When we think about inflammation, we often think of it as helping us heal from an obvious injury (like a wound) or fighting harmful bacteria. This is good inflammation working in our favor to keep us healthy. But on the flip side, when the immune system is too active, it can make us sick.

We know that major chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, are linked to weight gain, but did you ever wonder how those diseases and inflammation are all intertwined?

Understanding inflammation, especially “bad” inflammation, will help explain this link.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “GOOD” AND “BAD” INFLAMMATION

Inflammation is a process you can’t actually see, so how do you know if it’s “good” or “bad”?

Think about the last time you got a bruise. The blood and fluid that rushed in to create that purplish swollen area is the definition of inflammation. As you heal, inflammation subsides and eventually goes away. This is how “good” inflammation is supposed to happen.

But sometimes inflammation can get us into trouble. An example: an allergy where our immune system overreacts to relatively harmless foods (think: peanut butter, shellfish, eggs) or substances (think: pollen, dust, latex).

Poor habits like eating an unhealthy diet, not exercising enough and consuming too much sugar can contribute to a bad type of inflammation called “chronic” inflammation. These habits turn the immune system “on” and help it stay activated for a long period of time. Along with other factors, chronic inflammation can lead to chronic illness.

INFLAMMATION AND ILLNESS

The way our immune system reacts to smoking and stress increases our risk for heart disease. How? Smoking and stress damage cells and activate your immune system, leading to a low level of chronic inflammation. Over time, chronic inflammation makes your arteries more likely to collect plaque, which stiffens and clogs them, and can lead to heart disease.

Chronic inflammation contributes to type 2 diabetes by worsening “insulin resistance,” a condition where your body produces insulin but your cells don’t respond to it very well so your blood sugar stays abnormally high. How does chronic inflammation do this? Simply put, fat cells are capable of creating chemical signals that lead to chronic inflammation. But they mainly do so when you habitually eat too many calories and sugar. These chemical signals also mess with the way that insulin works in our bodies, aggravating insulin resistance.

CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND WEIGHT GAIN

If fat cells can contribute to chronic inflammation, then it’s reasonable to expect that weight gain, especially in the form of fat tissue, also contributes to chronic inflammation. As we gain weight, some fat cells expand beyond their capacity while trying to do their job storing our extra calories as fat. When this happens, they turn on and add to the inflammation already present in our bodies. At this point, these cells aren’t just fat storage warehouses—they’re like little inflammation factories, sending out signals to activate the immune system. Losing weight allows the fat cells to shrink back to a more normal size and turns off the signals that trigger chronic inflammation.

A study from the UK published in 2008 shows that chronic inflammation is linked to weight gain. Researchers followed people over nine years and monitored things like their weight gain and blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a chemical that shows up when the immune system is activated.

They found something interesting: Weight increases were associated with more inflammation, and the relationship was linear. This means that as a person’s weight increased, so did the level of CRP in their blood. This relationship between weight and inflammation suggests losing weight should help—and some studies prove this.

One study published in 2004 by Wake Forest University in North Carolina, involving more than 250 people, found that inflammation decreased among participants who went on a low-calorie diet to lose weight. Since losing weight helps decrease inflammation, it may also keep our chronic-illness risk at bay, although more studies are needed to prove this link.

6 TIPS FOR REDUCING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION

Changing your diet and losing weight are two of the best ways to lower inflammation. Here are some tips:

1. Eat antioxidants and polyphenols: Eating antioxidant- and polyphenol-rich foods can cut down on inflammation by reducing “free-radical damage.” Free radicals are generated by the body when it’s in a state of stress. If the immune system becomes overwhelmed by free radicals, cells are harmed and inflammation gets worse. Antioxidants and polyphenols are great for fighting that process. To get them, try drinking green tea and eating a rainbow of fruits and veggies; here are some examples of what to reach for: broccoli, kale, collards, rutabaga, turnips, berries.
2. Consume essential fats: Getting a good ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in your diet is important for reducing inflammation. Most of us consume too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3, so the key to balancing things is to increase omega-3 intake. Omega-6-heavy foods like seeds and nuts and their oils, and refined vegetable oils (used in many snack foods, crackers, cookies, etc.), tend to stir up inflammation, while foods high in omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, flax and chia seeds, avocado and walnuts dampen it.
3. Add spices: Turmeric, garlic, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and ginger have all been shown in studies to have anti-inflammatory properties. You can’t overdo these, so sprinkle them liberally onto your food.
4. Exercise: Moving around releases a burst of anti-inflammatory proteins from the cells to the rest of the body. However, moderate exercise is key. An example of moderate exercise is 45–60 minutes of cardio, such as walking or jogging, about three times a week.
5. Stress: Cortisol, the so-called “stress” hormone, wears many other hats, including regulating the immune response. Reducing stress helps to keep hormones like cortisol under control and that, in turn, helps lower inflammation.
6. Sleep: Lack of sleep makes the body ripe for infection, while more sleep has the opposite effect. A review of several studies published in 2008 found that sleeping less than eight hours a night was linked to weight gain. There is a complex yet harmonious dance occurring in your body during restful sleep; this strengthens your immune system in a good way.

