Dr. Steven R. Gundry
See book keywords and concepts |
 INFLAMMATORY DISEASES ON THE RISE
With our production of inflammatory hormones now forty times greater than the anti-inflammatory ones, what diseases and conditions would you expect to appear? How about arthritis, asthma, skin lesions like psoriasis, eczema, and autoimmune diseases like lupus, multiple sclerosis, and Crohn's? Ironically, we're looking for the sinister cause of the staggering increase in childhood asthma, all the while stuffing our youngsters with refined grain products. Is it any wonder that we're depressed, achy, and having our hips and knees replaced right and left? |
Carol Simontacchi
See book keywords and concepts |
 Given the evidence relating progression of atherosclerosis to chronic inflammation, the n-3 fatty acids may play an important role by damping down the inflammatory processes.8
In a review of 12 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies of rheumatoid arthritis, a daily dose of 2.6 g of fish oil resulted in improvement, including inhibiting the formation of specific immune complexes, reducing inflammation, and degrading enzymes. Reducing the amount of arachidonic acid (found in red meats) resulted in a further benefit from the fish oil.9
Is It Safe? |
| Swelling of the joints—including the swelling present in the inflammatory disease gout—is often a sign of silica deficiency.
The Science Behind It
Silica has been studied for many years. The research performed on this mineral includes the following:
Studies suggest that silica plays a role in the production of collagen; helps build healthy bones, teeth, and cartilage; may be associated with a decreased risk of atherosclerosis; may prevent and treat osteoporosis;32' 33 and may stimulate the immune system.34
Research conducted by Dr. A. |
| An inappropriate chronic inflammatory process occurs when the assault is no longer confined to a discrete area, such as the site of a wound, or a discrete period of time, such as hay fever season. When exposure to an offending substance is prolonged or when the immune system becomes so compromised that it
Fueling the Fire can no longer respond appropriately, inflammation can flare out of control and become chronic.
Why has chronic inflammation become a growing problem in our society? What is fueling the fire? |
| There are generally four symptoms that alert us to the inflammatory process: redness, pain, heat, and swelling. Loss of function can also occur, depending on the site of the difficulty. The purpose of the immune response in inflammation is to remove the microbes, toxins, or other foreign material at the site of the injury; prevent the problem from spreading to other organs; and assist in tissue repair. |
Mike Adams
See book keywords and concepts |
 Experts who believe that the gastrointestinal tract is the true root of acne say that, just as proinflammatory foods cause acne, anti-inflammatory fats like omega-3 fatty acids counteract the inflammatory, biochemical toxins in the intestinal tract before the body dumps them in the sebaceous glands. Foods high in these anti-inflammatory fats include cold-water fish, nuts, seeds, chia, and Salba.
These dietary changes may be enough to clear up teenage or adult acne, but sometimes extra supplements are required to do the trick. |
Carol Simontacchi
See book keywords and concepts |
| Researchers have found that this emotion increases the activity of cytokines—messengers of the immune system that signal an inflammatory disease process.3 Shame also appears to be "dose related." Individuals with higher levels of shame also have higher levels of cytokine activity.
Other measures of inflammation have also been shown to correlate with stress. According to one study, clinical depression caused by stress is linked to higher levels of an immune complex called interleukin-6 (IL-6), a measure of inflammation. |
Michael T. Murray and Michael R. Lyon
See book keywords and concepts |
 Used primarily in allergic and inflammatory conditions like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, prednisone is by far the most often prescribed oral corticosteroid. It blocks many key steps in the allergic and inflammatory response, including the production and secretion of compounds that promote inflammation by white blood cells. This disruption of the normal defense functions of the white blood cells is great at stopping the inflammatory response, but it essentially cripples the immune system. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 There are a number of different diet things we have to look at, and then I lay it out very simply: If you have an inflammatory thing going on, this is how you eat. This is what you eat because it's hard for people to figure it out for themselves.
Mike: Sure, do you also cover any nutritional supplements or herbal supplements?
Simontacchi: I do. I also cover lifestyle and stress, for example. Stress actually causes the body to miss the message to shut down the inflammation, so it just keeps it going. I talk about that, and also about supplements. |
Carol Simontacchi
See book keywords and concepts |
| Most important to those who are suffering from inflammation, manganese plays a critical role in the development and repair of tissues, cartilage, and bones—all structures that, when not adequately supported by nutrients, are vulnerable to inflammatory conditions.
