An uplifting profile of Garth McLean and his unconventional battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Garth is a practitioner and a teacher of Iyengar Yoga. Through the results of his practice, Garth has enlightened members of the medical community who attest to his able management of the disease. The title “Courage and Caution” refers to the advice Yogacharya BKS Iyengar offered Garth upon learning of the challenges he faces with MS.

Click here to view the embedded video.

About 8 years ago, the concern that “Mercury Causes Autism” was front page news. Everyone was talking about it, writing about it, defending it, refuting it. There were meetings with state legislators to change laws about mercury in vaccines. I was one of the lone voices standing against the avalanche shouting, “It’s …not… just… the.. mercury!” (hear the canyon echo).

By 2004, when most of the mercury was out of most vaccines (it’s still in flu shots given to babies, starting at 6 months of age and every year for life), and the rate of autism continued to rise, the Mercury Campaigns started to slow down and campaigners started to scratch their collective heads. Yes the pervasive brain injury seen in autistic children was related to the large amount of mercury in the vaccines. But without the mercury out, why was the rate of autism continuing to climb? Maybe it’s the aluminum? Yes! That’s it! Aluminum is causing autism! ..and that campaign began.

Truth is, it is all of it. 40 doses of 16 different vaccines by 5 years of age, most before 1 year of age, cannot be harmless. Shots contain measurable and significant amounts of 63 different chemicals, viruses, bacterial cell walls, animal DNA and stealth viruses that can alter the injected person’s DNA. Can that keep you healthy? What does that do to the delicate and rapidly developing immune system of an infant?

Now, the latest is ‘VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM.” No surprise, really, but the Press Conference held on May 10, revealed the Courts and the Government have had knowledge of the connection and a true coverup has been going on for decades. A monumental investigation should be demanded by everyone on all levels. And heads should roll.

The day will come when parents will be informed enough about health, they will be more concerned about the possible consequences of getting vaccines then they will be about their child possibly getting a transient infection. With only a cursory examination of the ingredients in the shots, by simply reading the package inserts, parents will refuse to have these solutions injected into their children — or into themselves. They won’t expect a shot to keep their kids from getting sick. Health is easy, really. Avoid refined food, exercise, drink clean water, get plenty of sleep, be sure to have adequate nutrients and vitamin D.

Bottom line: Vaccines can make you sick for a lifetime. Even if you “believe in vaccines” (such a silly phrase), is getting vaccinated to try to avoid short term “vaccine preventable disease” worth the potential trade off?

If you’re a fan of 30 Rock, you may recall the episode (#210) in which network page Kenneth tastes coffee for the first time, becomes instantly addicted to caffeine and briefly goes comically crazy from it, referring to it as the “devil’s liquid.” Now I wouldn’t go so far as to say caffeine is the devil’s spawn, but I will say it has no nutritional value and tends to be steeped in pesticides. It’s also rather pricey, particularly if you hit Starbucks few times a week. Among my other issues with the stuff: caffeine is an addictive, powerful stimulant that raises blood pressure, dehydrates organs, weakens the immune system and robs your energy because it stimulates stress hormones and interferes with the body’s natural rhythms. Though it may sound extreme, I believe that most people should get coffee and caffeine out of their daily lives, particularly if they’re stressed, exhausted or are having trouble sleeping.

So how hooked are you? If you need a cup of coffee in order to function or “get going” in the morning, then you may need to rethink your relationship with caffeine. If you’re looking to cut down, keep in mind that caffeine is not just in coffee. It lurks in sodas, soft drinks, tea, some herbal teas, chocolate and even some medications, for example Anacin and Excedrin, so read the labels. There’s even a little caffeine in decaffeinated coffee, so don’t think of it caffeine hall pass.

