Are you inflamed?

Inflammation is your bodies natural response to repair itself and to protect yourself from nasties!

It's also your body to say 'Hey! Stop! Slow down and take some rest!'

An inflammatory response involves a raise in body temperature (fever), fluid to the area (swelling), vasodilation (so you don't bleed to death) and unfortunately, sometimes pain. These processes are pretty standard and are needed to help you repair and heal. The down side of inflammation is that it can make you feel uncomfortable for the short term. When you have constant pain and inflammation, that's when it gets serious!

So what are some of the signs and symptoms of an inflammatory response?

• Headache is very common. This can happen for SO many reasons.....cold and flu, allergies, sinus, hay fever, food intolerance, environment, eye strain or hormones.
• Skin conditions- eczema, dermatitis, acne and rosacea are all inflamed conditions.
• Allergies- seasonal hay fever, sinusitis and even food allergies are caused by an over active immune system that causes an inflammatory response.
• Auto immune- Think celiac, Hashimoto's, Rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, are all based on an overactive immune response. Most of the time it is genetic, but can be stimulated by environment and stress.
• Digestive system- stomach pain, food intolerances, diarrhoea and reflux would be coming causes of high inflammation.
• Pain- All of the above conditions can have pain associated with it. This can lead to depression, immobility, discomfort and decreased joy in life if left long term.

What can be done?

Knowing the cause of your inflammatory response is a big part of the healing process. Sometimes the source can't be fixed or eliminated, but reducing inflammation can happen by diet, movement and anti-inflammatory sources (will get to this later on).

• When did it start?
• What makes it worse?
• What makes it better?
• What are the symptoms?

These are simple questions that you can ask yourself to narrow down on what the cause could be.

Diagnostic Testing

When you get your bloods taken from your doctor, there are some key markers that inflammation is present.

• White Cell Count - these guys are your defence system. If they are up, that means they are busy fighting something.
• ESR- An acute inflammatory response marker. If raised=inflammation
• CRP- more of a chronic inflammatory marker. If raised, your body ain't happy.
• GGT- This is from your liver profile. If raised, it is busy detoxing you.
• Secretory IgA- This protects your gut lining against pathogens! Stress can decrease secretory IgA.
• Antibodies- These are tested mostly for auto immune markers.
• Immunoglobulins- IgG, IgE are common ones to get tested for allergies. IgG is used a lot with food intolerance panels.
• Anion Gap- This is a calculation found in your General chemistry section of your bloods. It should be between 10-12. the calculation is as follows: Sodium + Potassium - Chloride - Bicarbonate = ?
• Cortisol- This is done by request only and should be taken between 7am - 9am in the morning for accuracy.

What you can do to reduce inflammation!

• Eat a more alkaline diet. Acidic foods create inflammation. Grab your alkaline food list acid-base-foods-pral
• Glutamine is great for reducing inflammation in the gut.
• N- Acetyl Glucosamine is also fabulous for gut repair and anti-inflammation
• Zinc- Wound healer and used for over 200 enzymatic reactions within the body (also immune booster), great for skin too!
• Bioflavonoids- found in the white part of citrus fruit and other fruit and vegetables (Quercetin, Rutin, Hesperidin and Bromelains).
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D (especially with auto immune conditions)
• Probiotics- Vivomixx VSL#3, Saccharomyces Boulardi, Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG) and Lactobacillus Fermentum VRI-003
• Omega 3- fish oil
• Coconut oil- contains caprylic acid which is anti inflammatory
• Reishi mushrooms
• Turmeric- need I say more?
• Chamomile
• Calendula
• Ginger