What is inflammation?

When we talk about inflammation we are really talking about the symptoms and the body's response through a process.

Think of it as your body recognizing infections, toxins and injuries that may attack it and then trying to heal itself. Well, the problem is not really inflammation, the problem really is what causes it. I have been in healthcare for over 20 years and what I have seen is people come to the hospital, visit the urgent care or call the ambulance when they have symptoms! Those symptoms include heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, obesity, asthma, Anne Alzheimer's disease.

The body is so amazing that when it starts to experience symptoms related to any of these processes it really does try to heal itself. Inflammation in its acute phase can be identified with pain, redness or swelling. If left untreated then we go into the chronic inflammation state and this is a little bit harder to diagnose but can be described as people telling their doctor they have fatigue some abdominal pain, rashes all over their body or local parts of their body, that can continue to manifest for a few months to a couple of years.

When inflammation is left untreated, we start to see more chronic issues like the autoimmune disorders and chronic disease. They can also be caused by long term exposure to irritants farm industrial chemicals or just the polluted air.

This can be especially true where people who experienced asthma or other severe respiratory issues. The problem is that even though everyone can be exposed to these things it does not necessarily mean that everyone will have the same response or any response at all. Individual responses are based on genetic makeup, lifestyle, and nutrition. But let us be clear the same people who eat the salad and run can also be the same people who smoke and drink so there are risk factors are and the same.

Some important things to remember about inflammatory disease is their overtime this leads to DNA damage, tissue death and internal scarring.

There are different types of inflammation so I will explain this for you.

How do we treat chronic inflammation?

There are several ways to manage chronic inflammation.

1. One of them being non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDS).

These can be purchased over the counter and are recognized as Advil, Motrin, ibuprofen. These are usually given to patients because they do reduce the pain caused by the inflammation. These medications I only recommended for a limited amount of time as they can call kidney injury or peptic ulcer disease.

2. The second medication that we use to treat chronic inflammation are steroids.

Steroids are used because they decrease information as well as  suppress the immune system, this can be helpful and prevent it from attacking healthy tissues. Just like any other medication, long term use of steroids or corticosteroids can cause vision problems, high blood pressure or osteoporosis. Steroids risk versus benefits will be determined by your own position based on your diagnosed inflammatory response.

3. For people who are having inflammatory responses I believe the best course of action is the start with the foods that you eat.

There are plenty of foods that have anti-inflammatory properties they can be found in olive oil, Kale, Spinach, tomatoes, Salmon, fruits (cherries, blueberries, oranges) and nuts. The Mediterranean diet was ranked among the best diets for lowering anti-inflammatory markers. If you are really trying to correct your inflammatory issues you should avoid red meat, processed meats like hot dogs, sausage and lunch meats. Fried foods, refined carbohydrates like pastries and white breads.

Most people go into a frenzy when they see the food to avoid, but the key here is to eat in moderation.

My last thought is that chronic inflammation is profoundly serious and if left untreated can lead to more chronic diseases.

You can improve your health and reduce stress levels with medication, taking supplements, eating anti-inflammatory foods, avoiding smoking, avoiding alcohol, and maintaining a healthy weight. Along with reducing your stress levels your over risk for any chronic diseases are decreased.. Let us remember that our bodies are the temple of God and he will help you to make better choices to live a longer life.