When you’re ready to quit, the good news is that you don’t have to go cold turkey, nor should you. The best way to do it is to taper off in small increments so as not to trigger the junkie-like withdrawal symptoms many people struggle with. The mission is to slowly dial down the caffeine so your body can acclimate over time. Here’s a relatively painless strategy to try when you’re ready to unhook from the caffeine drip:

• Day 1: Today, have your usual amount of coffee.
• Day 2 – Day 5: Blend your coffee 50%-50% with decaf (preferably certified organic). Drink that for three days.
• Day 6: Have 25% regular coffee, 75% decaf for one day.
• Day 7: Start drinking pure decaf.
• Bonus Plan: Care to take it a step further? Then try this idea one patient came up with to help break his $80 a week Starbucks habit. First, he followed my 1-week decaffeinating plan outlined above. Next, after he’d been weaned off of the caffeine, he added two more weeks to his program to kick coffee altogether. For Week 2, he continued on pure organic decaf. On Week 3, he began blending his decaf with a roasted grain beverage called Kaffree Roma, starting with a 50% -50% blend, then down to 25% decaf +75% Roma and going then to all Roma on Day 7 of the 3rd week. Eventually, he dropped the Roma as well and no longer “needs” coffee, decaf or coffee substitutes.

Health and medical journalists are not presently providing the public with what might be the most important health advice that they should be given during the flu season: people with the flu should avoid taking fever-reducing drugs, such as aspirin or acetaminophen (aka Tylenol), except in rare situations.

It is widely recognized that fever is a vital defense of the body in its efforts to fight infection. A fever enables the body to increase its production of interferon, an important antiviral substance that is critical for fighting infection. Fever also increases white blood cell mobility and activity, which are instrumental factors in fighting infection. Jane Brody, a long-time respected health columnist for the New York Times, reported back in 1982 on the healing benefits of fever. She noted, “A number of physicians, including pediatricians, are now suggesting that moderate fevers be allowed to run their course, for they may shorten the illness, potentiate the action of antibiotics and reduce the chances of spreading the infection to others.”(1)

Recognition that fever is beneficial has been known for more than 2,000 years, and historically, the healing benefits of fever are so substantial that many patients have actually been treated with ”fever therapy” to aid their recovery from such ailments as cancer, syphilis, tuberculosis and even mania.(2)(3) However, in the 1800′s, aspirin compounds that rapidly reduced fevers became commercially available, and the medical view of fever changed dramatically. Since the mid-1800s, drug companies have successfully convinced conventional physicians and the general public to become vigilant in bringing down fevers, even sometimes using such drastic measures as cold baths and alcohol rubs along with aspirin.

In reference to the flu and fever, the bottom line is that it makes little sense to aggressively suppress the body’s natural defenses against viral infection. There are, of course, some exceptions here. For instance, it may make sense to seek medical care if one’s fever is above 104 degrees for over six hours or in any fever in an infant under four months of age.

Calling Dr. Gupta: CNN’s Correspondent Gives Himself Questionable Medical Advice

“Fever phobia” is so rampant that many usually intelligent people, including physicians and medical reporters, forget what they know about the inherent defenses of the body when they become sick.

On September 23, Sanjay Gupta, MD, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, described his own experience in getting the H1NI flu while reporting from Afghanistan.(4) Although Dr. Gupta reported that he experienced a “high fever,” he never gave specifics, but it is unlikely that over 104 degrees. The fact that Dr. Gupta was away from home and in war zone probably led him to want some relief of his fever, and because of this, he chose to take Tylenol. However, he certainly didn’t help himself by taking this drug to suppress his fever.

It is therefore no wonder that he became the sickest he has ever become. Taking drugs that suppress fever disables the body’s own defenses in fighting infection. It is akin to unscrewing the warning oil pressure light in your car as a way to get rid of that irritating red signal. Such “treatment” is not curative, and in fact, it can lead to much more serious problems.

Ironically, the word “symptom” derives from the words “sign” or “signal”…and just turning “off” a sign or signal is simply not smart, even if double-blind studies show that unscrewing the warning bulb is “effective” in turning the light off.

Ultimately, Dr. Gupta missed a great opportunity to educate the public about not taking fever-reducing drugs, except in certain extreme fevers. Perhaps this article will “light a fire” underneath him to do so.

The New Drug Pushers: Parents

In a 2007 survey of Australian parents published in a pediatrics journal, a shocking 91% of parents used fever-suppressing drugs in the treatment of their children’s fever.(5) Even more startling is the fact that this survey found that the medications were refused or spat out by the child in 44% of the cases, and yet, 62.4 of the parents actually used force to get their child to take these drugs, using different methods of ingestion (29.5%) or by using a suppository (20.8%).

