For some years now I have
sprinkled references to inflammation throughout my articles, being
convinced that the inflammatory process was an important causative
factor in all states of dis-ease, not least because
inflammation and pain are constant companions.
Time to organize a little!
Consider the fact that the main transportation systems
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. White
blood cell counts indicate inflammation, but C-reactive protein
(CRP) serves is a more accurate marker of inflammation: levels
above 2.4 mg/l suggest a doubled risk of a coronary event.
Inflammation in the cardiovascular system causes
plaque to set up in wounded arteries, and raises homocysteine,
white blood count and CRP (C reactive protein) levels , 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 cancer,
macular degeneration, type 2 diabetes, and many other chronic
health problems.
Persistent inflammation also 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 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14704741&dopt=Books
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."
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)
In 2008, the maker of the statin drug Crestor
published with great fanfare, the results of the Jupiter trial (as Dr.
Eales* says: "Know what Jupiter stands for? It stands
for Justification for the Use of Statins in Prevention: an Intervention
Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin"), which purported to
show that Crestor "known chemically as rosuvastatin, reduced
heart attack, stroke, need for bypass or angioplasty procedures and
cardiovascular death by a surprising 45 percent over less than two
years" in patients with high CRP and normal to low LDL.
I have found a truly excellent write-up of this
trial in * Dr.
Michael Eales' blog (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/cardiovascular-disease/1853/), you can access it here, and it is a masterly
analysis of how the big drug companies can mislead us - but for
simplicity's sake here are a couple of excerpts:
-
They stopped the study right in the middle of it.
When studies are done that might put people at risk by
giving them potentially dangerous drugs, it is typical for
an outside group to take a peek at the data at certain
milestones to make sure the study medication isn’t killing
people. When this data is evaluated, and it is found
that subjects on the experimental medicine are dying at
unacceptably high rates, the study is often halted.
I’ve never seen a study halted because the placebo group
was dying at higher rates. That really makes me wonder.
One of the negative findings in this study was that the
group on Crestor developed diabetes during the trial at a
significantly higher rate than did those on placebo.
- let’s assume I’m taking this study at its absolute
worst. Let’s look at it in the best light possible.
If we do, we find that a small group of unusual
patients - those with low LDL-cholesterol AND high
C-reactive protein - may slightly decrease
their risk for all-cause mortality by taking a drug that
costs them almost $1,300 per year and slightly increases
their risk for developing diabetes. That’s the best
spin possible given the data from this study. Compare
that to the spin the media is giving it. (Lynn:
my emphasis)
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In fact, within the study itself, you will find that the study leaders
eliminated from consideration people with both low LDL and low CRP,
since studying them "would have been not only infeasible in
terms of statistical power and sample size but also highly unlikely to
show a benefit.”. In other words, TRULY healthy people would not
be likely to benefit at all.
This plays in to the definition of "preventive health care",
which is on the verge of becoming the new buzz phrase. Does it
mean personal accountability, watching ones diet and lifestyle, or does
it mean going to the Doctor, having tests done, and then taking
prophylactic doses of certain drugs?
More
about CRP - http://www.vrp.com/articles.aspx?ProdID=art1130&zTYPE=2
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Controlling
inflammation NATURALLY when it first
appears can lead to many years of better health.
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Inflammation can be triggered by viruses, overweight,
food intolerances, bacteria and even toxins entering the blood stream -
here we see the interdependence of the various systems at work.
-
The first step is
to change one's diet to ensure a steady supply of anti-oxidant rich
foods, high in nutritive value overall and in Omega 3 fatty
acids
-
Second, make
sure that you have eliminated any personal food intolerances.
No matter how healthy the food may seem, if your body doesn't like
it, it is pro-inflammatory for you!.
-
Third, ensure
that these dietary changes have modified your body's pH.
An acid pH is pro-inflammatory.
-
Fourth, ensure
a supple of enzymes, checking to see whether a hydrochloric acid
deficiency may be part of your problem.
