This week I am going to post a blog about
inflammation. Please, be aware, that the following informations have been found
on the web, and at the end all the sources are mentioned.
The last paragraph is a personal writing regarding
my experience and studies about the relation between food and inflammation,
based on Ayurvedic system and western "alternative medicine" system.
A brief technical description
Inflammation is the body's attempt at
self-protection; the aim being to remove harmful stimuli, including damaged
cells, irritants, or pathogens - and begin the healing process.
When something harmful or irritating affects a part
of our body, there is a biological response to try to remove it, the signs and
symptoms of inflammation, specifically acute inflammation, show that the body
is trying to heal itself.
Inflammation does not mean infection, even when an
infection causes inflammation. Infection is caused by a bacterium, virus or
fungus, while inflammation is the body's response to it.
The word inflammation comes from the Latin
"inflammo", meaning "I set alight, I ignite".
Inflammation is part of the body's immune response.
Initially, it is beneficial when, for example, your knee sustains a blow and
tissues need care and protection. However, sometimes inflammation can cause
further inflammation; it can become self-perpetuating. More inflammation is
created in response to the existing inflammation.
Acute inflammation - starts
rapidly and quickly becomes severe. Signs and symptoms are only present for a
few days, but in some cases may persist for a few weeks.
Examples of diseases, conditions, and situations
which can result in acute inflammation include: acute bronchitis, infected
ingrown toenail, sore throat from a cold or flu, a scratch/cut on the skin,
acute appendicites, dermatitis, tonsillitis, infective meningitis, sinusitis, a
blow.
Chronic inflammation - this
means long-term inflammation, which can last for several months and even years.
It can result from:
Failure to
eliminate whatever was causing an acute inflammation,
An
autoimmune response to a self antigen - the immune system attacks healthy
tissue, mistaking it (them) for harmful pathogens,
A chronic
irritant of low intensity that persists.
Examples of
diseases and conditions with chronic inflammation include: asthma, chronic
peptic ulcer, tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic periodontitis,
ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, chronic sinusitis, chronic active
hepatitis (and many more).
Our infections, wounds and any damage to tissue
would never heal without inflammation - tissue would become more and more
damaged and the body, or any organism, would eventually perish.
However, chronic inflammation can eventually cause
several diseases and conditions, including some cancers, rheumatoid arthritis,
atherosclerosis, periodontitis, and hay fever. Inflammation needs to be well
regulated.
Inflammation at the root of most diseases
Inflammation has been found to be associated with
just about every health condition and researchers are furiously investigating
chronic inflammation’s effects on health and possible preventive medical
applications.
Because modern medicine focuses on treating
symptoms, not addressing the root cause of an issue, the healing process, most
of the time, is unsuccessful. Arthritis is inflammation of the joints. Heart
disease is inflammation of the arteries. Instead of taking a medication to
reduce joint pain or lower cholesterol, we would be better served by reducing
inflammation in the body.
Although inflammation has long been known to play a
role in allergic diseases like asthma, arthritis and Crohn’s disease, some
researchers say that even Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and Parkinson’s disease
may all be related to chronic inflammation in the body.
The Food as a main cause of Inflammation
What researchers believe is that an overactive
immune system results in the body being flooded with defense cells and hormones
that damage tissues.
Dietary and environmental toxins may build up in
the body, turning the immune system on and keeping it highly reactive.
Foods that promote inflammation are pasteurized
dairy, refined carbohydrates, meat, sugars and trans fats.
Nevertheless we can find some anti-inflammatory
foods such as fiber, fruits, vegetables and teas have been used to combat
cancer, and vitamin E, curcumin, acetylcarnitine and catechin have had positive
and preventative effects on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
Researches about Anti-inflammatory foods
Foods high in antioxidants help to reduce damage
caused by inflammation.
UCLA professor Greg Cole has been looking at how to
control inflammation and possibly prevent Alzheimer’s disease with food
substances such as curcumin, fruit flavonoids, omega-3 fatty acids and
reservatrol.
Tuft University Dr. Andrew Greenberg says, “There
is no doubt that if you lose weight, inflammation is dramatically improved.”
This is because excess fatty acids circulating in the blood promote the
inflammatory immune response.