It is interesting to note that children tend to have an inherent fear of doctors, and this fear may not simply be the result of getting injections from them. This fear may be an instinctual fear that what doctors offer them may not really be good for them, despite the seemingly short-term benefits of many drugs. It may be time for us to listen to our children.

Serious Problems from Aspirin and Acetaminophen

Many people minimize the problems from these common drugs, but do so at their own and their family’s peril.

Children who get a viral infection and are given aspirin can lead to Reye’s syndrome, a serious neurological condition that can cause death. Aspirin is also known to thin the blood and increase the chances of various bleeding disorders. Its use more or less doubles the risk of a severe gastrointestinal event, which in most cases can lead to hospitalization. Lower doses that people take to reduce heart problems only seem to decrease these risks by a small amount.

Many people take acetaminophen because it is not associated with increased bleeding. However, the general public is usually not aware of the fact that poison control centers in the US receive more calls as a result of an overdose of this drug than any other drug.(6) This same problem exists in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Most commonly, overdoses of acetaminophen can lead to acute liver failure. In children, it has been associated with increased asthma and eczema symptoms.

Safer Solutions for the Flu…

Instead of using conventional drugs that suppress fevers or that inhibit other important defenses of the body, it makes more sense to use some type of natural medicines that mimic and augment the wisdom of the body.

Homeopathic medicines are a wonderful method to augment the body’s own defenses so that they can more effectively heal themselves from various ailments, including the flu. Because of the similarity between the 1918 flu and the H1N1 flu, it may be helpful to reference homeopathy’s impressive successes in treating people during the 1918 flu.(7) The death rates in the homeopathic hospitals in the US were only around 1%, while the death rates in conventional hospitals were closer to 30%. Another important fact from that era is that New York City had the lowest mortality rate during the 1918 flu than any city in the U.S., and this impressive statistic is primarily due to the fact that this city’s health commissioner at that time was Royal Copeland, MD, a renowned homeopathic physician, who later became a thrice-elected U.S. Senator. (Franklin D. Roosevelt was even his campaign manager during his first election as senator.) (8) Copeland asserted, “There can be no doubt that the superiority of homeopathy in a purely medical condition is just as great as it was fifty years ago.”

One of today’s most popular homeopathic medicines for the flu is the popular Oscillococcinum, a medicine that has been used by homeopaths since the 1920s. There have been four controlled studies that have shown that this medicine is effective in reducing the symptoms of influenza as compared with those people given a placebo.(9)

The effectiveness of another homeopathic remedy, called Gripp-Heel, was compared with that of conventional treatments in a prospective, observational cohort study in 485 patients with mild viral infections and symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, cough or sore throat.(10) As evaluated by the practitioners, 67.9% of patients were considered asymptomatic at the end of Gripp-Heel therapy vs. 47.9% of patients in the control group. Practitioners judged homeopathic treatments as ‘successful’ in 78.1% of cases vs. 52.2% for conventional therapies. Tolerability and compliance were ‘very good’ given for 88.9% of patients in the homeopathic group vs. 38.8% in the conventional treatment group.

The above homeopathic medicines are primarily helpful during the first 48 hours of onset of the flu. Other homeopathic medicines to consider during this time and afterwards include: Gelsemium, Bryonia, Ipecacuanha, Arsenicum album, Eupatorium perf., Rhus toxicodendron, and Baptisia (homeopathic medicines are traditionally listed by their Latin names so that consumers and doctors will know the precise plant, mineral, or animal species of every medicine). Each of these medicines has a history of efficacy in homeopathic doses for treating the specific syndrome of symptoms that each has been found to cause when given experimentally in overdose to healthy people. To determine the details of each of these medicines, please consult a homeopathic guidebook.

References:

(1) Brody J. Fever: New View Stresses its Healing Benefits. New York Times, December 28, 1982.

(2) Hobohm U. Fever therapy revisited. British Journal of Cancer (2005) 92, 421-425. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6602386

(3) Brody J. Fever: New View Stresses its Healing Benefits. New York Times, December 28, 1982.

(4) http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/….

