Inflammation is your body's response to what it perceives to be an
outside invader or irritant. When caused by infections, the inflammation
can sometimes be rather obvious as occurs with pneumonia. Other times,
it can be very subtle. Keep in mind the following key points regarding
inflammation and pain, treat the underlying infections or irritants when
able.
- Often the inflammation causes more harm than good. It
is often worthwhile to simply decrease the inflammation using natural
remedies, diet and nutrients.
- Sometimes the inflammation is
obvious because it causes redness, heat, and swelling. At other times,
it can be quite subtle and needs to be looked for.
There
are many different autoimmune and inflammatory illnesses. Lupus
(Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or SLE) is a common autoimmune disease
that often results in significant fatigue and pain. What most
rheumatologists don't realize is that the secondary fibromyalgia caused
by lupus and many other rheumatologic diseases (including rheumatoid
arthritis) may be a source of many, if not most, of the symptoms and
much of the disability in these patients. Flaring fibromyalgia may also
be misinterpreted as a flaring of lupus, or other inflammatory disease
activity. Fortunately, fibromyalgia can now be effectively treated.
When
one treats the associated fibromyalgia, patients often find that their
lupus is actually a minimal problem. In addition, several studies have
shown that taking DHEA (5mg or 25mg), 200mg a day, significantly
improves the outcome of lupus and allows the patient to get by with a
lower dose of prednisone. The main side effects of a too high DHEA (5mg
or 25mg)level are darkening of facial hair and acne. If either of these
occurs, lower the dose. It is unnecessary to follow blood levels of DHEA
(5mg or 25mg) at this dose, because this is a very high dose and you
can assume the blood level will be high. Lower doses, however, are not
as effective as 200mg a day. As many, if not most, inflammatory and/or
autoimmune illnesses can cause a secondary fibromyalgia, and
fibromyalgia is now treatable, it is important to keep this possibility
in mind. If you have widespread pain, fatigue, and insomnia, look for
and treat the associated fibromyalgia!
Inflammation (In General)
Inflammation
is a common cause of pain and many other medical problems that we
experience in Western society. For example, anything that ends in the
letters "itis" means that the problem is inflammatory. This includes
things like arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis, spondylitis, appendicitis,
etc. Inflammation is obviously a major cause of pain.
Our body's
armies of inflammation are often on high-alert when they don't have to
be. Much of this occurs because of the high amounts of animal fats
relative to fish and vegetable oils in our diets. Land animal fats tend
to contain arachadonic acid (in the "omega 6 fatty acids" family), which
stimulate inflammation. Fish oils (Arctic Omega or Eskimo 3) and some
vegetable oils, such as flaxseed, contain what are called "omega 3 fatty
acids." These decrease inflammation. Over the last few hundred years,
we have markedly decreased anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids and
increased pro-inflammatory omega 6 fats in our diet. This often results
in our bodies being on "inflammatory overdrive" unnecessarily. This
excess inflammation has been associated not just with an increased
tendency to pain, but at times with increases in heart attacks and other
diseases as well. You can sometimes see this tendency to
over-inflammation in yourself when you get a paper cut. Sometimes the
paper cut heals so quickly that you barely notice it's there. At other
times, the same type of cut will be red and inflamed and will continue
to hurt beyond the initial few seconds of the cut.
How Do I Decrease My Tendency to Excess Inflammation?
Medically,
we do this by using steroids such as prednisone or the Non-Steroidal
Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs-e.g. medications in the Motrin® family).
Unfortunately, both of these can be fairly toxic. In the long run,
using diet and nutrition is a much safer and more effective way to get
your inflammatory system into balance.
A recent study, for
example, showed that taking a multivitamin can reduce inflammation with
vitamin C and B6 seeming to play the largest role. The Energy
Revitalization System vitamin powder (Berry or Citrus) by Enzymatic
Therapy replaces 35 tablets of supplements with one good tasting drink,
and makes nutritional support easy. Many other natural therapies (see
below) are also helpful in decreasing inflammation.