Faulty digestion
is pro-inflammatory.
-
Fifth, modify your weight and Body
Mass Index to healthy levels. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B8CX1-4N3P936-5&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=5f6dd2c4b56e9185e35b266782ebe2dc
Carrying excess weight is pro-inflammatory.
-
Sixth, add
helpful supplements in the number and quantity dependent on the
degree of your problem.
Nutrient deficiencies can be pro-inflammatory; certain nutrients
are anti-inflammatory
I recommend the following;
Vitamin C 500 to 2000 mg * Vitamin E
(with tocotrienols and mixed tocopherols) 400 iu* Omega 3 fatty
acids * Resveratrol or Activin * Green Tea * *
an
effective digestive enzyme * Proteolytic
enzymes *
Devil's Claw * turmeric
* bromelain * (the herbs listed separately or in
combination.)
Inflammation can contribute to cancer development
in three ways:
- necrotic cell death ( death through
destruction) rather than apoptosis (cell death where the
mechanisms of the body tidily remove the debris). Necrosis
releases toxins into the body and promotes an inflammatory
response
- angiogenesis, or the formation of new
blood vessels to feed tumors - Chronic inflammation is closely
associated with angiogenesis, as granulation tissue requires an
extended vascular supply
- cell proliferation caused by inflammatory
damage to DNA
In the case of the digestive tract, toxins are
re-circulated in the bloodstream, proteins incompletely digested are
recognized by the body as invaders, and the essential balance of
friendly organisms is disrupted leading to candida, IBS, colitis,
in turn disrupting the immune system.
Another way 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 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. (http://www.adrugrecall.com/vioxx/heart-disease.html) 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.
- He had suffered a heart attack
- He had been through prostate cancer.
| News flash!
PAINKILLERS DEPLETE FOLIC ACID. |
- Folic
acid and heart health - http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9804/08/cereal.heart/
- Folic
acid and prostate cancer - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060612082419.htm
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.
A
2006 study found that inflammation leads to both weight gain AND
weight loss in older individuals, both of which can be signs of
deterioration in a persons health*
(International
Journal of Obesity (2006) 30,
1362–1367. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803306; published online 14
March 2006)
Inflammation leads to intolerances/allergies
by the method described in this study: |
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. http://www.nature.com/ni/
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.
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Alarming new
research shows that simply
breathing the air we live in is linked to the
development of heart disease through the inflammatory process.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,575037139,00.html
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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.
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Two
key passages from a 2003 editorial by Russell Tracy
of the Vermont College of Medicine follow:
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"First,
the data fit well with a growing body of evidence implicating
adipose tissue in general, and visceral adiposity in
particular, as key regulators of inflammation, coagulation,
and fibrinolysis. Adipose tissue secretes proinflammatory
cytokines and fibrinolytic regulators such as plasminogen
activator inhibitor. Along with many possible
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 people who are not obviously
overweight may still have disproportionately too much
visceral fat, with the result of a predisposition toward insulin
resistance and atherosclerotic disease, possibly through inappropriate
cytokine secretion. ". Full
text at http://atvb.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/21/6/881
See
also a study in RESOURCES
As for the
respiratory pathway, Asthma is caused by inflammation of
the airways, which results in swelling and subsequent distress.
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. Note
that the Omega 3 fatty acid
EPA is more effective than DHA in controlling asthma and
inflammation, so make sure your fish oil is high in that important
factor. (See RESOURCES) They also need to vastly reduce their omega-6 fat intake.
http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/37960
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Fatty acid
balance determines one's degree of inflammation:
if the delta5 desaturase enzymes are turned off by insulin
activity,
inflammatory cell messengers will be produced from Omega 6
fatty acids, and anti-inflammatory ones in the Omega
3 pathway inhibited.
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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:
- Almonds
- Pecans
- Cashews
- Peanuts
- Sunflower
seeds
- Pumpkin
seeds
- Sesame seeds
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.
(http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/index.php?newsid=8689) 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.
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.
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