inflammation nation

Inflammatory diseases are debilitating and, in many cases, fatal…..  Treatment often means expensive, long-term medications with side effects that can be as damaging as the diseases themselves, and even the best medications don’t work all the time, or for everybody.  Dr. Floyd Chilton, author of 2005’s Inflammation Nation.

Everything is Inflammation.  Dr. Jay Robbins at a recent Standard Process seminar on WHOLE FOOD NUTRITION, explaining how virtually all health problems start with Inflammation.

When people think of the word, Inflammation, they think of the the pictures above (redness, swelling, heat, etc).  While this these pics are certainly indicative of INFLAMMATION, they do not tell the whole story —- not by a long shot.  I have come to understand that even though your doctor, the media, your friends, and who-knows-who-else banters around the term ‘Inflammation’ around like they were discussing all the latest gossip, the truth is, aside from your doctor (who isn’t talking), there is not one person in a hundred that has any idea of what Inflammation really is.  In simple terms, people are talking about something they know little or nothing about.   If you are interested in finding out, click on the link above and start scrolling.

Several years ago my wife picked out a book for me that was languishing in the bargain bin of a St. Louis book retailer.  The book, by Dr. Floyd Chilton, was called Inflammation Nation.  Although I took exception to much of the book (his diet information is often times horrendous; particularly the information concerning Grains and Gluten, his promotion of margarine (TRANS FATS), his promotion of DIET SODA, as well as comparing SATURATED FATS to trans fats, were all way off base — more on this topic can be found HERE), Inflammation Nation was a home run as far as helping Joe (or Jolene) Six Pack understand what Inflammation is and why it is something to be avoided if you value your health or the health of your family.   On the back cover of his book, Dr. Chilton lists a few of the more well known Inflammatory Diseases (diseases whose known cause is Inflammation).  His list includes….

• ALLERGIES:  HERE is some general information on Allergies.  Be aware that Allergies are intimately related to another “Inflammatory Disease” — LEAKY GUT SYNDROME.

• ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: Click THIS LINK to learn how Flu Shots drive enough Inflammation to cause Alzheimer’s Disease.

• ARTHRITIS:  There are nearly 200 different kinds of Arthritis.

• ASTHMA:  I wrote a WHOLE SERIES on Asthma a couple of years ago.

• ATHEROSCLEROSIS:  This is the ‘official’ name for hardening of the arteries.  And yes, it is the result of Inflammation.

• ATOPIC DERMATITIS:  The name you know this problem by is “hives”.

• CANCER:  For the record, this includes both breast cancer and cervical cancer.  More on CANCER.

• CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE:  This covers a lot of ground, including CHOLESTEROL ISSUES.  Suffice it to say that Inflammation is the culprit.

• CELIAC DISEASE:  Celiac is an AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE of the Small Intestine.  The thing you have to remember here is that although 1 in 100 Americans have Celiac, about 1 in 3-5 Americans have other forms of GLUTEN SENSITIVITY — and most of it is NEUROLOGICAL.

• CHRONIC BRONCHITIS:  Inflammation of the breathing tubes.

• CHRONIC HEPATITIS:  Inflammation of the liver.

• CHRONIC JOINT DISEASE:  Could be categorized with Arthritis (DJD is one example of this).

• CHRONIC KIDNEY FAILURE:  Often brought on by —- yep; you guessed it…..  Anti-inflammatory medications.

• CHRONIC PANCREATITIS:  Miserable stuff — an Inflammation of the pancreas that frequently results in cancer.

• CHRONIC THYROID DISEASE:  There are at least 60 million Americans with THYROID PROBLEMS — most of them Autoimmune. 

• CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER / FATTY LIVER:  The number one reason for these is not alcohol, but OBESITY, which is itself an Inflammatory problem.

• DIABETES:  For years I have been trying to tell anyone who would listen that BLOOD SUGAR DYSREGULATION is the number one health problem facing Americans today. You do not even have to have full-blown DIABETES for this to be a problem.

• ECZEMA:  Not only is this Inflammatory, it is almost always an indication of Autoimmune Food Sensitivities as well (number one on the list are our old friends Gluten and Dairy).

• EMPHYSEMA:  Yes; smoking is massively Inflammatory, and this is only one of the many ways that it will manifest.

• HAY FEVER:  You want to cure Hay Fever / Allergies?  Read THIS POST.

• INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE:  This covers a lot of ground, including some on this list.  By the way, it is critical to understand that 80% of your entire Immune System is FOUND IN THE GUT.

• LUPUS:  This is the disease that everyone associates with Autoimmunity.  HERE is a list of others that are common.

• OSTEOARTHRITS:  This is also known as DEGENERATIVE ARTHRITIS. 

• OTITIS MEDIA:  HERE is the solution for common EAR INFECTIONS.

• PSORIASIS:  HERE is a great picture of the problem in a post about the Cause and Cure of all disease.

• PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS:

• RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS:  This is one of the thousands of Autoimmune Diseases.  Forget the anti-cancer (chemotherapy) drugs that doctors use to treat this.  There are better methods that actually get to the source of the Inflammation.

• SCLERODERMA:  Another of the many Autoimmune Diseases.  This one affects your skin as well as several organ systems.
• SINUSITIS:  This is a chronic CONGESTION and Inflammation of the SINUSES.  Although usually treated with ANTIBIOTICS, this is one of the worst things you could do (HERE).

• ULCERATIVE COLITIS:  Ulcers in the Colon.  Not fun stuff.  Again 80% of your Immune System is found in THE GUT.  Without understanding this, you are sunk as far as all of these problems are concerned!  IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME could fall under this category as well.

That is one heck of a list!  But the truth is, it could be longer —- much longer (look at the lists on PREVIOUS INFLAMMATION POSTS, and you’ll see things that did not make Chilton’s list).  Make sure to come back for part II of this post, which will be about finding answers to Inflammatory Health Issues.  As you might guess, the solution is finding ways to squelch the Inflammation.  By the way, the book I recommend for helping squelch Inflammation is not Inflammation Nation.  Instead, read IT STARTS WITH FOOD.  Once you understand that ALL DISEASES are essentially related to each other, this post will make much more sense.