For acute
injury, remember the old standbys. These have the initials R.I.C.E.,
which stand for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. These are the
standard treatments recommended by coaches, trainers, and other
professionals to treat muscle or joint injuries such as sprains or
strains. When combined with Traumeel (one of several wonderful products
for traumatic injuries that contains arnica), acute injuries heal much
more quickly. Adding another supplement called MSM can help when tissue
healing is necessary (e.g. sprains or broken bones). The The Energy
Revitalization System vitamin powder (Berry or Citrus) can also give
overall support for healing as well.
Inflammation is part of our
natural healing process. Whenever there is injury, our body puts out
"cytokines" in those areas to bring in white blood cells to knock out
any infections and bring in other cells to begin the healing process.
Because of this, healthy inflammation is a very beneficial tool that our
body uses to heal. The cells come in, eliminate any infections, fix the
problem, and then dissipate. When healthy, it is almost always
localized and short-term.
Inflammation can become unhealthy,
however. In these situations it is often generalized throughout the
body. In addition to causing pain and disability, it can also cause
premature aging. As noted above, anytime you see the letters "-itis" at
the end of the word, it tells you that unhealthy inflammation is
present. Excess inflammation is very common. For example, over 40
million Americans have arthritis. The inflammation can then damage the
joints, causing deformity. Allergic rhinitis, which causes swelling of
the nasal passages, is also common, affecting approximately 40 million
Americans. Gastritis and colitis, which cause abdominal pain, are two
other examples. Dermatitis, including psoriasis and eczema, are
inflammatory illnesses of the skin. Even Alzheimer's disease and heart
disease have been associated with increased inflammation. Asthma, with
its associated bronchitis, is also an inflammatory condition -- and one
that has doubled in frequency during our lifetime. In treating these
allergies and asthma, we sometimes mistakenly focus on the trigger. But
the trigger is not the main problem because most people don't have
problems when they come in contact with that trigger. It is more
important to look at the cause of the overall reactivity in each
individual.
We are now beginning to understand why we are so much
more prone to inflammation these days than we were in the past. As
noted above, clues for understanding this can be found by looking at how
the modern diet has changed over the last several thousand years.
Research
shows that prehistoric hunter gatherers were much less likely to have
degenerative diseases; their main problems were infection and trauma.
They had a high-protein, high complex carbohydrate, and high-fiber diet.
Most importantly, their diet was high in omega-3 fatty acids and low in
inflammation stimulating omega 6 fatty acids (e.g. fats from meat,
saturated and trans fats, shortening, margarines, and grains). Their
diet was also high in antioxidants, nutrients that put out the
"inflammatory fires." Foods were also unprocessed and low in refined
sugar.
As society became more farming-based, our diet included
more grains, and cattle were more likely to be grain fed. All this
resulted in higher levels of the omega 6 pro-inflammatory fats. These
omega 6 fats stimulated cytokines and inflammation. At this time,
inflammation began to increase. This problem had been seen once before
in recorded history in ancient Egypt. This civilization also had the
osteoporosis and inflammatory diseases seen today.
Our current
diet has continued to degenerate to where we are getting as much as 12
to 20 times as many inflammatory fats in the diet as we used to! In
addition, we have a massive amount of sugar, potatoes, and white flour
in our diet. This stimulates insulin resistance and release, further
increasing the production of pro-inflammatory hormones (arachadonic
acid) from these omega 6 fats. At the same time, our intake of
antioxidants to put out these fires has markedly decreased.
What Does Modern Medicine Do About This?
Doctors
give anti-inflammatories like Motrin® and Celebrex®, which block
conversion of the omega 6 fats to the pro-inflammatory cytokines by
blocking the enzyme cyclooxygenase. Unfortunately, these also block your
body's ability to make anti-inflammatory messengers. This is one reason
why over 16,000 Americans a year die from NSAIDs and ~ 139,000 have had
heart attacks or strokes from Vioxx. We also use high dose steroids as
anti-inflammatories, which used long-term, can be highly toxic. Other
treatments include new tumor necrosis factor blocking medicines for
rheumatoid arthritis that cost $10,000 a year. We focus on prescription
medications because that's where the money is -- so the pharmaceutical
industry makes sure that we learn about them!
