We live in a generation of inflammation. Why?
Inflammation is the body’s natural and healthy response to repair damaged tissues and eliminate toxins. However, when this response becomes chronic, it results in the ongoing presence of an active immune response. This state of low-grade inflammation can lead to shifts in metabolic functions, conditions that disrupt balance in the body, favoring the development of a wide range of noncommunicable inflammatory conditions such as autoimmune, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Reasons for Chronic Inflammation
- Emotional stress
- Irregular sleep patterns
- Chronic low grade infection
- Intestinal permeability
- Microbiome imbalance
- Excessive alcohol or drug induced
- Genetic influence
- Food intolerance
- Hyper palatable, affordable and ready-to-eat, ultra processed foods (refined sugar, grains, additives, preservatives, vegetable oils, sweeteners, colouring agents, flavour agents)
- Heavy metals
- Plastics
- Pesticides, herbicides, insecticides
In naturopathic medicine we treat the whole individual, peeling back the layers of physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual involvement. Obstacles to health are identified within an individual and a plan is made to remove the obstacles and support the body’s natural mechanisms of healing. I often look for the low hanging fruit and work with patients to find scientifically proven methods and traditional therapies that makes sense to their condition. When we stop adding fuel to the inflammation, calm the body and replace depleted nutrients, small daily changes can add up to reduced levels of inflammation.
Illness don’t come upon us out of the blue, they develop from small daily sins against nature
Hippocrates
Measure change
Inflammation can be measured in a number of ways. Visibly, there may be areas that are swollen, have rashes, aches and pains. Blood work may reveal an infection, high levels of white blood cells, high hsCRP, ESR, antibodies, fibrinogen, poor liver and kidney function tests, cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels. Heart rate variability may be low. Electrical organ function tests might illustrate poor conductivity. Microbiome analysis might reveal imbalance, urine analysis may reveal infection. Images and scans might reveal masses or foreign bodies. We will help pull the pieces of the puzzle together and create a plan.
The body knows
I always say if you are quiet enough in your own body, you will already have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. I like to teach people how to tune into the messages their body gives them. This knowing is the wisdom our bodies bring to us. Our bodies are truly a messenger. The body actually sends 80-90% of the information up to the brain, while the brain sends only 10-20% down to the body. Our senses are huge helpers in this.
Once we tease apart habits and routines of sleep, exercise, diet, and factors of elimination through our liver, lungs, lymph, bowels, kidneys, skin, and emotions, we have a pretty good idea of where the inflammation is growing.
The root cause of the inflammation is often multi factorial. Small reductions in multiple areas have potential to make a difference. We need to stop adding stuff to our toxic bucket. We need to open up the organs of elimination to help drain the inflammation from the body. It sounds simple. It can be simple. But the body is innately complex.
Cleansing and clearing is a constant process. The body earnestly strives to keep you in balance. When you feel off, or one of your organs of elimination tells you it needs some loving attention, where will you turn?
