Natural help for inflammation

Consider the fact that the main transportation methods in our body consist of pipe-like organs: our blood stream, our digestion, our lungs. These pathways are lined with cells that form membranes. The membranes in question control what stays where it is supposed to be, and what gets to places where it shouldn't. Simple enough so far.

When the cells that form the membranes, and therefore the membranes themselves, become inflamed, anarchy rules.

In the case of the digestive tract, toxins are re-circulated in the bloodstream, proteins incompletely digested are recognized by the body as invaders, the essential balance of friendly organisms is disrupted leading to candida, IBS, colitis, in turn disrupting the immune system.

Other ways in which inflammation manifests itself is in the painful joints that afflict so many people, whether as a result of trauma, or age and deterioration . For years, the medical approach to this problem has been to recommend aspirin type pain killers, NSAIDs, or Cox 2 inhibitors, depending on the severity of the problem.

I have written in my Blog about the dire immediate consequences of a certain over-the-counter pain killer, and I believe everyone is now aware of the consequences of taking Vioxx. However, the unintended consequences of taking even the more seemingly benign painkillers day after day has not been so well researched.

I was talking the other day to an old friend of my husband, who had contacted us after 30 years of silence: he had been a paratrooper, and having been told to "live with the pain" of his damaged joints spent those years popping painkillers daily.

Even more alarming, the February 3, 2002, issue of the British Medical Journal carried a study on the increased risk of miscarriage among women using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

This Danish study involved over 1400 women . A 2003 California study confirmed this finding, coming up with an 80% increase in risk of miscarriage where NSAIDs were used.

The importance of folic acid in pregnancy cannot be overemphasized, and after years of proselytizing on the part of the alternative health community is finally accepted by the Government and the medical establishment. Remember, folic acid depletion during pregnancy is also linked to birth defects.

Mouse Model of Food Allergies Reveals Cause of Inflammation
In a study that might one day lead to new treatments for some food allergies and related diseases, a team of Cincinnati researchers has shown how certain immune cells attack the digestive tract of mice fed specially treated food. The study, which appears in the April edition of Nature Immunology, identifies key players in food-induced inflammation of the digestive tract.

The research identifies the culprits as eosinophils, immune cells packed with powerful proteins that, when released, destroy surrounding tissues and help rally other immune cells to sites of infection. Eosinophils often appear in high numbers at sites of allergic inflammation, but researchers have not known if the cells caused the disease or were merely bystanders called to the scene.

“This study provides very clear evidence that, in this model, eosinophils play a critical role in disease,” says Marshall Plaut, M.D., chief of the allergic mechanisms section at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which funded the study. “Understanding how and why these cells attack the digestive organs is an important step toward understanding a number of human gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases, including food allergy.”

In most of us, our immune system ignores the foods we eat. If our defenses stop ignoring these foods, however, immune cells can rush to the digestive tract and launch an attack, leading to allergies. Marc Rothenberg, M.D., Ph.D., of Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, directed a research team to discover why that happens. They developed a mouse model of eosinophilic gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases, which lead to weight loss, enlarged or inflamed digestive tissues, and the inability of food to move properly through the digestive tract.

The animals became ill and lost weight as multiple regions of their digestive tracts became inflamed. Immune system proteins and cells rushed to the affected areas, and eosinophils accumulated in high numbers, particularly around damaged nerve cells. The walls of digestive organs swelled and food became stalled in the stomach; both of these findings are characteristic of human eosinophilic gastrointestinal inflammation.

To see if eosinophils were in part responsible for the allergy symptoms, the researchers studied a protein called eotaxin, which plays a role in some respiratory allergies. Eotaxin is a type of chemical distress call that summons eosinophils when the body senses danger. The Rothenberg team discovered that, in the sensitized mice, ovalbumin caused some of the cells lining the digestive tract to release eotaxin and attract eosinophils to the site. When the researchers repeated the experiment in mice that lacked the eotaxin gene, eosinophils did not appear and the mice did not develop the severe symptoms seen in normal mice.

“This provides strong evidence that eosinophils are key players in food allergies,” explains Dr. Rothenberg. “A food can trigger eotaxin, which attracts eosinophils to the site, which in turn attack healthy tissue and cause disease, perhaps by damaging the nerve cells that communicate with the digestive tract.”

Reference:
Hogan SP et al. A pathological function for eotaxin and eosinophils in eosinophilic gastrointestinal inflammation. Nature Immunology 2:353-60 (2001).

