3 important nutrients to help fight inflammation

Sarah is 35, lives in Northern Ontario, and has come to see me for a nagging persistent back pain.  She has tried physiotherapy in her hometown but without much relief. She also lists on her her intake that she is troubled by fatigue, insomnia and irritable bowel syndrome. When I palpate and test her muscles they tight or hypo-tonic which, in my experience,  is a sign of low grade inflammation in her body.

Inflammation in our bodies is a normal response of our body's immune system. For example, if you sprain your ankle it will often become swollen. In this case, the swelling is caused by your immune system sending molecules to the area to begin repairs. Once their job is done the molecules leave and the inflammation subsides, a sign that your immune system is behaving properly. On the flip side, as in Sarah's case, where there is general body inflammation which has been there for a while, is a sign that her immune system is behaving badly or dysregulated.

If your immune system is behaving badly it often a sign that it has been overworked. If you imagine that your immune system is an army who's main job is to defend your body. When it comes under attack the immune soldiers respond, deal with the threat and then go back to their barracks. If however the attack is more like a siege where your immune soldiers are having to defend your body over a prolonged period at some point they are going to become disheartened, fatigued and less likely to follow orders.

In today's polluted world, this situation is very much the norm with our bodies having to deal with any number of invading hostile elements in our food we eat, the water we drink and wash in, and in the air we breath.

It is no wonder our immune system gets overwhelmed!

In any siege, the defenders are protected behind walls which in our bodies case is our skin, the lining of our intestinal tract and lungs. Like the defending soldiers, after sustained attack these protective barriers will become weakened and holes will appear through which the attackers can enter. In our bodies the intestinal lining can become weakened, among many things, by medication such as antibiotics or birth control, and eating gluten. In medical terms this weakening of your intestines is called intestinal permeability or leaky gut.

Just by hearing Sarah's symptoms I can see that her barriers have been breached, a battle is raging inside her body and her defending immune system is starting to behave badly.

When a your immune system behaves badly 3 negative things begin to happen. 

1. The defenders become over zealous and fire continuously.
2. The defenders begin to see anything that comes into the body as hostile - how multiple food sensitivities develop.
3. The defenders begin to see parts of your body as potential threats and begin attacking them - how autoimmune diseases begin.

To help her out of control and overwhelmed immune system Sarah needs to step in and help out. she can do this by:

1. Identifying and limiting the number of hostile invaders her body has to deal with.
2. Stop weakening her barriers and find ways to rebuild them.
3. Ensure that her immune system is strong enough to sustain some form of siege without losing the plot.

To strengthen her immune system and make it less likely to go rogue, the body needs to have sufficient supplies of three essential nutrients:

1. Vitamin D
2. EPA and DHA from Fish Oils
3. Glutathione

Ensuring her body has access to foods high in these nutrients and or taking supplements where her supplies are very low will be crucial if she is to keep her immune system in order. 

Finally

I hope you found this information useful. More importantly, I hope you do something with it.
 
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Nutrition, Nutrition, Nutrition

One of my favourite programs I used to watch in the UK was a property buying show called Location, Location, Location. The show was hosted by two realtors who who competed to find buyers a new home. When looking for a new home one of the most fundamental factors that determined whether the buyers liked the property was it's location.

Although I am an Osteopath one of the first things I look when somebody comes to me with a physical problem, especially if it is chronic, is their persons nutrition. For me if there's something off with their diet then it needs to be corrected for any physical therapy is going to really help.

Without getting too controversial

If you suffer from physical pain there are some obvious dietary factors you need consider:

1. Do you drink enough water?
2. Do you eat fresh fruit and vegetables everyday?
3. Do you limit your intake of processed food?

If you answered "no" to all three of these questions then then your body will not be happy. A good analogue I use with my clients is to imagine that their body is a high performance sports car. If you fill your car up with 87 then after not too long your car is not going to run as well and eventually you will be visiting your dealer who will tell you to start using 93. In the same way your body will respond much better to water than coffee, or fresh food than processed.

So, if you are suffering try making some basic nutritional changes and see what happens. You might be surprised.