Inflammation and our Immune Function…. What’s the Deal?
Hello All,
As we approach another delightful autumn season, we all know the inevitable cold and flu influx is also upon us. Fear not! There are many approaches to help boost your body’s natural efficacy at fighting viruses and bugs, and the key to all of them is lowering inflammation.
You see, the body is equipped with a veritable armed force (if you will) of white blood cells that exist in our plasma (the liquid part of blood). There are troops responsible for detecting, alerting, assaulting, and eventually disposing of foreign pathogens from the body. While there are many troops tasked with detecting when something is amiss, there is a lot of ground to cover within the human body for these soldiers. The body’s natural way of alerting these soldiers of impending or actual attack from foreign bodies is to become inflamed, as the redness and swelling associated with inflammation is literally these soldiers showing up to the battle zone to which they were called. What I have described above is what one would call a healthy immune function. You may or may not have already known this, but it is very important fundamental knowledge to have to make sense of what I’m about to explain in more depth.
Chronic inflammation is a byproduct of the average lifestyle of the 21st century, and it is an unfortunate truth indeed. The food we eat causes inflammation in our gut and various other organs, also in the bloodstream. The constant slew of information via screens and devices causes stress inflammation in our brains and nervous tissue. The lack of self-care and exercise causes inflammation in our muscles and soft tissues. Our body’s soldiers are limited in number, and when they are already distracted on all fronts by chronic inflammation it leaves little reserve to address when the viruses and bacteria come to town and wreak havoc as well. Hence the importance of lowering chronic inflammation so the body’s immune system can remain focused on fighting real threats, including cancer!
So, what to do? Well as Hippocrates so astutely stated some 2000 plus years ago, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” We quite literally are what we eat! Starting from the foundation is always a good idea, in my humble opinion. It is very important to eat whole foods that grow out of the ground in an unprocessed form as much as possible and avoid processed foods and sugars as well. It is also important to take the necessary supplements (via capsules, teas, oils, etc.) that aid the delivery of essential nutrients to key places. This will profoundly affect the gut in a positive way. The gut is arguably the most important part of human anatomy when it comes to immune function, as it is the home of the human microbiome. The microbiome is the diverse array of bacteria and fungi that live in the gut, all of whom are directly influenced by our diet and lifestyle choices. These bacteria and fungi work together to make what compares to our very own homemade antibiotics that do naturally what the ones the doctors prescribe do. These gut derived antibiotics kill invaders thus alleviating some of the work our immune soldiers must endure. This lowers chronic inflammation and allows our magnificent immune systems to function at peak performance levels.
There are many natural compounds at our disposal that aid immensely in the reduction of inflammation, many of which have been used for thousands of years. I know from my cancer journey with my husband just how important various forms of CBD are for the immediate and lasting reduction of inflammation. This aided him directly by reducing pain in the immediate and boosting immune function in the long term. CBD has been shown to help support the microbiome and its various contributions to the body, as well as working directly with lowering inflammatory markers in the gut lining. It is important to take CBD daily for this reason, it is essential for gut health. There are various teas and supplements to recommend for this purpose as well, but the most important are Boswellia and turmeric. Boswellia is commonly used as a powerful anti-inflammatory, so powerful that a recent study found a four-week treatment of boswellic acid (a compound within Boswellia) to be an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, chronic bronchitis, asthma, and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Pretty impressive seeing that you can acquire this herb easily and very inexpensively. Turmeric, on the other hand, has been used for over 4000 years to treat a variety of maladies. Studies have shown that turmeric aids in fighting infections and some cancers, and that this is most likely due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Drink some turmeric tea and enjoy!
The moral of the story is that distraction leads to chaos. History has shown us endless times that this is the case. When our immune systems are overloaded, that’s when we get sick. It falls on us to educate ourselves and care for ourselves to ensure the quality of our lives is not lost. Feel empowered, because you now know a little bit more about the magical mystery that is the human body!
Don’t forget your vitamin C and your Synergy Super Immune Capsules with CBDa and CBDg!
May we all give ourselves the gift of good health,
With gratitude,
Nurse Lauren
