Yes, Clint Eastwood is a beast. We all know this. Do you know there is another beast though which also doesn’t really care about what you think or do?
Probably one of the single-most important topics regarding health comes back to this condition of inflammation. You can have inflammation in individual regions of your body, but you can also have it systemically throughout the body. Either way it wreaks havoc when in excess, but if the inflammation is controlled to an adequate level then something amazing happens; healing can occur.
Learn more about the inflammatory response below.
The Good Inflammation is a natural immune response of the body to promote a healing cascade. Whether it be caused to a foreign invader trying to attack your cells or injuring your body in a traumatic event, your body will create inflammation to begin the healing process. Bacterial infections are more likely to induce a fever in the body. This is because high heat is what can kill them to stop the infection. Our normal internal body temperature is a great breeding ground for bacteria. It is just warm enough to allow for bacterial growth and reproduction. Therefore we have a natural and normal flora comprised of billions of bacterial cells within our bodies already. This is what keeps the normal symbiosis and calm environment to help us maintain proper health. When these bacteria have an imbalance, it opens the door for invaders to attack the weakened immune system and start an infection or illness. Most of the immune based bacteria live within our digestive tract. That is why food is so important to maintaining proper health and wellness. Good foods can help to reduce inflammation and boost the immune system while poor food choices can cause inflammation and destroy your immune system. Jonathan Ross of Ace Fitness does a great job of outlining this importance! When it comes to injuries we need new blood and healing components to be brought to the injury site. Blood vessels start to dilate so a greater volume of blood can be carried to begin the healing process. As a result increased heat and inflammation takes over the region of injury. This is natural and necessary. So when someone asks if they should put ice or heat on something, the right answer is neither. Ice constricts blood vessels and reduces the healing process. It only reduced pain by numbing the area. Heat on the other hand increases the inflammatory process which ultimately can damage tissues. This will be addressed more in our next section: The Bad.
The Bad So now that you know inflammation can actually be a great thing for the body to fight off foreign invaders and heal injuries we can delve into the dangers of inflammation. Increased inflammation in specific areas of the body are reasons why we have specific conditions which can be diagnosed. Dr. David Marquis, DC, DACBN has a fantastic article on the Mercola website which describes conditions associated with increased inflammation and how your health can be altered by it.
Now what happens if this inflammation is left uncontrolled?
The Ugly If inflammation is not reduced on systemic level by treating the cause of the inflammation as opposed to simply treating the symptoms of these diseases then you will not find a way to heal your body. Simple as that. If inflammation is the cause of your digestive problems, skin problems, joint point, muscle pain, headaches, and countless other conditions then do something about it. These issues will not resolve unless you reduce your inflammation. The symptoms can be reduced with various drugs and treatments, but to be completely cured of the issue you must find what causes your inflammation and treat the cause. When left to run rampant, inflammation will lead to debilitating health issues and in some cases death. Sadly, the Standard American Diet (SAD) only adds fuel to the flame. And yes, that is sad because millions of Americans are continuing a downward spiral of inflammation, pain, and disease based solely on the fact they don’t care about what they eat or the activities they are (not) involved in.
If you want to know more about what you can do to combat inflammation stay tuned on August 1st for my next post. Until then, keep moving and keep healthy!
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