Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Understanding Inflammation and How it Affects Your...

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Understanding Inflammation and How it Affects Your...: Inflammation is one of the body’s natural defenses against injury and disease whereby the body’s immune system triggers the release of chem...

Understanding Inflammation and How it Affects Your Health

Inflammation is one of the body’s natural defenses against injury and disease whereby the body’s immune system triggers the release of chemicals to heal wounds and infections such as bacteria and viruses.  Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is a disease. Instead of protecting the organism (our cells and bodies) it starts to kill the organism by releasing a surge of chemicals that ultimately destroy the tissue when no infection or wounds are present. It is regarded as an autoimmune disorder.

Beginning with the pioneering medical research of Denham Harman, MD in 1956 and Imre Nagy, MD in 1978, chronic inflammation has been shown to be the main contributing factor of all degenerative diseases, and the root cause of the two greatest killers: cancer and heart disease. In addition, chronic inflammation appears to be a contributing cause of allergies, mood disorders, gastric diseases, arthritis, dementia, Alzheimer’s, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, and the premature aging of the body and skin. A diet rich in omega 6- fatty acids which is called the typical American diet, sets the stage for chronic inflammation. High fat diets generate the production of free radicals which attack cells to get an electron they desperately need to stabilize themselves. Every time they stabilize themselves, they damage healthy cells.

Harmon wrote, “Molecules are made up of atoms glued together by chemical bonds. Each bond consists of a pair of electrons. When a bond is broken, what are left are two molecular fragments, each of which contains one of the now unpaired electrons. These molecular fragments are highly charged and highly unstable, because they contain only one electron rather than two. These highly charged, highly unstable, highly reactive particles are what we know as free radicals.”  Does this describe anyone you know?

When you ingest lots of saturated fat in your diet, your body generates more free radicals. Your body is already in a constant battle between free radicals trying to take control of your cells and antioxidants fighting to protect your cells from invasion and damage. Free radicals cause damage to the cell membrane, resulting in the cell being unable to let nutrients in and wastes out. This imbalance sends a signal to the immune system to produce chemicals to help repair the damage. Now you have two problems: an over abundance of free radicals and a chronic overproduction of chemicals. Harmon discovered that omega 3-fatty acids, a good source of antioxidants, need to be abundant within the system to counteract the aggressiveness of the free radicals.  Since the brain is 60% fat, it is a breeding ground for free radicals. You want to be eating foods that nourish and protect your miracle brain which has over 100 billion cells, 100 trillion neural connections, and 400 miles of blood vessels, and coordinates, controls, and regulates all the physical and mental activities you perform each day.

Two main causes of inflammation are eating inflammatory foods including fast food, processed food, food high in saturated fats, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, sugar, aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, and salt which are high in omega 6’s; stress is a leading cause of inflammation since the body is continually on alert, continually in the stress response mode protecting itself from perceived danger. In this chronic stress response, the brain signals the adrenal glands to release cortisol and it is continual release of cortisol in the bloodstream that presents the problem.
Foods that have been shown to contribute to inflammation are: dairy products, red meat and high fat meat cuts, food and drink with high sugar content, pesticides and additives in food, and highly salted food.

Questions to ask yourself?

·         How many of the above inflammatory foods do you eat on a regular basis?

·         What are the sources of stress in your life?

·         What inflammatory situations or people anger, provoke, agitate, infuriate, stir-up, and irritate you?

·         How much resentment and guilt do you carry with you from your past?

·         How many of these anti-inflammatory foods do you eat consistently?

Excellent anti-inflammatory foods include:    

·         Sweet potatoes - strongly anti-inflammatory

·         wild salmon - strongly anti-inflammatory

·         olive oil - strongly anti-inflammatory

·         flax seeds and flax oil - strongly anti-inflammatory

·         avocado – moderately anti-inflammatory

·         strawberries – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         kiwi – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         papaya – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         spinach – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         broccoli – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         tomato – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         romaine lettuce – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         leafy greens, orange, green peas and red bell peppers – mildly anti-inflammatory