periods of time, leading to dis-ease and
dis-comfort.
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS ARE BIG BUSINESS BUT ONLY ADDRESS SYMPTOMS
The pharmaceutical industry knows a lot about chronic inflammation and has
bet big on anti-inflammatory drug development.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – or NSAIDs – range from ubiquitous
over-the-counter to pricey, pharmaceutical solutions for reducing inflammation
and relieving pain.
For a quick look at the many NSAIDs on the market, check out the chart in
this
WebMD
article.
Statin drugs too are being repackaged as anti-inflammatory “good guys” by
researchers, who now explain why statins work for patients with heart disease.
You guessed it, they’re pointing to
anti-inflammatory effects of statins. Researchers have found the
clinical benefits of statins are greater than what would be expected given how
little statins actually reduce LDL cholesterol!
Even though anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce inflammation (the symptom of
many chronic diseases), these drugs don’t address the root cause of
inflammation.
And, anti-inflammatory drugs come with plenty of nasty side effects – a
Google search will catch you up on all sorts of little-discussed and not-so-nice
side effects.
So, let’s get on with understanding the cause of inflammation and what you
can actually do to prevent the ravages of inflammation naturally.
ACUTE INFLAMMATION: “FIREPOWER” FOR IMMEDIATE BATTLES
Let’s start with a review of inflammation in general.
Inflammation is a powerful weapon when it comes to healing, whether you cut
yourself, sprain an ankle, get sunburned, pull muscles, close fingers (or tails)
in doors, or become infected with bacteria and viruses!
Your immune system revs up, sending pro-inflammatory firepower in to
destroy or contain damaging agents. White blood cell soldiers are then enlisted
to clear out infection and damaged tissue.
With acute inflammation, the battle lasts mere hours to days. Pain, redness,
and swelling starts fading once invaders are vanquished and battlefield repairs
have been made.
CHRONIC INFLAMMATION: A CONSTANT “RED ALERT” STATUS IN
YOUR SYSTEM
Alas, acute inflammation can morph into what looks like an evil twin, chronic
inflammation, which persists like
a
ghost, haunting your system.
Chronic inflammation is when your immune system is stuck in the “on” position
at “red alert” status and keeps fighting battles that may or may not need
fighting.
Jack Challem, in his book
The Inflammation Syndrome describes the chronic inflammation
syndrome as a veritable “constellation of diseases.”
Challem says that if you have been diagnosed with one illness caused by
inflammation, you undoubtedly have clusters of problems associated with
inflammation.
For example, researches have found that patients with inflammatory bowel
diseases have an enhanced risk of colon cancer and those with rheumatoid
arthritis are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease.
Yikes! Take note – inflammation is serious stuff.
CELLULAR COMMUNICATION & CHRONIC INFLAMMATION
With all the research on inflammation, I got to chatting with our favorite
integrative medicine physician,
Dr. Hugo Rodier.
When asked about the primary causes of chronic inflammation, Dr. Rodier said
in his typically matter-of-fact way:
“Unhealthy terrain.”
Excuse me? He went on to explain in more detail.
“When I say terrain, I mean your body’s tissues, which are all made up of
cells. Your tissues are healthy when your cells are healthy.”
Dr. Rodier went on to explain that there are four issues with cellular
health:
- Oxidation (free radical proliferation – for more, see our
antioxidants edition)
- Toxicity (heavy metals, pesticides, etc. – for more, see our
detox edition)
- Inflammation (our topic of the day – keep reading this edition)
- Energy depletion (when mitochondria malfunction – stay tuned for more on
this topic)
Dr. Rodier explained that inflammation can result from a variety of triggers
at the cellular level:
“Cells, particularly the lipid cell membrane, can become inflamed when
cellular communication breaks down due to lack of nutrients and antioxidants.
That’s why diet and good nutrition are so important.”
In The Inflammation Syndrome, Mr. Challem reinforces Dr. Rodier’s point,
underscoring six common triggers that can initiate chronic inflammation.
These triggers include:
- Age related wear and tear
- Physical injuries
- Infections
- Environmental stress (i.e. tobacco or air pollution)
- Allergies and food sensitivities
- Additional dietary issues (i.e. obesity)
- Psychological stress (Dr. Rodier’s addition to the list)
Remember our
newsletter on detoxification? Many of the triggers above are toxins our
body works to eliminate. Thus, detoxification is linked to inflammation
management, along with diet.
INFLAMMATION AND DIET
Diet is incredibly important in addressing inflammation, since some diets
promote inflammation while others help keep inflammation in check.
Unfortunately, most modern diets are pro-inflammatory, without enough
nutrients to help “shut off” over-active immune system responses that promote
disease.
If you missed our “anti-inflammatory”
4th of July recipes, check them out (including the fix on the cucumber
sauce)!
With that plug, let’s move on to more detail on the relationship between diet
and inflammation.
