Day 123 of 365 - The Fire Within - Quench or Ignite?
Almost twenty years ago, I started exploring what I could do to reduce symptoms that were bothering me and becoming more frequent. This included things like occasional flaring of swelling and pain in some finger joints, an increase in abdominal fat, muscle pain and fatigue. Something which all of these symptoms have in common is inflammation.
Because I suspected that an underlying factor for me was the hormonal changes of perimenopause, I turned to the book called The Hormone Diet by naturopathic doctor Natasha Turner. From it, I learned the following. "Within a well-balanced immune system, inflammation ebbs and flows as needed. A certain degree of inflammation is a basic mechanism, but excessive or persistent inflammation leads to tissue destruction and disease. Chronic activation of the inflammatory response takes a heavy toll on the body and has become recognized as the root cause of most diseases associated with aging."
From that book I also learned typical causes of inflammation which include: poor digestive health, immune system overdrive, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, abdominal obesity and insulin resistance, estrogen decline, environmental toxins, depression and stress.
Over the years I have done a lot more reading and have heard a similar message repeated by many kinds of doctors and health experts in more depth, explaining what goes on at the cellular level. It's been researched so much now that it's hard to deny.
In The Autoimmune Solution, by Dr. Amy Myers, she talks about a spectrum of risk for autoimmune disease, from low to high. Our risk for developing an autoimmune condition increases with elevated frequency of inflammatory symptoms like asthma, allergies, joint pain, muscle pain, fatigue and digestive issues. So, if any of these used to happen maybe only once in awhile but now occur on a regular basis, we need to pay attention. It's a cascading effect which will only increase unless we address it.
Current research also points to gut based issues as a key factor in this cascading inflammatory effect. Many of the low grade autoimmune responses which occur, begin in the gut. For various reasons, the digestive system becomes less efficient at absorbing and passing nutrients into our bloodstream and releases poorly digested particles through, which the body responds to via the immune system, causing an inflammation flare. As mentioned above, if this happens on a more and more regular basis, there is a domino effect whereby the immune system is overactivated.
Logically, a powerful way to address this is by what we put in our digestive system and how we support it's function. Limiting or eliminating pro-inflammatory foods is key. What those are can vary from person to person. Most of us have some sense of what foods leave us feeling unwell. Also, we all know it is important to exercise, limit our exposure to toxins in the environment and reduce stress in our lives.
At any age, but especially in mid-life or the senior years, it's very important to pay attention to the signals our bodies are giving us and to make the choices that will quench rather than ignite that inflammation. That's because chronic illness does not 'just happen'. It gradually builds up over many years.
Sorry for what may seem like a discouraging post, but I feel it's important information to be aware of.
Because I suspected that an underlying factor for me was the hormonal changes of perimenopause, I turned to the book called The Hormone Diet by naturopathic doctor Natasha Turner. From it, I learned the following. "Within a well-balanced immune system, inflammation ebbs and flows as needed. A certain degree of inflammation is a basic mechanism, but excessive or persistent inflammation leads to tissue destruction and disease. Chronic activation of the inflammatory response takes a heavy toll on the body and has become recognized as the root cause of most diseases associated with aging."
From that book I also learned typical causes of inflammation which include: poor digestive health, immune system overdrive, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, abdominal obesity and insulin resistance, estrogen decline, environmental toxins, depression and stress.
Over the years I have done a lot more reading and have heard a similar message repeated by many kinds of doctors and health experts in more depth, explaining what goes on at the cellular level. It's been researched so much now that it's hard to deny.
In The Autoimmune Solution, by Dr. Amy Myers, she talks about a spectrum of risk for autoimmune disease, from low to high. Our risk for developing an autoimmune condition increases with elevated frequency of inflammatory symptoms like asthma, allergies, joint pain, muscle pain, fatigue and digestive issues. So, if any of these used to happen maybe only once in awhile but now occur on a regular basis, we need to pay attention. It's a cascading effect which will only increase unless we address it.
Current research also points to gut based issues as a key factor in this cascading inflammatory effect. Many of the low grade autoimmune responses which occur, begin in the gut. For various reasons, the digestive system becomes less efficient at absorbing and passing nutrients into our bloodstream and releases poorly digested particles through, which the body responds to via the immune system, causing an inflammation flare. As mentioned above, if this happens on a more and more regular basis, there is a domino effect whereby the immune system is overactivated.
Logically, a powerful way to address this is by what we put in our digestive system and how we support it's function. Limiting or eliminating pro-inflammatory foods is key. What those are can vary from person to person. Most of us have some sense of what foods leave us feeling unwell. Also, we all know it is important to exercise, limit our exposure to toxins in the environment and reduce stress in our lives.
At any age, but especially in mid-life or the senior years, it's very important to pay attention to the signals our bodies are giving us and to make the choices that will quench rather than ignite that inflammation. That's because chronic illness does not 'just happen'. It gradually builds up over many years.
Sorry for what may seem like a discouraging post, but I feel it's important information to be aware of.
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