What Natural Alternatives Do We Have That Are Safer and Effective?Substituting
olive oil for other oils can be very helpful. In addition, increasing
fish, nuts and seeds, berries, free range chicken and grass fed meats,
spices and herbs, and green leafy vegetables (not potatoes and grains)
can be a very helpful start. For more information on this, there is an
excellent book you can read, The Inflammation Syndrome: The Complete
Nutritional Program to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Arthritis,
Diabetes, Allergies, and Asthma by Jack Challem. In addition to this
book, an excellent set of two cassette tapes will help you understand
excess inflammation in more detail. Inflammation and Aging by Ronald E.
Hunninghake M.D. (Tapes 1 and 2) are available by calling
1-800-447-7276. You can either pay $10,000 a year to use the new tumor
necrosis factor blocking medicines for rheumatoid arthritis, or you can
take fish oil (Arctic Omega or Eskimo 3) and other nutrients and clean
up your diet (do it in ways that taste good)! Which one do you think the
drug companies will be encouraging your doctor to recommend?
Does
that mean you should only eat things that you hate? Of course not. You
may find that substituting a wide variety of nuts such as peanuts,
cashews, walnuts, etc. for chips and sugary snacks actually tastes
better. Eating more salmon and tuna is not a big deal if you like these.
If you don't like them, don't eat them. You can always add fish oil
(Arctic Omega or Eskimo 3) (using one, of course, that is mercury free)
instead. Take 1/2 to 2 Tbsp daily or 1 softgel 3 times a day. When you
feel better you may be able to lower the dose.
When you're
shopping for meat, go to Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, Sprouts, or a
similar store where you can get free range chicken and grass fed beef.
Although it is a bit more expensive, it tastes much better, may not make
you put on as much weight, and will save you a fortune on doctor bills.
Olive oil is also tasty and can be used for frying, cooking, and
instead of butter on your bread. Substitute stevia or saccharin for
sugar. Use sugar-free chocolates (Russell Stover® makes a delicious line
and there are now an enormous amount of yummy sugar-free options for
those on the Atkins' diet). T hey taste just as good as foods with sugar
but will not make you sick. In addition, as a general rule of thumb,
the more colorful a vegetable the healthier it is. or example, sweet
potatoes or carrots are a lot healthier than white potatoes. The The
Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder (Berry or Citrus) will also
supply extensive antioxidant support, simplifying the process
dramatically.
The effects of treatment with diet are not subtle.
In a study done at the University of Washington, it was found that women
who ate 1 or 2 servings of fish a week were 22 percent less likely to
have rheumatoid arthritis. Those who had more than 2 servings a week
were 43 percent less likely. Those who had deep fried fish (usually
fried in omega 6 fats), however, were more likely to have rheumatoid
arthritis. In another study done in Scotland, 64 men and women with
rheumatoid arthritis were given fish oil. They began to feel better in
three months. By one year, they had decreased NSAID medicine use by 40
percent. There is also evidence suggesting that fish oil (Arctic Omega
or Eskimo 3) helps heal the joints and may decrease osteoporosis as
well.
Unlike prescription medications, which can result in quick
results (but some such as like steroids and NSAIDs cause long-term
toxicity), natural and dietary therapies take longer to see the full
effect. They are more likely, however, to build up and heal your system.
I find that benefits usually start to be seen by 6 to 12 weeks and
continue to build over years as the person gets healthier and healthier.
Because of this, I tend to use medications as an initial "band-aid,"
while the natural therapies heal the underlying problem over time.
What Natural Anti-inflammatories Can I Use?In
addition to using fish oil (Arctic Omega or Eskimo 3), it can be very
helpful to use the End Fatigue Pain Formula (by Enzymatic Therapy),
which contains willow bark, Boswellia (also known as Frankincense), and
cherry. These natural elements can wonderfully decrease both pain and
inflammation.
Can You Summarize What I Need to Do?If
you have excess inflammation, your body can often repair the damage
over time. This means decreasing sugar and simple carbohydrates (keep
chocolate but make it sugar free), increasing protein and healthy oils
(e.g. fish, olive, nuts), and getting optimal nutritional support (e.g.
the Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder - Berry or Citrus). Use
the End Fatigue Pain Formula to decrease inflammation. Your dietary
changes can actually be simple (similar to the Atkins' diet but using
healthy fats), and will leave you younger-looking, thinner, healthier,
and feeling great!
credit/reff: http://www.jacobteitelbaum.com/tools-support/101_inflammation_natural_therapies.html