Mason Jar Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

for the salad dressing:

• 1/2 cup (125 grams) Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup (8 grams) cilantro
• 1 lime (65 grams), juiced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

for the salad

• 2 cups (370 grams) cooked quinoa (certified gluten-free if necessary)
• 1 cup (195 grams) black beans (certified gluten-free if necessary)
• 1 cup (170 grams) corn (certified gluten-free if necessary)
• 4 cups spinach
• 1 cup (30 grams) sliced tomatoes
• 2 medium (200 grams each) avocados, diced

Directions

To make the dressing, place all ingredients for the salad dressing into a small food processor and process until smooth.

Add 3 tablespoons of salad dressing to the mason jar base. Then add the following ingredients in this order: 1 cup spinach, 1/4 cup tomatoes, 1/2 cup cooked quinoa, 1/4 cup black beans, 1/4 cup corn and 1/2 avocado (diced).

Nutrition Information

Serves: 4 |  Serving Size: 1 mason jar salad

Per serving: Calories: 393; Total Fat: 21g; Saturated Fat: 3g; Monounsaturated Fat: 6g; Cholesterol: 1mg; Sodium: 244mg; Carbohydrate: 52g; Dietary Fiber: 14g; Sugar: 4g; Protein: 14g

Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 709mg; Iron: 29%; Vitamin A: 137%; Vitamin C: 50%; Calcium: 11%

Here is a nice article I read to remind us all that we still should try to do a little research and stay somewhat informed, although we try to eat clean.

 

‘Let food be the medicine, and medicine be the food,” Hippocrates.

People are learning from alternative media and taking nutrition education into their own hands, and doctors have become less and less trustworthy in the mainstream notions.

Most doctors are trained in diagnosing diseases and various ailments, pharmacology and working with specialists to send patients to the right one.

The Big Q: what about good, healthy nutrition?

According to a Y 2010 study, doctors have a long way to go despite public perception that they are authorities or even experts in this field.

Nutrition education in US medical schools was deemed “inadequate” according to a Y 2010 study from University of North Carolina Department of Nutrition Research Associate Kelly Adams and her colleagues, which was published in the journal ‘Academic Medicine.’

As of Y 2004, less than 50% of all US medical schools required the 25-hr nutrition instruction amount recommended in Y 1985 by the National Academy of Sciences, according to a survey published by Ms. Adams‘ team in the US National Library of Medicine.

In Y 2009, just 27% of the schools met the minimum standard of nutrition training

Medical doctors receive an average of just 19 hrs of total nutrition education in medical school, down from Ms. Adams and her team’s Y 2004 study that found an average of 22.3 hrs.

Medical doctors overall do not have adequate education on nutrition.

An April 2008 study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition uncovered evidence demonstrating the lack of confidence many physicians have with their own knowledge of nutrition: a survey of 61 doctors in internal medicine found that just 14% of them felt like they were adequately trained to provide nutrition counseling, despite the fact that 94% said that it was their obligation to discuss nutrition with their patients.

Many holistic health journalists note that the doctors they have interviewed have often told them that their amount of nutritional training in college is far too low.

Because mainstream doctors are not always able to provide the type of nuanced and well-researched nutrition information patients need, many of them turn to registered dietitians for help.

There is a major problem with that approach.

The largest organization of food and nutrition professionals in the world, one that is highly influential in the United States, is sponsored by many of the worst junk food possessors in the world.

Surprised?

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, continues to list the following companies as its corporate sponsors: the National Dairy Council, something called the “Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness” which was created by Coca Cola (NYSE:KO), Kellogg’s (NYSE:K), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Soyjoy, and Unilever (NYSE:UL).

The Dairy Council is the major supporter of pasteurized, hormone and antibiotic-laden milk from cows that consume an unnatural diet of GMOs.

Soyjoy is a seller of what are almost certainly products made with GMO soy using toxic extraction processes.

Kellogg’s is a major supporter of GMOs and a company that has been the target of widespread consumer boycotts.

Coca Cola’s credentials in the world of nutrition are not good at all.

Unilever produces chemical and GMO-laced foods.

General Mills recently lobbied to have GMOs classified as natural by the FDA.

Each one of the above companies is the antithesis of good, non-toxic nutrition and that many of them are shining examples of the profit-over-health model that has doomed millions of Americans to sickness and disease, facts that many doctors choose to ignore.

Considering the influence the these sponsors have over many dieticians, would you really trust them to prescribe the proper diet over an independent health coach for example that is not beholden to such corporate sponsors? No.

Many people are not getting healthy, or happy in the United States, they are just managing their symptoms with dangerous drugs that only exasperate problems down and often lead to disaster that are reported daily but not attributed to pharmacology.

Now there is a growing movement for people to take matters into their own hands and ignore the “experts.”

Thomas Edison said, “The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”

Prevention and cures through solid nutrition therapies are attainable, and there is no reason why doctors cannot begin working them in more often.

And the medical protocols of the West should be used to create a system that is outstanding at healing both short and long-term.

Solving this major health problem begins with admitting there is a problem, and realizing that the experts and authority figures in the West’s healthcare system are not the last world when it comes to sound advice, especially since they most often ignore the problems caused by GMOs and chemicals in our food supply.

It is up to the consumer to do the research and make the right choices while the system corrects itself from the imbalances it has created over the past 40 odd years.

Educated people have the power, they must trust in it.  If you need good nutritional advice choose an integrative, holistic physician for assistance.

Eat healthy, Be healthy and happy.

HeffX-LTN

Paul Ebeling