Beat Inflammation,

Feel Better Live Healthier

Anthony DiPasquale

Inflammation is noticeable when it is sudden or severe, and often unnoticed when it is low-lying and/ or long term. All the “itis” conditions are caused by inflammation, such as dermatitis, rhinitis, prostatitis, mastitis, conjunctivitis, and many many more. Pretty much any part of our bodies can suffer excess inflammation, giving rise to the diagnosis of an “itis”, which in and of itself tells us little or nothing about the nature of the condition. For example, a diagnosis of colitis tells us little about why the colon is inflamed. Yes there are medical guesses, which are more or less accepted as truth, when really they are just guesses, and usually wrong. The whole medical hypothesis of our immune system attacking our own bodies is proven wrong, even though the proof is medically ignored. I write more about the 180° different explanation, with proofs, in my auto-immune articles, on my website and elsewhere. So inflammation is something which we all have, and that is not necessarily bad. In fact inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory responses in our bodies are crucial to keep us healthy and alive. Growth and repair in our bodies requires some degree of inflammation metabolism as part of the process leading to new tissue or repaired tissue, as an example remodelling muscle to be fitter and stronger in the recovery period post-exercise. Like many other aspects of life, inflammation is about balance- too much or even too little would be bad. The “just right” amount is good, or optimal. Just where is the average person or where are you, on the “inflammatory scale”? Do you have a little too much or maybe way too much inflammation in your body? Most likely, yes. Do you have too little inflammation in your body? Highly unlikely. How can you tell? Depends on the extent of our unbalance. If we have far too much inflammation in our bodies, if our inflammatory processes are spiralling almost out of control, we will have poor overall immunity (we’ll often feel ill, and rarely feel great, physically). Our skin may be rough or reddened or not glowing, but rather greyish or washed out. Our circulation may be poor, as well as digestion, and we may suffer from an unwell tummy most of the time, and forget what good strong digestion really feels like. Also, we will age faster; inflammation is part of what drives aging, directly and through oxidative degradation of our tissue. Excess inflammation will increase sensitivity to allergenic foods, to make-up, to perfumes, to air quality, to your laundry detergent, your soap, to dust, to pollen, to well, almost anything. Breathing may be restricted or even asthmatic, as asthma is another inflammatory condition. High inflammation levels in our bodies will also make any “itis” condition worse, from Arthritis to Zonulitis (inflammation around the lens of the eye). To recap, inflammation is good, at low levels. The average person, most of us, have excessive amounts of inflammation in our bodies, with obvious or often not-so-obvious symptoms. It is desirable for most of us to reduce inflammation in our bodies. By the way, let’s say your levels of inflammation are already low, and you “mistakenly” do some natural things to reduce inflammation? No harm done- natural anti-inflammatory practices support health, and will not bring already low inflammation into a too low zone. That is the beauty of working with natural therapies- they respect the body’s wisdom, and do not “force” it in an undesirable direction. Natural remedies work with the body, and tend to have their greatest effect when their potential balancing actions are most needed. What are some easy ways to support lower inflammation that are good for us, regardless of our “inflammatory status?” Lower Harmful Inflammation First off, just say no to drugs. Drug anti-inflammatories (Advil, high dose Aspirin, prednisone, cortisone, and others) depress immunity and wreak havoc on our health, and cause rebound inflammation. Drugs in general are extremely harmful, and that includes over the counter drugs. The number of deaths in the USA from prescription drugs is about 5 times higher than deaths caused by illicit/ recreational drugs. The Canadian stats are most likely similar. Say YES to fish, hemp, chia and flax. Omega 3 fats- eat more of these- Chia seeds or flax seeds (ground up only, or the fresh oil from these seeds). Hemp seeds are a fair source of omega 3 fats as a well as GLA, a rare and healthy omega 6. BTW, Rancid or stale fats are inflammatory! So do not ever eat rancid, stale, old, or overprocessed fats. Wild-caught fish is a very potent source of healthy nutrition including omega 3 fats that are even more effective than plant source omegas. High quality cod liver oil is something I take regularly. Spice up your life! Pick up organic spices (commercial spices are usually irradiated as a pest control (or population control, lol) method. Stick to organic spices, which aren’t. Turmeric is very strongly anti-inflammatory, and it helps support immune function. Turmeric has many benefits besides it’s potent anti-inflammatory, healing effects. It is also a strong antioxidant and antimicrobial. Also wonderful for health and anti-inflammatory are; oregano, cinnamon, sage, thyme, among others. Almost all herb spices are healthy. Some ideas to include them in your diet are; cinnamon sprinkled on apple slices oregano on a salad or cooked vegetables thyme on any meat fish or poultry (also oregano) boiled/ fried eggs with turmeric turmeric rubbed on chicken or turkey before cooking it Beans cooked with turmeric and cumin (cumin for flavour, plus cumin raises glutathione production in the body, which is a potent antioxidant and detoxicant) Enzymes are powerful health builders, consumed by all animals of the world, except for our pets, who eat cooked food, with zero enzyme activity. To get enzymes back into your system you can eat enzyme rich fruits at the beginning or before a meal; pineapple, kiwi, and papaya are quite high. Personally I take enzyme supplements. I have heard direct feedback from people drastically reducing inflammation with enzyme supplements. Unequalled is pancreatin- it is nothing short of miraculous. My Rasta, Moslem and Jewish brothers and sisters be aware that it is a pork product. I shun pork, except for taking pancreatin, making that one exception for this much researched and incredibly healthy enzyme. Stress is another area to consider. Inflammation is promoted by stress hormones, especially cortisol. Unhealthy high levels of cortisol favour the series 2 inflammatory prostaglandins, raising overall body inflammation. Do what you need to do to lower your stress levels, starting with your head. Go deeper, get “under it” see what’s feeding your subjective experience of stress; journal, try planned dreaming, any kind of therapy that appeals to you, yoga, meditation, tai chi, and just taking 5 minute sanity breaks. Don’t smoke? Great, go outside at work or home for 5 minute fresh air breaks regularly, just like smokers do, just without the cigarette. Of course exercise is great - not too much, not too little. A half hour to one hour twice a week pays big dividends in health. If you want to reach 3 or 4 exercise bouts a week, that’s fine too. But any activity you can add in helps. One super busy working student told me she walks 6 stories, to the top of her college for class almost every day. She does no other exercise, but hey that “climb” is a good start! You can reap the benefits of lower inflammation and improve your health, easily. You will feel better and help slow or even reverse aging, as well! Some dietary tasty changes along with some targeted healthy supplements are all it takes.

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