(5) Walsh A, Edwards H, Fraser J. Over-the-counter medication use for childhood fever: A cross-sectional study of Australian parents. J Paediatr Child Health. 2007 June 29.

(6) Lee WM (July 2004). “Acetaminophen and the U.S. Acute Liver Failure Study Group: lowering the risks of hepatic failure”. Hepatology 40 (1): 6-9. doi:10.1002/hep.20293.

(7) Marino R. Flu pandemics: homeopathic prophylaxis and definition of the epidemic genius . Int J High Dilution Res 2009; 8(28): 100-109. http://www.feg.unesp.br/~ojs/index….

(8) Robins N. Copeland’s Cure: Homeopathy and the War between Conventional and Alternative Medicine. New York: Random House, 2005, p. 154.

(9) Vickers A, Smith C. Homoeopathic Oscillococcinum for preventing and treating influenza and influenza-like syndromes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD001957. DOI:
10.1002/14651858.CD001957.pub4 http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/…

(10) Rabe, M. Weiser, P. Klein, Effectiveness and tolerability of a homoeopathic remedy compared with conventional therapy for mild viral infections. Int J Clin Pract. 2004 Sep;58(9):827-32.

Ah, January has arrived, and with it, the height of cold season. While there’s no “cure” for the common cold, there are ways to reduce the chances of catching one, and increase your body’s ability to fight back if you do.

 My winter battle plan includes a full arsenal of cold-fighters, starting with prevention, and finishing with a few key vitamins and supplements to help send colds packing. Here’s how I do it:

Avoid Sugar and Processed foods

Sugar decreases immune function.

Sleep. A lot.

Sleep: It’s free, it’s easy and it’s a key building block of total health, so make an effort to get some zzzz for 7- 8 hours. Think you can’t squeeze another hour out of your busy day? Well, consider the time lost when a cold takes hold, and then commit to going to bed just 15 – to – 30 minutes earlier every night. The more time you allow your body to repair itself with restorative sleep, the stronger your body will be.

Clean up your act.

Think about where your hands go in the course of a day: subway poles, escalator handrails, ATM’s, office phones, computer keyboards, restroom doorknobs, copy machines, communal coffee pot at the office, etc. – all fantastic sources of germs. To keep them at bay:
 

• Around town, hold bus and subway poles with gloved hands, or use a bit of coat sleeve as an impromptu mitten.
• At the office, wash hands with hot water and soap frequently, and wipe down your phone, desk and keyboard daily.
• In-between washes, remove surface grime with portable packs of hand-wipes. Look for natural wipes with little or no alcohol. I like Herban Essentials lemon-scented towelettes, not only because they smell like summer, but they’re also naturally antibacterial and antiseptic.
  Avoid antibacterial soap because of the risk of creating resistant bacteria.

Water your nose.

With heaters cranked up in the winter, nasal passages get dried out and crack, making the nose an easy entry point for germs. Clean out your sinuses and keep nasal passages moist with a neti pot (sea salt and water) or Saltaire available from Duane Reade or simple saline mist treatment, every day.

 Another tip? To add moisture without the hassle of a humidifier, try putting a pan of water on the radiator before bed, leave the bathroom door open when showering, or consider skipping the dry cycle on the dishwasher, open it to air-dry and release steam into the kitchen.

Know your alphabet.

A is for Andrographis, one of my favorite ways to stimulate the immune system. This is my preferred herb for preventing and treating colds. For prevention take 2-3 grams a day and for treatment of acute colds use up to 6-9 grams a day.

B is for Bacteria, that is good bacteria or probiotics. Take a probiotic daily (look for one with 10-20 billion organisms). A strong immune system relies heavily on having a strong foundation in the gut.

C is for Vitamin C, the classic immunity booster that can often help to fend off more serious infections. But you need high doses. So if you are willing, take at least 2 grams 3-4 times a day.

D is for Vitamin D, the best immune system regulator that can help arm your body to fight colds. Probably the most important thing you can do to prevent colds is to optimize your Vitamin D level. Most people need at least 2,000 units a day in the winter and usually more, but please have your blood level measured and take the appropriate dose.
 
E is for Echinacea. Although recent studies have suggested that it is not as effective as originally thought, it can sometimes be helpful.