The Science Behind It
Manganese has been studied for many years. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 The way Vioxx and many of these anti-inflammatory products work is they prevent the formation of inflammatory compounds from essential fatty acids. So by stabilizing the cell membranes, I think Celadrin is able to accomplish the same result without side effects. And like the glucosamine sulfate and MSM, there is some good documentation showing Celadrin to be both safe and effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis. And it's likely that Celadrin has many other applications because of this unique anti-inflammatory effect.
Mike: And it has been shown to be effective topically?
Dr. |
| This mixture of fatty acids appears to get incorporated into cell membranes, and they reduce the inflammatory products. The way Vioxx and many of these anti-inflammatory products work is they prevent the formation of inflammatory compounds from essential fatty acids. So by stabilizing the cell membranes, I think Celadrin is able to accomplish the same result without side effects. And like the glucosamine sulfate and MSM, there is some good documentation showing Celadrin to be both safe and effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis. |
Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
 One of the newer findings is that boron seems to have an effect on the inflammatory aspects of arthritis. Research has shown that boron seems to inhibit cyclooygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX). The newer research shows that these enzymes have an important effect on activating inflammation. Its ability to inhibit those enzymes gives it antiinflammatory properties. Boron may also work not only by inhibiting those enzymes, but also inhibiting COX2 and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by suppressing the nuclear factor kappa beta (NF kappa B), which is a pro-inflammatory cytokine. |
Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
 Sugar and high-glycemic carbohydrates are proinflammatory: that is, they create an inflammatory response in the body. My decades of research have shown that chronic, subclinical inflammation is the single greatest precipitator of aging and age-related diseases. These include diseases as diverse as heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, certain forms of cancer, obesity, unwanted weight gain, loss of muscle mass, and wrinkled, sagging skin.
This inflammation takes place on a cellular level and exists in all of our cells. |
Peter J. Whitehouse and Daniel George
See book keywords and concepts |
 In recent years, the inflammatory hypothesis has achieved some prominence in the AD community, because inflammatory molecules are often associated with senile plaques. According to the hypothesis, AD arises as a consequence of brain inflammation, which creates abnormal metabolites—small molecular products of metabolic processes—from normal brain molecules. The inflammation process that creates these metabolites can be triggered by numerous stimuli, including infections or traumatic head injuries that predate the onset of Alzheimer's disease by a significant amount: of time? |
| Because beta-amyloid proteins and plaques are considered to be associated with inflammation in AD, the inflammatory hypothesis has received some credence. Some see inflammation as the lead event to beta-amyloid protein plaque production, while those in the BAPtist camp see inflammation as a secondary event and defend their protein as the hallmark of AD. Still others see the inflammatory markers simply as innocent bystanders, having no bearing on cognitive dysfunction. |
Hyla Cass, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
 Once there, it can contribute to the inflammatory process even more—especially if it has been attacked by free radicals (oxidized). The inflammatory process creates even more oxidation, a process similar to the rusting of iron, which in turn creates more damage and more inflammation. Keep in mind that high levels of LDL, triglycerides, and other bad fats in the blood are likely to be effects of the inflammation that is the real direct cause of heart disease.
We can determine how much inflammation is going on in your body using a simple lab test that measures levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 When I interviewed Paul Chek the other day, he talked about seeing so many clients who had inflammatory problems (problems with inflammation), and who were on COX-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx. He found that the patients' joint pain and inflammation problems actually became worse once they got on these anti-inflammatory drugs. He described the situation in his own words, stating that these anti-inflammatory drugs cause the very same symptoms they were marketed to prevent. |
Hyla Cass, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| Once there, it can contribute to the inflammatory process even more—especially if it has been attacked by free radicals (oxidized). The inflammatory process creates even more oxidation, a process similar to the rusting of iron, which in turn creates more damage and more inflammation. Keep in mind that high levels of LDL, triglycerides, and other bad fats in the blood are likely to be effects of the inflammation that is the real direct cause of heart disease.
We can determine how much inflammation is going on in your body using a simple lab test that measures levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). |
Benjamin H. Natelson, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
 The most serious of these are called inflammatory bowel diseases and are diagnosed by several procedures: an X-ray study of the lower bowel (this is called a barium enema) and a biopsy of the intestinal wall during colonoscopy. This last procedure is often done under sedation, because the doctor needs to pump air into the bowel in order to see inside it, and this can be uncomfortable. Ulcerative colitis is an example of an inflammatory bowel disease, and it is often serious, making people quite ill. |
Mike Adams
See book keywords and concepts |
| In addition, you must eliminate the aggravating substances in your diet or environment that promote inflammatory responses. This means getting rid of all milk and dairy products because of the stagnation or inflammatory effect that these cause in the human body. Remember that dairy products are great for cows but they are not good to be used in a cross-species format. Human beings should drink human breast milk not bovine breast milk.
