Inflammation without a doubt is THE CAUSE AND BACKBONE OF DISEASE. There isn't a doctor out there that will argue this point. The difference of opinion is usually about the removal of inflammation naturally or by drugs. Putting that aside for now it's important to know what exactly inflammation is and how to prevent it.
So, what is inflammation? It is a process by which your body's white blood cells and the things they make protect you from infection from outside invaders, such as bacteria and viruses. Inflammation can be a good thing when protecting you from an infection, but it can also be a bad thing if it comes due to mental, chemical and physical stress and doesn't go away. When inflammation stays past its visiting time it can cause severe arthritis, auto immune diseases, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, asthma, depression, and cancer. That's a list and a half! Of the three stressors there is one that people tend to overlook and that is the chemical stress. Smoking, drinking and our diet all; fall into this category.
Inflammation can cause much damage in the body. Processed foods, junk foods and foods with any type of sugar cause this. Dr. Hal Blatman gave a talk during the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine on how certain foods cause your body to start decaying due to inflammation. He pointed out that mistakes in our nutrition are often behind chronic diseases and illnesses. it is up to the doctor to explain to their patients how they can change their food intake to reduce inflammation in the body and to allow the body to heal itself. Yes, that is what Chiropractors base their philosophy on, yet Dr. Blatman was a medical doctor. He also reminded us of a quote that I often recite my patients from Hippocrates..."Let food be thy medicine or medicine be thy food”. Dr. Blatman emphasized that nutrition could exacerbate symptoms or relieve them. If we do not take care of our nutrition, the gut flora composition changes and may cause leaky gut syndrome. But if we eat healthy whole good foods all of this improves.
There is a mathematical formula for when foods cause inflammation, G-B+R=P.
· G stands for good, healthy, beneficial things we can put in our bodies.
· B stands for bad, toxic things that affect our bodies negatively.
· R is the reserves that our bodies have since birth (minus the amounts you have used up) and
· P is for pain and problems you are going to experience. It is the P (pain and other medical problems) that bring the patient to see the doctor.
G and B is what the patient can change. When it is done right the P value in the equation reduces and the pain or medical problem will go away. Simple right?
We can narrow the nutritional rules to keeping the P low into 3 steps.
1. "Do not eat fake or toxic foods". Some examples are Splenda, Saccharin, margarine, olestra, aspartame, sucralose, hydrogenated fats. Eat whole foods. If the package contains more than 5 ingredients put it down. If you can't read the ingredients, put it down. Keep your omega 3 to omega 6 ration a 3:1 to stay healthy. Avoid omega-6 oils like corn, safflower, canola, peanut, soybean, grape seed and cottonseed. Stick with olive and avocado oils.
2. "Do not eat inflammatory foods". Inflammatory foods include sugar, white flour, fruit juices, white and red potatoes. Did you know that a medium potato + 1/2 cup of sugar! Other foods causing inflammation include wheat grain in breads, pasta and cereals. Thickeners in sauces and soup also are problems. The problem with all these foods is that they break down the protein that bridges between the lining cells of the gut. This leads to the increase of intestinal permeability and leaky gut is formed.
3. "Do not disturb the bowel flora". A healthy bowel flora is associated with a healthy body. You can achieve this by eating green leafy vegetables. A toxic flora comes from eating white flour, white sugar, and red meat. A symbiotic or healthy gut will produce healthy vitamins to protect the immune system. When the body is filled with toxic foods it causes into a state of dysbiosis. A gut in this state causes leaky gut syndrome as well as ulcers, arthritis, diabetes, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, chronic pain and even cancer.
So how do you start the path to a healthy lifestyle with less inflammation? Why not start with eating 2 green leafy vegetables a day? Eat every 3-4 hours. Get at least 7-8 hours a sleep. Spice up your foods. Take a break from alcohol. Swap one coffee for green tea. Be gentle to your gut. Consider intermittent fasting. Take a walk daily. Temporarily cut out dairy and gluten. Learn how to chill out. And lastly, read your ingredients.
There is a lot of information out there on how to avoid getting inflammation in your body. It is my goal to find different natural remedies to decrease the inflammation in our bodies so that we may avoid diseases. I truly believe the body can heal itself given the right foods and vitamins. There is a way, believe me. I am a prime example of it. I will share with you my findings and a surprise in my future blogs. Stay tuned my friends!
Be healthy, Be happy and LIVLIFE.
Dr. Livia Valle, Mom/Chiropractor/Health and Wellness Coach.