INFLAMMATION

Why is Inflammation so Important?  Chronic inflammation is an underlying contributing factor to many serious diseases such as arthritis, chronic pain from injuries, osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, depression, ulcerative colitis, dementia, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, autoimmune diseases (i.e. rheumatoid arthritis), and more.  Nevertheless, inflammation is an important mechanism in our bodies; it detoxifies, repairs and protects our vital organs.  However, sometimes our cells are overwhelmed because the agent causing acute inflammation is not removed.  In this case our secondary inflammatory pathway kicks in, and we enter the phase of chronic inflammation.  This involves the production of powerful defensive agents of the body, but the toxins they release are injurious to our own tissues. This is why chronic inflammation is almost always accompanied by tissue destruction. The bottom line is that acute inflammation is normal and necessary but chronic inflammation is harmful. 

What Should You Know About Anti-inflammatory Drugs?  Modern medicine’s response to chronic inflammation is to block pain and/or block inflammatory pathways.  Neither of these is a sustainable long term solution.  Blocking pain does not address the underlying inflammation that will ultimately lead to organ damage. On the other hand, while blocking inflammation may seem like the better choice, there are serious side effects to consider when using the most commonly prescribed and over-the-counter drugs.  Pain killers (analgesic drugs) and anti-inflammatory drugs are the fourth leading cause of adverse drug reactions after antibiotics, cardiovascular drugs and chemotherapy (Death by Modern Medicine, Dr Dean, MD). NSAIDs are the most commonly used drugs to treat inflammation. An estimated 16,000 people died from NSAIDs (Asprin, Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Diclofenac, Ketoprofen, etc.) in 1998 alone, with many more being hospitalised. The most common reason is internal bleeding, especially from stomach ulcers.  Since then, Cox-2 inhibitor drugs have become popular as the so-called safer alternative.  However, several of them have already been pulled off the shelves due to their increased risk of cardiovascular disease (ex. Bextra and Vioxx).

 Cortisone therapy is another alternative drug used for serious inflammation.  These drugs suppress inflammation but they also block several important pathways in the body as well as our ability to detoxify, repair and protect cells. Some common side effects of cortisone therapy are water retention, osteoporosis, elevated blood sugar and increased susceptibility to infection.   Ironically, cortisone is fibrolytic, meaning it breaks down the very tissues that support our joints, ligaments and tendons. Furthermore, when we completely block inflammation we no longer experience the symptoms that are our body’s way of telling us we are being exposed to chronic irritants.  Often we lose our incentive to remove the underlying cause of inflammation.  

What Causes Inflammation?  There are numerous contributing factors to inflammation: allergies, poor diet (for example, alcohol, aspartame, and poor quality oils), nutrient or oxygen deficient cells, chronically raised blood sugar, hormonal imbalance, chronic chemical stress (i.e. pesticides), adrenal fatigue, smoking, chronic infection (for example, bronchitis, asthma and sinusitis), suboptimal liver and kidney functioning, and more.      

Where Does Inflammation Occur?  We tend to think of inflammation as being isolated to our joints.  In reality it occurs throughout the body at all times.  One can have excessive inflammation in the bowels (colitis), the heart (myocarditis), the kidneys (nephritis), the lungs (bronchitis), and more.   In excess it can contribute to dangerous chronic diseases.  Let’s take cancer as an example.  More advanced cancers tend to express higher levels of COX-2, an inflammatory marker in the body.  Many of the risk factors for heart disease are synergistic with inflammatory pathways.  For example, inflammation increases the release of free radicals which cause cell death, abnormal fat deposits, constriction of blood vessels and sticky platelets, all processes correlating with heart disease.  Inflammation in our core organs is particularly dangerous because we cannot feel pain or symptoms until we are at a stage of acute disease or advanced chronic disease.  There are laboratory tests using inflammatory markers that can identify our risk factors before a disease is noticeable. In fact, inflammatory markers are a better predictor of heart disease than cholesterol levels.  While these tests are not routine, I feel they should be.