OMEGA 6 POLYUNSATURATED FATS ARE PRO-INFLAMMATORY
U.S. public health authorities have for years directed folks to stay away
from fats, particularly saturated fats.
This unfortunate advice has thrown fats out of balance, with the public
chowing down on more and more polyunsaturated foods containing pro-inflammatory
omega-6s.
Omega-6 fatty acids (or linoleic acid) is commonly found in margarine and
oils from vegetable, sunflower, peanut and corn sources.
Partially-hydrogenated oils and trans-fats are typically made from these
linoleic acid sources, which are practically omnipresent in processed and
packaged foods.
PALEOLITHIC DIET TRUMPS MODERN DIETS
Compared to modern societies, hunter-gather societies in
Paleolithic times relied on wild animals, fish, fresh fruits and
vegetables, and raw seeds and nuts. With their natural diet, our ancestors’
intake of omega-6 to omega-3 fats balanced at a healthy one-to-one ratio.
Fast factoid: Wild game, such as venison, and open range-fed buffalo are both
good sources of omega-3s and offer a healthy choice for the carnivores out
there!
To restore the Paleolithic diet ratio, let’s take a look at some omega-3
anti-inflammatory choices for your diet.
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY OMEGA-3’S IN FISH OIL TO THE RESCUE
Fish oil is at the top of the list for providing readily- available
omega-3 fatty acids, which your body cannot produce itself.
Anti-inflammatory properties of fish oil are well-known with respect to
common conditions, such as:
Arthritis
Once upon a time, people took cod liver oil for all types of lameness. In the
20th century, scientists figured out the link between omega-3’s and
taming the
heat of inflammation.
Omega-3s, you see, are readily absorbed into the cells that form cartilage
and deactivate a particular pro-inflammatory enzyme that breaks down cartilage.
Heart Disease
Heart disease is caused not only by nutritional deficiencies –
remember Linus Pauling’s theory on vitamin C -- but also by
inflammation!
Our members seem to be well aware that that fish oil plays an important
anti-inflammatory role in heart health, since we see Fish Oil go out in
most heart healthy orders!
Infant Allergies & Immune-Related Diseases
A recent study suggested that if pregnant women add fish oil to their diets,
they could
lower the risks of allergies and other immune-related diseases in
their infants.
According to research, omega-3 supplementation may have to take place while
the immune system is developing to have full benefits.
The easiest way to get plenty of omega-3 fatty acids is by adding fish oil
supplements to your diet. The American Heart Association, while considering
dietary intake preferable, notes that in some cases,
dietary sources may not be adequate.
For more fish oil benefits and links to some fish oil studies,
check out our Fish Oil
page.
FLAXSEED & WALNUTS ALSO VALUABLE FOR OMEGA-3’S
Tired of hearing about fish oil? Flaxseed is all the rage in many circles.
Our favorite pharmacist, Mike Ciell, swears by his flaxseed protocols, as you
may remember.
Some folks have trouble digesting flaxseed, so if you’re one of these folks
and prefer to stay vegetarian, then try walnuts for added omega-3 fatty acids in
your diet.
Walnuts pack more omega-3s per ounce than any other nut!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES OF EVENING PRIMROSE OIL WITH GLA
Gamma linoleic acid (GLA) is similar to linoleic acid (yes, the omega-6 fatty
acid) but actually behaves like an omega-3 in reducing inflammation. GLA is the
active ingredient in our
Evening Primrose Oil.
GLA, as it turns out, modulates pro-inflammatory cytokines and shows promise
for those afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis.
E.V.O.O. (EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL) FOR OMEGA-9’S
Mediterranean folks know this ingredient best and many have the
health to prove it!
Olive oil, particularly extra virgin, is a monounsaturated fat rich in oleic
acid (omega-9s). With olive oil’s omega-9 anti-inflammatory abilities, in
addition to its antioxidant characteristics, you can’t go wrong adding it to
your dinner salad!
Fast Factoid: Heating olive oil at high temperatures will oxidize it! It is
best to use olive oil after cooking. It will also add lots of flavor to your
food.
However, Dr. Rodier shared this important statistic:
“Ten percent of the population doesn’t have the enzymes to convert GLA and
omega-9s to their anti-inflammatory compounds. So I encourage my patients to
concentrate on getting their omega-6 and omega-3 ratio in a range of 1:1 or 2:1.
Taking fish oil supplements is probably the easiest way keep the ratio in
balance.”
O-k. Enough for now. I’ll wrap up our exploration of inflammation next time.
More recipes, I promise!
Ahem, it’s time to start cleaning out your cupboards and tossing out those
dreadful polyunsaturated fats, margarines, and processed foods.
Easy, eh? You’ll have to let me know just how easy. ^..^
Still purringly yours,
Guido
Guido Housemouser
Chief Kat and Community Manager
Our Health Co-op
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