It is the allergic reaction to many of the elements in bovine milk that causes these inflammatory responses in human beings. |
Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith
See book keywords and concepts |
 A more serious condition not necessarily resulting from IBS is inflammatory bowel disease, which causes ongoing inflammation of the intestines and includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. inflammatory bowel disease affects fewer people and tends to be hereditary.
Notable with IBS is the fact that it is strictly a functional disorder, with no identified structural defects. Though IBS sufferers often seek medical help and rarely require hospitalization, the symptoms can significantly interfere with normal daily activities. |
David Steinman
See book keywords and concepts |
 For this reason, drugs like Vioxx and Celebrex, big moneymakers for Merck and Pfizer, respectively, are now either off the market or come with big black warnings that should scare the daylights out of anybody with arthritis or other inflammatory conditions who intends to use them. Unfortunately, safer, less selective, older nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen help with inflammation but cause stomach bleeding and ulcers, something that the new generation of selective COX-2 inhibiting drugs was thought not to cause. |
| New Chapter
New Chapter's Zyflamend might just well be the most powerful and valued natural medicine in America today—one of those rare natural remedies that works like a cure for inflammatory conditions (see Chapter 5). Pioneering totally certified organic nutritional supplements that are made all the more potent with probiotic fermentation and now farming over two hundred certified organic acres to produce natural anti-inflammatory medicines, New Chapter, of Brattleboro, Vermont, is bringing the health benefits of rain forest herbs into Americans' lives. |
Peter J. Whitehouse and Daniel George
See book keywords and concepts |
| In recent years, the inflammatory hypothesis has achieved some prominence in the AD community, because inflammatory molecules are often associated with senile plaques. According to the hypothesis, AD arises as a consequence of brain inflammation, which creates abnormal metabolites—small molecular products of metabolic processes—from normal brain molecules. The inflammation process that creates these metabolites can be triggered by numerous stimuli, including infections or traumatic head injuries that predate the onset of Alzheimer's disease by a significant amount: of time? |
Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| If we took some skin cells, put them into a culture, and let them grow, and then added a couple of drops of sugar, we could measure inflammatory chemicals going up by 1,000 percent over the baseline within a matter of an hour.
"If you're in a proinflammatory state, your insulin and sugar levels are high, you store body fat, you have a cloudy outlook, you have no energy, your cells aren't functioning, your hormones are thrown off, you get more acne, your sex drive goes down, you feel less pleasure in life, and you get wrinkles," Dr. Perricone continues, speaking in a phone interview. |
Michael T. Murray and Michael R. Lyon
See book keywords and concepts |
| It blocks many key steps in the allergic and inflammatory response, including the production and secretion of compounds that promote inflammation by white blood cells. This disruption of the normal defense functions of the white blood cells is great at stopping the inflammatory response, but it essentially cripples the immune system. Long-term use of prednisone also causes abdominal obesity, puff-iness of the face ("moon face"), and accumulation of fat in the upper back ("buffalo hump").
The side effects of prednisone relate to dosage levels and length of time on the drug. |
Dr. Steven R. Gundry
See book keywords and concepts |
| Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are also the main building blocks of our hormone systems: omega-3s are used to construct anti-inflammatory hormones like prostacyclins and prostaglandins, while omega-6s are used to manufacture inflammatory hormones, such as arachadonic acid and thromboxanes. You need both types to have a proper communication system within your body. In a traditional ape's or foraging human's diet, a ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats of between 1:1 and 1:2 appears to be critical in balancing inflammation and anti-inflammation hormones. |
| If you eat an excess of omega-6 fats in the form of "heart-healthy" grain and bread products while limiting your intake of "green" fats, you unwittingly manufacture mostly inflammatory substances with no counterbalancing anti-inflammatory ones. The results appear in the thin women who come to my office complaining of hypertension and joints so sore it hurts to walk or even squeeze their fingers tight. By eating these "beige" fats, they become a bundle of inflammation.
So, how do you restore the balance? It's actually simpler than you think. |
Email this page to a friend
