Inflammation and Regeneration

By Donald Payne

Hello again, dear readers. Thank you for all of the wonderful comments I receive about these articles I write for you in the Lotus Guide. The intention as always is for your deeper understanding of natural healing—for you to be able to asumme a greater responsibility in guiding your life toward health and happiness and away from pain, disease, and suffering.

This article is timely considering the recent actions by the FDA in removing the so-called COX-2–inhibiting Vioxx from the market after its makers found the drug significantly increased the risk of heart attack. All of a sudden the media and consumers are questioning not only the impact of Vioxx but also what is really known about inflammation. As it turns out, through research into the inflammatory process we have found out that microinflammations are indeed at the core of the degenerative process. Here’s how it works:

Inflammation is the first step in the healing of any type of injury or infection. It is a sequence of complicated, interrelated events that work to defend the body, ultimately bringing plasma proteins and phagocytes to an injured area to initiate tissue repair. The body uses the immune system to rid itself of foreign invaders and heal injured or destroyed tissue. When a part of the body is injured, local capillaries become dilated and permeable, allowing fluid carrying the proinflammatory chemicals to leak out of those vessels.

In normal inflammation, after the damage to the body is contained and cleaned up, immune cells release messengers that end the inflammatory activity. Tissues in the area then work to make new cells and fill in the damaged parts.

Now here is the key. Healthy inflammation is akin to a contained, controlled burn in a forest—a small fire is set within a limited tissue zone to “burn” away damaged cells and tissue debris. But when inflammatory excitation is past the point just necessary to contain and clean up the damage, this fire can escape its normal limits. The fire then gets out of control and without additional effort to control it (such as taking antioxidant or anti-inflammatory supplements), this fire can become a chronic burn that continues for years and threatens to promote degenerative diseases and conditions of all kinds.
For great detail and explanation of this process I highly recommend reading a book by Jack Challem called The Inflammation Syndrome. I guarantee that the introduction and first chapter are worth the price of the book. The rest is a great education as to how microinflammations get out of control and create most of our degenerative diseases, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, even allergies.

Challem also shows how common supplements and antioxidants act as anti-inflammatory substances and how we can use them, along with lifestyle and dietary changes, to reverse many of our most common ailments.

With that, let me list a short primer of supplements that Challem recommends and also some I use myself that have proven effective for me.

One of the most important contributions to our anti-inflammatory supplement regime is Omega-3 fish oils—EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid)—along with the only Omega-6 known to be anti-inflammatory—GLA (Gamma linolenic acid).

Obviously, with all the pollution in the oceans we want to make sure the Omega-3s we consume in supplements are pure. One that I use is the Nordic Naturals line of fish oils. They are molecularly distilled, pharmaceutical-grade fish oils, which means they are pure and free from all contaminants and heavy metals such as lead or mercury. GLA helps promote the anti-inflammatory effects of the fish oils and you can get it through evening primrose oil capsules or borage seed capsules. I use 2,000-4,000 mg of fish oil Omega-3s per day and usually one or two capsules of evening primrose oil.

Since all antioxidants are also anti-inflammatory, you may also take pycnogenol or grape seed extracts (100-200 mg), vitamin E (400 IUs), and the ascorbate form of vitamin C (1,000 mg). You will also find the natural COX-2–inhibiting herbs—ginger and turmeric in supplement form—very effective in helping to put out the fire of inflammation.

Since this issue of Lotus Guide comes to you in March and April and we are in beautiful, agricultural Butte County, let’s not forget about that common out-of-control inflammation that we call allergies. Yes, allergies are also inflammations, so all of the above applies, and for this particular seasonal condition I offer an additional commentary on diet and supplements.

In your diet, eliminate white sugar, white flour, milk products, and everything that is ice cold. A good spring blood cleansing for two weeks would also be nice, along with hot baths and exercise for at least 45 minutes per day. We have found that the two most effective supplements are Eclectic Institute’s freeze-dried nettles capsules (two-three capsules per day) and Country Life’s Aller-Max, which is a combination of anti-inflammatory and antiallergen herbs, vitamins, and minerals.

Thus we have our spring regimen. You, armed with understanding, are ready for the development of eternal regeneration instead of degeneration. This way you can smell the flowers without fear and face the new season with renewed healing abilities.

Blessings to all,
Donald Payne

Donald Payne is a nutrition specialist at S&S Produce in Chico CA. He has dedicated his life to alternative ways of dealing with allergies and staying healthy. He studied and practice Oriental Medicine in Chicago. He also studied acupuncture and alternative healing methods that led him into a long career in health foods.

This article was re-published using permission from the Lotus Guide Magazine and it is copyrighted. No reproduction of this article is allowed without the express consent of the Lotus Guide Magazine.

The Lotus Guide Magazine is produced and published out of Chico Ca.
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