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Inflammation…  

A word that seems to be all the rage in the holistic health world right now due to research beginning to link it to numerous chronic health diseases! Because of this, there are so many different health companies and products using the word “anti-inflammatory” as a marketing tool to get their products out there. While a lot of these products are great for inflammation, it can be very overwhelming for a consumer, trying to improve their health, to know what should be consumed and what should not be consumed. Plus there is a whole lot more to dealing with inflammation in the body than just taking a supplement or drinking an herbal tea that is anti-inflammatory. Again all good things, but we need to be looking at the whole of the person, not just our parts.

Here at Sei Mee Tea, LLC we are very passionate about healing the whole person, which is why we choose to help educate you all through our blogs and newsletters. By helping you find the tools and lifestyle modifications you need to heal, alongside providing you with top-quality products, we hope to get you one step closer to optimal health!

So, today we will tackle this daunting topic of inflammation in the most simple way possible, by breaking down simple lifestyle modifications in the areas of mind, body, and soul we will conquer this journey of healing inflammation.

“I believe our first step in conquering this journey of inflammation is understanding what exactly inflammation is…”

Let’s start with the basics…

Inflammation is defined as: An essential immune system response in dealing with insult or injury in the body.

There are four Latin terms that characterize the indications of inflammation:

Dolor = pain

Calor = heat

Rubor = redness

Tumor = swelling

A basic example of inflammation that we most likely have all witnessed at some point in our lives is how our bodies react to a cut or scrape…. You will typically see redness and swelling, as well as feel pain and increased heat in the injured area. Through pain and swelling the body immobilizes the injured part, allowing white blood cells the time needed to heal the damaged tissue.

In the simplest of terms, these symptoms are our body’s way of triggering an inflammatory response which then communicates to our immune systems that there is something in need of healing. The immune system then sends extra nourishment and white blood cells to the injured area, the healing process begins and the inflammation subsides.

At this point, some of you may be thinking…

“How is this a bad thing? It sounds to me like our natural inflammatory response helps our bodies heal from injury?”

While yes the above-mentioned is very true, what we need to be focusing on as health warriors is the dark side of inflammation.

The dark side of inflammation is where it becomes “ongoing” or “chronic.”

There are two types of inflammation, “acute” and “chronic”.

Acute inflammation is the type mentioned above, where it is a quick but short-lived immune response to injury. Allowing the body to destroy invaders such as bacteria and viruses as well as clear away dead damaged cells so the injured area of the body can return to a state of homeostasis or balance.  Acute inflammation does not last long, as it goes away once the injured area is healed.

Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, starts with the same response as acute inflammation but never goes away because the immune system response is unable to eliminate the cause. There are also cases of chronic inflammation where the immune response is experiencing miscommunication with different body systems and this results in inflammation staying active after the initial threat has been eliminated, as well as inflammation becoming activated when there is no apparent threat to begin with.

In other words, these cases of chronic inflammation are causing our immune systems to attack our healthy cells and tissues rather than attacking foreign substances.

Chronic inflammation is now being linked to numerous health diseases afflicting many western civilizations today. Diseases such as:

Chronic or “Silent” inflammation is not always obvious to sufferers. But in reality, there are many symptoms that we are all prone to every day that are signs of inflammation.

Here are a few of the most common symptoms that may be your body telling you, you may be a victim of inflammation…

Body pain

Constant fatigue and insomnia

Depression, anxiety, and mood disorders

Gastrointestinal complications like constipation, diarrhea, and acid reflux

Weight gain

Frequent infections

Again these are just a few of the most common symptoms… the list is quite extensive and is something to further look into. If you have additional symptoms they too may be linked to chronic inflammation.

So the next question that I imagine is coming up for you all is…

“So I seem to be a sufferer of chronic inflammation, but what is causing it and what do I do about it?”

Diet & Nutrition, dental health, lifestyle habits, and environmental exposure to contaminants and toxins are all factors being linked to the cause of chronic inflammation. Now it is very important to remember that chronic inflammation is a pretty new topic in the world of health and disease. It is being studied every day, but most researchers and doctors will tell you that chronic inflammation is still very much so a mystery.  

This lack of understanding of the cause of chronic inflammation may leave some of you feeling defeated in your quest to beat your inflammation. As a health coach constantly looking for the latest answers to these types of questions, I can relate to that feeling far too well…

But luckily with the idea of holistic healing in mind, I truly believe that we can all conquer our chronic inflammation (and all disease for that matter) through simple lifestyle modifications without knowing the exact cause of our inflammation.

Instead of focusing on what we don’t know we need to focus on what we do know…

And that is… “With a balancing of the mind, body, and soul we can lead ourselves to our optimal place of health and happiness.”

The world health organization states that “The prevalence of diseases associated with chronic inflammation is anticipated to increase persistently for the next 30 years in the United States.”

Statistics like these are something I try not to take to heart too seriously especially when they are trying to predict the future. But I also feel that statistics are important in opening our eyes to current and potential issues that are occurring among our population.

When I see statements such as the one mentioned above, it literally hurts my heart to think that the human race is dying from self-inflicted chronic inflammation and disease that are very much so preventable and curable. I don’t know about all of you, but I can definitively say that I do NOT want to be one of the humans factoring into this rise in chronic inflammation and disease. I want to die a healthy old lady, with a lifetime of beautiful achievements,  not a bedridden sick young woman, full of unsatisfied dreams.

Even without extensive research, I think many of us seeking help in the field of holistic healing can feel it in our gut instincts, that the solution to a lot of our health issues is through diet and lifestyle changes, as well as caring for our environment.

For the month of April, I will be focusing on different holistic protocols to help you conquer your chronic inflammation, which in turn may heal you from any of the mentioned diseases that you may be suffering from. As always I will be focusing on a mind, body, and soul approach to healing and in this case will be strongly focused on nutrition and diet.

If this article has led you to believe that you may be a sufferer of chronic inflammation please subscribe to my blog so you will be in the loop for future postings!!

Cheers to Healthy Living Folks!

Kenzie

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This article has not been reviewed by the FDA. Always consult with your primary care physician or naturopathic doctor before making any significant changes to your health and wellness routine.

Resources:

Cancer. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer

Petersen, D. (2017). NAT 302: Holistic Pathophysiology(17th ed.). Portland, OR: American College of Healthcare Sciences.

Duke Medicine News. (n.d.). New Anti-Inflammatory Agents Silence Overactive Immune Response. Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://surgery.duke.edu/news/new-anti-inflammatory-agents-silence-overactive-immune-response

Is Your Body Burning Up with Hidden Inflammation? (2015, November 12). Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://drhyman.com/blog/2010/07/11/is-your-body-burning-up-with-hidden-inflammation-2/

Pahwa, R. (2018, October 27). Chronic Inflammation. Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493173/

Understanding Inflammation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://www.johnshopkinshealthreview.com/issues/spring-summer-2016/articles/understanding-inflammation

Meet the Author:  Mackenzie