Incorrect pH balance in the body, whether caused by faulty diet or a lack of Hydrochloric acid in the stomach, leads to inflammation. Mineral deficits can feed into this avenue of causality: minerals must be provided from exterior sources, either diet or supplementation, and their importance in controlling inflammation stems from

their effect on pH balance - they act as buffers for acidity
their role in enzyme systems

adding a good multi mineral source is therefore a recommended strategy.

Where the cardiovascular system is concerned, inflammation causes plaque to set up in wounded arteries, homocysteine, white blood counts and CRP (C reactive protein) levels to rise, with the concomitant risk of clots, high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. CRP is produced in the liver as an inflammatory response, and is linked not only to cardiovascular disease and stroke, but also to macular degeneration, colon cancer and type 2 diabetes.

Interestingly, children of parents with high blood pressure are found to have high levels of CRP. The researchers concluded "The results of this study suggest that the offspring of parents with hypertension may be more likely to have elevated levels of CRP, and may therefore have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease." (Diaz JJ, Arguelles, et al, Arch Dis Child, 2007; 92(4): 304-8)

Persistent inflammation (triggered by viruses, bacteria and even toxins entering the blood stream - here we see the interdependence of the various systems at work) causes the formation of a protein called FIBRIN, which is implicated in blood clots. A Dr. Sumi, in Japan, has recently made the discovery that an enzyme in a food called NATTO, from fermented soybeans, can block this process, and actually resolve thrombi. It also decreases the viscosity of the blood, which is good because thicker blood means higher blood pressure and more work for the heart. It goes without saying that this enzyme cannot be used by people with bleeding problems, and only( under the care of a health professional if you are already on blood thinners.)

Much research implicates inflammation in poor heart health: Dr. Giles & colleagues (published in Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2000;162:1348-1354) examined a study conducted from 1976 to 1992 on 8900 adults, and stated "What we found was that people with an elevated white blood count (WBC) were 40% more likely to die from coronary heart disease after taking into account a number of traditional risk factors". Link between Inflammation and Disease

The study showed that patients with a WBC count over 7.6 were at much higher risk of dying from Coronary Heart Disease, even after adjusting for other risk factors. The new findings support a role for inflammation as a causal factor in the pathogenesis of CHD, the authors say. "We really don't know whether reducing white count will lower the risk," Dr. Giles added in an interview. "That's where we need more studies."

Research in the UK has connected high levels of C-reactive protein specifically to abdominal fat, with the inflammatory process leading through insulin resistance to diabetes, and on to cardiovascular disease.

"First, thedata fit well with a growing body of evidence implicating adipose tissuein general, and visceral adiposity in particular, as key regulatorsof inflammation, coagulation, and fibrinolysis. Adipose tissuesecretes proinflammatory cytokines and fibrinolytic regulatorssuch as plasminogen activator inhibitor. Along with manypossible roles in atherogenesis and atherosclerotic progression,inflammatory mediators can activate coagulation by stimulating monocytes to express tissue factor (as can CRP itself )and by causing disregulation in natural anticoagulation."

"They suggested that the role of visceral fat may be more complex than suspected, because even peoplewho are not obviously overweight may still have disproportionatelytoo much visceral fat, with the result of a predisposition towardinsulin resistance and atherosclerotic disease, possibly throughinappropriate cytokine secretion. ". Full text here.

As for the respiratory pathway, Asthma is caused by inflammation of the airways, which causes swelling.

Asthma control is very dependent on a proper fatty acid profile. Asthma sufferers need omega-3 fats in their diet in the form of fish oil. (See RESOURCES at right) They also need to vastly reduce their omega-6 fat intake.

Virtually eliminating all high omega-6 fats will seem counter-intuitive to many interested in health, as some common omega-6 foods seem healthy. For instance, all seeds and nuts should be avoided (except walnuts and flaxseeds, which have substantial amounts of omega-3 fats, though omega-3 from fish oil is still far better for its high levels of EPA and DHA). Nearly all other seeds and nuts have significant quantities of omega-6 fats and should be eliminated from the diet (even if they are organic), including:

For asthmatics, it is always beneficial to know the omega-6 content of the foods you consume, and to eliminate those that are high in this fatty acid.

Studies published in 2004 make a connection between eating oily fish during pregnancy, and lower rates of asthma. This would confirm a protective effect from EPA and DHA. Fish STICKS, on the other hand, fried in Omega 6 oils, had a negative effect, causing MORE asthma in the children. Equally, studies have confirmed a protective effect for a diet high in anti-oxidant rich fruits and vegetables.

Rhinitis and sinusitis are in my opinion similar respiratory reactions, simply less extreme than asthma..

As more and more becomes known of the risks of anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical drugs, it behooves us to study and become familiar with this important health risk, so that we can do what we need to do to protect ourselves naturally, building health instead of compromising it further.