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The editors at Best RN to BSN Degrees decided to research the topic of:
Chronic Inflammation: America's Silent Killer
What is Chronic Inflammation?
- Simply put, Inflammation is the body's immediate first-aid reaction for healing
- Inflammation is crucial for the body to restore itself
- Inflammation starts in an acute phase and frequently goes unnoticed
- Chronic inflammation begins when the body has to continuously fight off a repeat offender
- This causes the body and immune system to weaken over time due to stress
How is it Affecting Americans?
- CI has become an epidemic in America
- Each of the following statistics have been associated with chronic inflammation
- The CDC put the prevalence of adult obesity at 66%
- A recent study at Johns Hopkins University shows that all American adults will become obese by 2048
- Allergies now rank 6th among chronic human diseases
- In 3 decades, there has been a 100% increase in prevalence of hay fever
- Nearly 10% of children are affected by allergic dermatitis (3x the rate in 1960)
- More than 25m Americans have asthma (2x as many as in 1990)
- 8% of the American population has diabetes
- in 1991 only 9 states had diabetes rates of 7 or 8%
- 43 states by 2001
- Arthritis and joint disease affect 43m people in the US - nearly 20% of the population
- Expected to exceed 60m by 2020
- More than 5m Americans have Alzheimer's disease
- Depression disorders occur in approx. 18.8m American adults
- Many of these (above) diseases, associated with CI, were once considered disease of aging
- their continued growth is overwhelming our healthcare system and fueling our growing expenses
What Does CI Mean for Our Health?
- Recent studies show CI is a leading cause of many diseases in the US
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Arthritis (All types)
- Cancer
- Psoriasis
- Eczema
- Many people sacrifice their long term health by ignoring their symptoms
What is the Culprit of CI?
- CI is usually seen in people with poor diets which consist of
- processed factory foods
- sugar and sweeteners
- white flour
- transfats
- highly processed vegetable oils
- processed meats
- Other factors that increase CI:
- Being overweight
- Existing heart condition
- family history of heart disease
- Poorly controlled Diabetes
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Smoking
- Long-term infections
- Gum disease
- Stress
- *most of the above factors also have to do with poor diet
How Do We Avoid CI?
- "Wellness is the absence of inflammation" - Dr. Barry Sears, author of The Anti-Inflammation Zone
- The key is to detect CI and treat it's root causes effectively
- This can proactively prolong your life
- Effective therapies are available for CI
- Supplements that can help control CI
- Burdock Root:
- may assist in reducing arthritic inflammation
- aids in the breakdown of calcium deposits in the joints
- Fish Oil (Omega-3):
- Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are fats that our body needs but can't produce
- They help the body produce eicosanoids which affect virtually every system in the body
- Glucosamine:
- the body produces glucosamine to make and repair cartilage
- taking glucosamine is thought to augmenting the body's supply
- Curcumin:
- has a long history of use for maintaining a healthy inflammatory response
- Also appears to provide antioxidant defense
- Diet: Foods that help reduce inflammation
- Turmeric
- Ginger
- Shiitake and Reishi mushrooms
- Wild salmon
- Mackerel
- Sardines
- Papaya
- Pineapple
- Dark-hued berries such as
- blueberries
- blackberries
- cranberries
Sources
- http://garyshealthtips.com/inflammation-is-it-killing-you/
- http://www.jigsawhealth.com/resources/inflammation
- http://www.genesmart.com/pages/what-is-inflammation-/69.php
