Take A Vacation From Inflammation!

August 17, 2015

Michael Tamez,

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Most people do not associate common health issues with inflammation. From an energetic perspective, inflammation is an indication of excessive heat in the body which can lead to serious illness and disease such as diabetes and some cancers. The heat is on, so put out the fire.

What is Inflammation?

There are two types of inflammation: acute and chronic. Acute inflammation is a naturally occurring response the body has to harmful or injured tissue and cells. Some examples of an injured site can be an infection, a bite, a physical injury, a splinter, a burn…etc… The body recognizes the injury as a threat to its state of natural homeostasis (equilibrium and total balance of all cells and tissues). The response sends large amounts of plasma and white blood cells from the blood to the injured tissue to attack the invader. With good health and under normal circumstances, the inflammatory response recedes and the body returns back to homeostasis.

Chronic Recurring Inflammation

When there is imbalance in the body (such as poor diet, self-hate, stress, lack of sleep…), the normal inflammatory response transforms into chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is a series of biochemical events that occur which reproduce and intensify the inflammatory response. This leads to a progressive shift in the type of cells present at the injured site and causes the inflammation to be prolonged. Basically, chronic inflammation is characterized by simultaneous destruction and healing of the tissue. When chronic inflammation is not addressed by getting to the underlying cause and treating imbalance in the whole body, the inflammation will start to spread to other parts of the body. When this happens, disease and serious illness can manifest.

Your Body is Overheating!

From an energetic perspective, inflammation is an indication of excessive heat in the body. This heat is circulated over and over throughout the body. Since every food that exists on the planet also has an energetic property, foods consumed that have a heating effect worsen the overheating of the body. The standard American diet (SAD) consists mostly of heat producing pro-inflammatory foods. Fast food, processed and packaged junk foods, chips, soda and excessive meat consumption are just some of the examples of heat producing foods.

Symptoms of Inflammation

When people consume these pro-inflammatory foods, they are not only going to experience inflammation locally (like rosacea, gout or arthritic joints) but they are dramatically increasing their risk for disease. Acute inflammation is a healthy response of the immune system to keep the body in balance. Common conditions such as arthritis, sinusitis, gingivitis and gum disease, prostatitis and inflammatory bowel diseases are directly related to chronic inflammation. Inflammation is also believed to cause or worsen all skin rashes and redness, GERD, migraines, asthma, cancer, diabetes and even serious neurological diseases like ALS, MS and Alzheimer’s. When you are constantly getting rashes or have breakouts on your skin with redness and swelling, it is your body telling you chronic inflammation is present. These symptoms are meant as warning signs that require your immediate attention. Applying a popular cream to topically eliminate the redness or acne may help your external appearance but will NOT address the internal imbalance whatsoever. You can balance some of the inflammatory heat in your physical body with alkaline green drinks made with fresh greens and veggies.

The Origin of Inflammation

An easy way to understand inflammation and inflammatory diseases is to examine the words. Within the word inflammation, you will find the Latin origin of the word inflammare, which means “inflame” in English. Anytime you have a disease directly associated with inflammation, you will see the suffix called -itis. The suffix comes from the Greek language and literally means any disease or condition characterized by inflammation. Let’s take a look at the word sinusitis and look at the meaning of the word. When you start to understand the origin of these words, you will clearly see that it means sinus inflammation.

Hurry, Call the Fire Department!

So we now know that the word inflammation means to be inflamed and all diseases that end with -itis mean inflammation of that part of the body. It is time to start putting out the fire. All of the conditions caused by chronic inflammation can be prevented and/or reversed. If you are serious about having exceptional health and living in a constant state of homeostasis, I highly recommend adopting a more anti-inflammatory lifestyle. There are simple but very effective ways to cool the body and lessen the recurring inflammatory response.

Summer vegetables (especially zucchini and cucumber) have a very strong and fast cooling effect on the body. What I usually do for a cooling summer snack is slice a couple and dip them into hummus (which is also cooling). Drinking plenty of water can also cool the body down and flush toxins out. All green leafy veggies are also great for inflammation. By far the most effective thing when it comes to nutrition for inflammation is omega 3 fatty acids. Fish oil has one of the highest amounts of anti-inflammatory omega 3 content. There are other plant sources for high omega 3’s as well such as flax seed oil.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Omega-3 fatty acids have a decreasing effect on inflammation while omega-6 fats and trans-fats increase inflammation. Many foods in the standard American diet (refined white flour, white sugar, red meat, dairy, fast food and food additives) make inflammation worse. A healthy diet made up of fish, nuts, seeds, oils, lean grass-fed meats and fruits and vegetables can help lessen or prevent inflammation. Some spices such as turmeric, cloves and ginger also have proven anti-inflammatory activity.

Balance your Mental and Emotional Fire

It is very important to remember that no amount of energetically cooling food you consume can correct a heat imbalance of the mind or emotions. If you are holding onto anger over a failed relationship, you are subconsciously producing excessive amounts of heat in your system. If you are constantly jealous or envious of people or situations, you are most likely going to have an emotional disposition to physical heat induced health issues. If you are stressed out all the time, this too can create a space for overheating of the mind and body. In order to maintain full balance of the physical body, you must also address the mental and emotional part of you that makes you whole.

Do you have any tips on how to put out the fire in your body? Please share…

Michael Tamez is a holistic health coach, certified by the world-renowned Institute for Integrative Nutrition. He is also listed on the national board for the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. Michael’s passion is to educate people and inspire personal growth in every area of their lives. In his book, Transformative Nutrition: The Ultimate Guide to Healthy and Balanced Living, Michael goes into full detail about all aspects of holistic health. If you would like to learn how health coaching can support you with creating and manifesting more self-love in your life, you can read his book or visit his website at http://transformative-nutrition.com/.