Inflammation...The Secret Killer!

Volume 10 March, 2007  

Inflammation...The Secret Killer!

   Perhaps one of the most important aspects of your health, is reducing then eliminating inflammation.  Chronic inflammations are back of many cancers, arthritis, and other killer degenerative conditions. 

  It begins with a pathogen like parasites, fungus, bacteria,  virus, or toxin buildup in the body, which have gone undetected.  Over a period of time this pathogenic state destroys the cellular matrix of organs and glands.  As the cells become unstable they eventually create a series of reactions in the body disturbing hormones, and other body systems 

   Inflammation is an indicator that the body is fighting off something, as symptoms arise.  When there are symptoms...the body is sending out an SOS! If the symptoms, as an example, are joint aches and pains it could very well mean that you are harboring parasites or have an accumulation of heavy metals, or a buildup of chemical toxins in your body. 

  Many times doctors will simply recommend steroids, analgesics, or even some forms of chemotherapy for arthritis like symptoms, without looking to see what might be behind the arthritic like symptoms.  In other words, they are treating symptoms and not treating what is causing the symptoms! 

   Unfortunately, by treating the inflammations with drug therapy, instead of looking into the cause of the inflammation, a whole set of new symptoms may generate from the adverse effects of the inflammatory drug therapy. 

   While inflammations, more often than not, disappear as we exercise, change our diets, drink more water, use natural based medicines,  and get additional sleep, it is the chronic inflammations that need to be carefully screened and scrutinized. 

   It is important to realize that, no matter what your age is,  it is not normal to have daily aches and pains in your joints or muscles. It is not normal to have growths such as cysts, fibroids, and tumors.  It is not normal to always be tired, or to have chronic sinusitis and upper respiratory problems. It is not normal to have gallstones, kidney stones, or earaches.  If you are older, these are not signs of aging, these are signs of inflammations that have not been addressed, and could indeed spell serious disease states, if not immediately addressed. 

    Cancers are a great example, of what happens when states of  chronic inflammations that have gone undetected.  Many cancers have been caused by a series of little symptoms which have gone "under the radar" and ignored for a long period of years, only to develop into a new set of symptoms.  Doctors, typically will treat the symptoms, which will ultimately make them disappear.  With the symptom gone, the body has lost your attention to the problem at hand. Remember, your body is sending you a signal that something isn't right! 

   A new set of symptoms may appear, and a new series of pain killers prescribed.  A good physician will run tests to see what is back of the problem, but unfortunately, the outcome may be another series of drugs that may drive the pathogen deeper, to rid of the symptoms.  A good example would be antibiotics, which many researchers believe,  may do more harm than good, as they destroy the balance of  good bacteria in the body, and create a whole new set of symptoms.

     From a naturopathic view point, chronic inflammations are a big red flag, that something is not being recognized or addressed.  As N.D.'s, we try to look beneath "the radar", and uncover what is back of the inflammations, before they become the silent killers.  Rather than treat symptoms, we first seek prevention, and then research root causes of illnesses.  That is the most effective way to insure and realize true health!