We all know many children whom conventional medicine has provided great benefits, but we also know many children for whom conventional medicine has not worked. And sadly, we all know many children for whom conventional medicine has hurt…badly.

It is important for parents to know that most drugs are not adequately tested on children. They are tested on adults, and doctors estimate (rather “guesstimate”) the appropriate dose for children based on crude determinations such as their weight.

Worse still, a shockingly high percentage of children are prescribing two or more drugs concurrently. Whenever a doctor prescribes two or more drugs to your child (or to anyone), it is important to realize that little or no research has ever confirmed the safety or efficacy of such poly-pharmacy.

Ultimately, the high number of prescription drugs prescribed to children today and the serious side effects that they cause constitutes a type of “medical children abuse.” Although this is harsh, even very harsh language, the statistics confirm this serious problem.

From just 1995 to 2002 alone, the number of anti-psychotic medications prescribed for children increased five-fold (SFChronicle, 3-17-06). These drugs have been linked to causing severe hallucinations (SFC, 3-22-06) and even to suicide (SFC, 2-1-04). As a parent myself, it is shocking that safer methods are not exhausted before resorting to more dangerous drug therapies.

It is important to note that doctors are not the only source of the problem here. A 1999 survey of pediatricians reported that parents “always, most of the time, or often pressure them (pediatricians) to prescribe antibiotics when their children are ill but antibiotics are not indicated.”

What Parents Can Do…

In light of these and many other studies, one important action that parents can take to optimize your child’s immunity is to avoid prescription and OTC drugs except in medical emergencies. Remember the words of the father of medicine, Hippocrates, when he said, “First, do no harm.” This dictum was not just to doctors but to anyone who is treating sick people.

And here is where using homeopathic medicines can provide a REAL alternative. Because homeopathic medicines often provide a rapid result, these natural medicines are ideal for many common acute problems that your child may experience. The trick is to learn how to use homeopathic medicines. For self-care, you have two choices:

• Get a homeopathic guidebook (or two or three) that provides instruction on how to use homeopathic medicines (see the Resources section below for a list of some of the better guidebooks)
• Get a “homeopathic medicine kit” so that you can be ready to your kid at night and on weekend (when they tend to get sick) (check-out a wide selection at: www.homeopathic.com)

People generally get the best results when they use the guidebooks to select the individually indicated homeopathic medicine for your child’s unique pattern of symptoms. If, however, you cannot figure out which one remedy fits your child’s symptoms, I recommend that you consider using a homeopathic formula (these formulas make homeopathy very “user-friendly” because they include several of the most commonly indicated remedies for the specific ailment that your child is experiencing).

Based on homeopathic principles and experience, one of the ways that chronic diseases develop is by the suppression of acute ailments. Learn to use homeopathic medicines to treat common respiratory infections, sore throats, ear infections, influenza, allergies, and headaches. You will optimize your child’s immunity and prevent the development of chronic symptoms and syndromes by learning to treat and really cure simple acute ailments in your child.

The Limitations Of Homeopathic Self-Care

If your child gets recurrent ailments or if the same or similar symptoms keep returning, it is generally best to seek professional homeopathic care. It is also best to seek professional homeopathic care for the more serious pediatric ailments, including but not limited to high fevers (103 and higher), asthma, ADD/ADHD (or significant behavioral problems), and genetically inherited conditions.

Homeopaths are specifically trained to prescribe high-potency homeopathic “constitutional medicines.” These highly individually selected medicines are prescribed for your child’s unique genetic, physical, and psychological state, and 200+ years of experience using homeopathic medicines have found that these medicines can powerfully strengthen a child’s immune and defense system.

If you do not know a homeopath in your area, you might find someone nearby by going to:

• www.homeopathic.org
• www.homeopathicdirectory.com
• www.homeopathic.com (they provide a free list, upon request, with any book order)

Homeopathic Guidebooks for Family Medicine:

• Dennis Chernin, MD, MPH, The Complete Homeopathic Resource for Common Illnesses. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2006
• Stephen Cummings, MD, and Dana Ullman, MPH, Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicines. New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 2004
• Dana Ullman, MPH, Homeopathic Medicines for Children and Infants. New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 1994

Dana Ullman, MPH is the author of 9 books on homeopathic medicines, including Homeopathic Medicines for Children and Infants and his newest book The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy. His website, www.homeopathic.com, is a rich source of information and resources on homeopathy.