By reducing inflammation, you place your body in a
state that is conducive to healing from diseases and other health conditions.
Sources
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
https://draxe.com
Some personal conclusion about
Inflammation and Diet
According to my experience and researches, the
inflammation present in different parts of the body has a root in the gut.
Toxic food, wrong life-style, and so on, might lead to a chronical inflammation
of the gut and to the well-known leaky gut condition. A leaky gut
condition will affect the immune system, causing an overactive response that
eventually will lead to various auto-immune diseases (as asthma, arthritis,
colitis, and so on).
Leaky gut syndrome is not generally recognized by
conventional physicians, but evidence is accumulating that it is a real
condition that affects the lining of the intestines. The theory is that leaky
gut syndrome (also called increased intestinal permeability), is the result of
damage to the intestinal lining, making it less able to protect the internal
environment as well as to filter needed nutrients and other biological
substances. As a consequence, some bacteria and their toxins, incompletely digested
proteins and fats, and waste not normally absorbed may "leak" out of
the intestines into the blood stream. This triggers an autoimmune reaction,
which can lead to gastrointestinal problems such as abdominal bloating,
excessive gas and cramps, fatigue, food sensitivities, joint pain, skin rashes,
and autoimmunity. The cause of this syndrome may be chronic inflammation, food
sensitivity, damage from taking large amounts of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (NSAIDS), cytotoxic drugs and radiation or certain antibiotics, excessive
alcohol consumption, or compromised immunity. (source http://www.drweil.com)
So, in order to prevent or heal this condition the food
that should be avoid totally in order to eliminate this
conditions are all refined products, as flour, polished grains, white
sugar, white refined salt, oils, etc., trans fats, animal proteins and wheat.
And try to get the less processed food available on the market.
When we say "avoid totally", that means
that not even a single molecula of that kind of food should be taken, at
least till the time when the gut conditions are normalized.
Instead we should enhance the daily intake of vegetables,
especially greens vegetable, and fruits.
Have beans and legumes (the best would be
the yellow indian mung dal that is the easiest to digest and it won’t create
any gas in the digestive system) around twice a week, according to the age,
life-style and body’s structure.
Consume daily some healthy fats as nuts,
avocado or even cold-pressed oils, as canola oil or extra virgin olive oil etc.
with moderation.
A couple of times at week home-made sprouts
are also a good source of minerals, proteins and many nutrients.
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Use healthy herbs and spices to flavour your
food as curcuma (it has a very anti-inflammatory effect!!), cumin,
coriandol, black pepper (in limited quantity), ginger, cinnamon and so
on.
Anyway be aware that every spices has a precise
property and effect, so they also have to be used with awareness and according
to a proper knowledge.
And as a must: Drink plenty of water!
If the leaky gut condition is present they say
there are two options in order to heal it, very riped bananas or the psyllium
husk (widely used in India).
If the infiammatory process is already reached a
chronic stage, then a long fasting would be advised, till the conditions
are normalized. If bodily conditions are too weak to fast, then a diet based on
fruits and vegetable centrifugated juice would be a good option (so you
will get enough nutrients that the body required without an overdose of fibers,
that might irritate your intestine even more). Just keep in mind that
vegetables have a energizing effect, while fruits have mainly a detox effect.
If body conditions are not too weak, I would advise to go first to a detox
process and then follow a energizing diet.
So, in this blog, I briefly
explained little basic informations about inflammation and proper diet, but be
aware that nutrition’s topic is very vast and huge, and many conditions have to
be considered before fix a proper personal diet, so unless we don’t have a
proper food and body knowledge, would be advisable to rely to a specialist in
order to success in the healing process.
We live in a relative condition, and some “good
food” taken at the wrong time might become easily harmful for the body (and the
mind), and this is the reason why a personal diet should be followed according
the our own present conditions.
So, according to my researches and experience,
only when our gut would be healthy, toxins will not spread in the body
and consequently our immune system will work properly, giving no chances to inflammation
to affect the body.
This paper embodies the research done by me as a part
of Yoga Therapist training 2016 held by Atmavikasa center of yogic sciences,
Mysore, India www.atmavikasayoga.in
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