the best way to put out the fire in your body

It’s one thing to put out a house fire or a burning barn.  If you can’t get the fire put out via conventional means (usually dousing them with water), they’ll eventually run out of fuel and burn themselves out.  But what about a fire that has a perpetual fuel source —- a fire that burns and burns and burns and burns?  You have to find a way to remove the source of fuel from the fire, because no matter how much you douse it, you’ll never get it put out.  The same scenario occurs in your body in the form of something called Inflammation.  Unfortunately, I don’t find very many people (maybe 1 in a 1,000) who really understand what Inflammation does, what it is, where it comes from, what drives it, or the ugly ‘whole body‘ consequences of letting it burn like a wildfire through your body. 

INFLAMMATION is the name doctors have given a group of chemical compounds made by your own Immune System.  That’s right.  Inflammation is made by your own body and part of a normal healing process, allowing for intercellular communication.  The problems occur when we get too many of these chemicals coursing through the blood stream and spreading throughout the entire body at one time (HERE).  This is because the biggest portion of disease processes known to man (Chronic Inflammatory Degenerative Diseases — by far the largest disease category on the planet) are the direct result of inflammatory processes.  Some of these include LEAKY GUT SYNDROME, DIABETES, CANCER, OBESITY, Heart Disease and HIGH CHOLESTEROL, ARTHRITIS, ALZHEIMER’S, GLUTEN SENSITIVITY, ALLERGIES, most AUTOIMMUNE & ENDOCRINE DISEASES, and even DISC HERNIATIONS.  And this doesn’t even begin to address all of the diseases that either have “itis” in their name (itis is Latin for inflammation) or the term being used outright, as in the case of INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE.  The truth is, I’m just getting warmed up as the list is limitless.  As always, the real question is how can it effectively be dealt with?

How do doctors go about treating Inflammation or inflammatory problems / diseases?  Mostly they prescribe drugs that cover the symptoms without addressing the underlying cause(s) of those symptoms (inflammation).  Very often, the drugs that are used are chosen for their anti-inflammatory effects.  If you know anything about this class of drugs, you realize that it can be problematic, with numerous serious side effects (HERE).  But what other problems do these drugs present as far as dealing with Chronic Inflammatory Degenerative Diseases are concerned?  I’m glad you asked.

Beyond the obvious side effects seen in the previous link, there is another serious drawback to using drugs as your main defense against inflammation.  Remember our opening paragraph about the fact that effective firefighting involves removing the fuel source?  This is true when talking about inflammation as well.  You can take anti-inflammation drugs til the cows come home (and sometimes they may even reduce your symptoms), but if you do not figure out a way to remove the source of the inflammation, ultimately you are spinning your wheels.   This is not only true of drugs, but true of anti-inflammatory supplements as well (HERE and HERE are great ones).

All of this begs the question of how to best go about removing (or at least reducing) excess inflammation from our bodies?  True reduction of inflammation and inflammatory processes in your body is not something your doctor can do for you.  It’s something you are going to have to do on your own.  I’ve broken it down for you into a few easy-to-understand steps; steps that if you follow, you could very well see a huge reduction of your symptoms —- even if you are dealing with the dreaded MUPS.

• CHANGE YOUR DIET / CONTROL BLOOD SUGAR:  You knew it was coming and probably suspected it would be at the top of the list.  You were right.   Failure to strictly regulate your blood sugar can set off a cascade of health-related problems — even if you are not yet “officially” Diabetic (HERE).  On top of that, you may need to go GLUTEN FREE as well as figuring out it there are foods you might be eating that are driving inflammation (just click the link).  If you really want to begin understanding how and what you should be eating, read THESE POSTS. 

 

• DRINK MORE WATER AND DRINK ONLY WATER:   WATER will help you put out the fire.  I am not opposed to you making an anti-inflammatory tea to drink either.  This could be a Green Tea base, with lemon, CINNAMON, Turmeric, Circumin, Ginger, etc, etc, in it. Whatever you do, stay away from the soda — And please don’t be fooled by DIET SODA.

 

• EAT YOUR VEGGIES:  If you spend any amount of time on this site, you’ll never mistake me for a vegetarian / vegan (HERE).  However, your diet should be based on vegetation.  In fact, Dr. David Seaman’s RULE OF THUMB as far as reducing inflammation is, “Eat vegetation or animals that ate vegetation“.  It is important to remember that grain is not vegetation.  And finally, remember that even though we talk about FRUITS & VEGETABLES, these should never be used synonymously.

 

• GET SOME EXERCISE EACH AND EVERY DAY:  I get it.  There are a few of you reading this post who, for whatever reason, cannot exercise.  Key word here; “few“.  Find something you can do and do it.  HERE are some posts you should read prior to getting started.  If you’ve been injured or are struggling with Chronic Pain, THIS POST will have some ideas for you.

 

• REDUCE STRESS:  Some of the bullet points on this list would count as stress reduction.  Stress creates ADRENAL FATIGUE, which in and of itself can produce Chronic Pain and weight gain — both signs of Inflammation.  It also leads to a situation known widely as SYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE, where the fight-or-flight adrenaline-producing part of your ANS (autonomic nervous system) gets turned up way too high.

 

• HAVE MORE SEX:  It seems that every statistic I see on sexual frequency of married couples is worse (that would be lower) than the one before it.  A bit over a decade ago, married couples were intimate on average 132 times per year.  Three years ago that number had dropped by about 20%.  The latest study I saw was saying it’s now 85 times per year.  With the collective health of our nation being what it is, I’m not surprised.  If you are having problems in this area (or simply wanting to improve things), take a few minutes to read THESE POSTS.

   

• CLEAR YOUR BODY OF TOXINS:  Toxicity comes in many forms, including ESTROGEN, CHEMICALS, METALS, HERBICIDES, MEDICATIONS, etc, etc.  Learn what it takes to get this junk out of your body and then do it (HERE).  And for those who are interested in an extremely simple and totally free way to both alkalize your body and help rid it of cancer-causing free radicals, take a look at THIS POST.

 

• UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF GUT HEALTH:  80% of your entire Immune System is found in your digestive tract (HERE).  Inflammation is an Immune System response.  Until you grasp the significance of the old saying, “heal the gut, heal the body,” solving your health issues could prove elusive (HERE).  I would suggest that many of you will need to address CHRONIC INFECTIONS, including those being caused by your DENTAL WORK.

 

• MAINTAIN A HEALTHY WEIGHT:  Unless you have some sort of underlying disease process such as a THYROID PROBLEM, ANEMIA, or others, this one will take care of itself if you follow the points in this list.  If you are doing all the right things and cannot lose weight, there is something being missed.

For a much more comprehensive on solving your own health issues, make sure to take a look at THIS POST.  I would never suggest that it is the solution to everything.  However, it has some cool ideas and should provide you a starting point.