Here are my four top tips for helping your children to stay healthy and avoid illness through the fall and winter.

The foods that make kids the sickest are sugar and dairy.

1. Avoid dairy

If you can possibly raise them without milk products, you will prevent the most common mucus conditions, especially colds and ear infections.  Milk is a great mucus producer;  bacteria love living in it, and casein, the protein in milk, is commonly used in laboratories to set up bacterial cultures.  Cheese is just as much of a problem, and yogurt is little better.  And it’s not because of the fat – in fact, butter does not bring on infections, according to my observations – it is the protein and the calcium, which in cow’s milk are intended to help baby cows become big cows (or steer), and are excessive for humans.

2. Don’t reward them with sugar

If you can avoid giving your kids sugared foods – including sugared breakfast cereals, cookies, cake, candy, and ice cream – you will allow their immune systems to do a better job of keeping them healthy.  Sugar is known to depress the immune system, and what is worse, it is really addictive.  According to a recent study at the University of Bordeaux, France, it appears to be more addictive than cocaine.  I know that we tend to reward the children with sweet goodies, but that habit is perhaps best reconsidered – crayons, balloons, comic books or nuts and raisins might be a better idea for rewards.

3. Give them lots of protein

To keep the kids healthy, they also need to eat sufficient protein (some in each meal, such as fish, chicken, meats, or beans and legumes), with lots of vegetables both cooked and raw, as well as good quality fats (extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, organic butter).  See my post on protein breakfasts for more advice.

4. Make sure they get plenty of rest

Most importantly, they need enough sleep and rest, which will allow their bodies and their brains to recuperate and restore, as well as grow.  Lack of sleep is one of the major causes of stress and illness.

So there you have it:  feed them well, keep them off the ice cream and sweets, and make sure they sleep enough, and they will avoid many illnesses.

Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D.

ANNEMARIE COLBIN, Ph.D., CHES, is an award-winning leader in the field of natural health   She founded Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts (TM) in New York City in 1977, and is adjunct professor of nutrition at the city’s Empire State College. She is the author of four books, including The Book of Whole Meals (Autumn Press, 1979; Ballantine Books, 1983), The Natural Gourmet (Ballantine Books, 1989, 1991), and Food and Healing (Ballantine Books, 1986, 1996).  Her website is: www.foodandhealing.com

Why should you be aware of Inflammation?

Many researchers from completely different fields of medicine seem to be independently coming to the same conclusion – inflammation plays a key role in the development of what seems like completely unrelated diseases. Arthritis, Asthma, Parkinson’s Disease, Osteoporosis, Heart Disease, Cancer and many other seemingly unrelated diseases all seem to have chronic inflammation as a key underlying mechanism. Chronic Inflammation is a systemic problem, affecting multiple organs in the body and is starting to be acknowledged as a major issue that many of us struggle with, especially as we age. The Standard American Diet is a prime cause of chronic inflammation – sugar, processed foods, dairy, gluten grains and grain fed factory farm animals being huge factors.

Why has Western Medicine been slow to recognize the many problems that result from Inflammation?

Unfortunately the way our medical system is set up, a specialist only looks at the symptoms as they relate to the organ system that he/she has the expertise in. This proves to be an ineffective approach as the symptoms and signs of chronic inflammation are systemic and affect many parts of the body at once. The tools of Western Medicine are drugs and surgery. Surgery obviously can’t address such a systemic problem and there are no drugs that treat the underlying problem, although some may help various symptoms.

What about Anti-Inflammatory drugs?

Although the anti-inflammatory drugs do work, they don’t address the underlying causes and, as we’ve recently learned, can have serious side effects. So although short-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs may be advised in some cases, long-term use can cause serious problems. Instead, I suggest taking fish oil and other anti-inflammatory nutrients like Turmeric and Boswellia. It’s important to get to the source of the inflammation so you can take the necessary steps to alleviate it, not mask it with medications.

Is there any way to test for Inflammation?

Unfortunately, there are not any accurate tests to measure this chronic problem as of yet. The only commonly available test at the moment is the High Sensitive CRP (C-Reactive Protein). CRP is an enzyme made in the liver, which becomes elevated with inflammation. An optimal level would be less than 0.7.

How do you treat Chronic Inflammation?

Avoid pro-inflammatory foods

Avoid sugar and refined foods, processed foods, trans fats, dairy, gluten grains and factory farmed meats, all of which are pro-inflammatory. Try the REMOVE or REVIVE diets – both of these eliminate the harmful foods you need to avoid.

Eat foods that cool inflammation

• Lots of spices – in particular, turmeric, ginger, rosemary and basil
• Lots of fruits and vegetables (preferably organic)
• Wild salmon, sardines, herring and anchovies
• Olive oil

Support your body’s own anti-inflammatory response with specific supplements

• Vitamin D3
• Fish oil
• Probiotics
• Green powdered drinks
• Turmeric
• Boswellia
• A good multivitamin

Balance your gut (gut imbalances are a common source of inflammation)

• Avoid food allergens
• Treat low-grade infections
• Take probiotics

Decrease toxicity (toxicity will cause inflammation)

• Eat organic foods as much as possible
• Decrease the amount of chemicals you put on your skin
• Decrease the amount of chemicals in your home
• Try the REMOVE or REVIVE diets – both of these eliminate the toxic ingredients you need to avoid

Exercise  

There is lots of research showing that physical activity suppresses inflammation.

Lose weight

This is because fat cells fuel inflammation.

Get plenty of rest and relaxation

Stress promotes inflammation and therefore decreasing stress will decrease inflammation.

Brush and floss your teeth

Periodontal disease causes inflammation and flossing prevents periodontal disease.

Try acupuncture

Apart from being able to calm down inflammation, acupuncture is a way to generally improve function.

In essence, my method is to remove what is harmful and add in that which is beneficial. This means removing as many pro-inflammatory foods and toxins as possible, eliminating foods that cause sensitivities or are common food allergens, while at the same time supporting your system with the appropriate nutrients and modalities for it to function more efficiently.

What’s the difference between Acute and Chronic Inflammation?

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury or stress. We’re all familiar with the swelling associated with inflammation like when we sprain an ankle, cut ourselves or get an infection. This acute inflammation is a normal immune system response, a natural and necessary part of the healing process. Normally these symptoms subside after a few days, once the immune system has done it’s job to heal the injured area.

On the other hand chronic inflammation occurs when this normal process goes wrong and starts to target even healthy tissue. Progressive doctors accept that chronic inflammation plays a key role in aging and in many ailments including arthritis, heart disease, bone health and allergies.

Chronic inflammation is generally the result of an immune system imbalance. What I’ve seen in my practice is that decreasing inflammation and restoring balance is absolutely essential for long-term health and will likely help ease many of the problems you may be experiencing.

What causes Chronic Inflammation?

Chronic inflammation is usually caused by a combination of factors. There are often underlying nutritional deficiencies or imbalances, which have taken years to develop. Then there’s a trigger, which precipitates an inflammation -some type of injury to the body, or an infection or stress to the body.

The following are the factors that predispose one to chronic inflammation

1. Poor diet (probably the most important)
2. Nutritional deficiencies or imbalances
3. Vitamin D deficiency
4. Gastro-intestinal imbalances
5. Toxicity
6. Hormonal imbalances
7. Excess fat (especially around midsection)
8. Aging
9. Lack of sleep
10. Stress
11. Chronic low-grade infections (e.g. yeast or parasites)

What diseases are associated with Chronic Inflammation?

1. Arthritis (Osteo and Rheumatoid)
2. Auto-immune diseases (e.g. Lupus)
3. Allergies
4. Asthma
5. Chronic soft tissue injuries (e.g.Tendonitis, Bursitis, etc.)
6. Heart disease, Hypertension, Stroke
7. Obesity
8. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Irritable Bowel Syndrome
9. Some cancers
10. Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
11. Diabetes
12. Psoriasis, Eczema, Acne
13. Fibromyalgia
14. Aging skin, wrinkles
15. Osteoporosis
16. Gingivitis, Periodontitis
17. Multiple Sclerosis