Chronic Inflammation - Slowly Killing Us All!

Today’s newsletter may be one of the most important ones you will ever read. Chronic inflammation (CI) is something most of us suffer to one degree or another. You will likely get multiple, regular emails from me on this subject. CI is either at the heart of, or a major contributing factor in all disease processes - from joint pain/arthritis, to diabetes, to cancer.

What is Chronic Inflammation (CI)?

CI occurs when our immune systems go haywire. The white blood cells that normally keep us free of foreign invaders, infections, and cancer actually attack our own healthy body tissue. The diseases that result are also referred to as ‘autoimmune.’

Like Lemon Juice on a Paper Cut

Ever get a paper cut? Hurts… doesn’t it? What if some mean person then squeezed lemon juice on it? Hurts way more!

This is a decent metaphor for what is happening with CI. Taking something as common as back pain as an example, injury, and everyday physical stress and strain can damage the cartilage lining of our lower back joints, producing pain and stiffness. Think of that as the paper cut. The chemicals produced by a hyperactive immune system will act like the lemon juice. In circumstances like this, mild back pain may become severe or even disabling.

Here are some of he telltale signs of joint pain made worse by CI.

• Migrating pain - pain moves around to different joints regularly. Example - knees hurt one day. Lower back the next. Then the hips, etc.

• Pain just as bad while at rest vs when moving around.

• Waking up with worse joint pain than when you went to bed.

• Joint heat, swelling, and restriction of motion that comes and goes without physical provocation.

Severe conditions of the joints like rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia are examples of CI. And the chemicals produced by a hyperactive immune system can target other systems of the body causing or contributing to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The list of autoimmune disease from CI has grown larger with time. According to the CDC, at least half of adults in America have at least one disease process related to CI.

What is Causing all of This?

We have the genes of our earliest ancestors who lived in very close harmony with unspoiled nature. But over the past 10,000 years, we have progressively altered our environment and relationships with nature faster than our genes can keep up. We are like the primal Flintstones biologically, living in Jetson’s modern world. The disconnect between the two is the cause of all degenerative, chronic inflammatory disease. That is worth repeating:

“We are like the primal Flintstones biologically, living in Jetson’s modern world. The disconnect between the two is the cause of all degenerative, chronic inflammatory disease.”

When our bodies are exposed to unnatural substances, or when under extended emotional stress, our immune systems mistake all of this for some kind of attack, and produce the chemicals that cause CI.

THE GOOD NEWS: We were ‘designed’ to be healthy, and to live upwards of 120 years. But this only works if we give our bodies the right environment in which to flourish - the one it was designed for - and that is living in harmony with unspoiled nature.

THE BAD NEWS: We have made our world very un-natural. Our food, or thoughts, our work, our dwellings - all create an environment that can drive the epidemic of CI.

Self Healing

Though it will take a bit of work, we can begin to heal ourselves by striving to create a more natural set of behaviors - ones that come close to the way our earliest ancestors behaved. We need to look at these areas of our lives.

1. Diet (huge)

2. Sun and earth exposure. (time outdoors barefoot in nature)

3. Strategies to set the mind at ease from the pressures of modern life.

4. Techniques to off-load the physical stress of sitting all day staring at electronic media.

5. Minimizing our exposure to electromagnetic pollution (from our hand-held devices, TVs computers, etc.)

6. Minimizing and eradicating our need for pharmaceuticals.

Of course, the simplest way to do all of that would be to walk back into the jungles or forests we emerged from and live like hunter-gatherers. Simple… but not easy! Instead we can have the best of both worlds. We can, wherever possible, adopt more natural, primal behaviors, without giving up our air-conditioned homes.

In this and subsequent newsletters we will explore how to do this for you and your loved ones. We’ll begin with an introduction to diet.

Paleo/Primal Eating

What do Adkins, South Beach, Paleo, Keto and Carnivore all have in common? These popular diets, starting back in the 80s with Adkins, all cut out carbs. Reducing our carbohydrate and sugar intake creates a diet more closely resembling the way our earliest ancestors ate. The best one of them all is the Paleo concept. This will create a more primal diet that resonates with our generic programming. This will eliminate all of the foods that are likely to cause CI. The basics:

 CUT OUT:

• all grain (wheat, corn, rice, etc - all of it. This includes all breads, pastas cereals)

• all legumes (bean, peas, etc)

• all dairy

• all seed oils (canola, corn oil….olive oil too!)

• all processed foods

• anything with added sugar

• white potatoes

• nightshade vegetables (tomatoes/peppers/eggplant)

• fruit juice (too high in sugar)

• just about anything with more than one ingredient on the package

EAT LOTS

• Animal proteins (beef, eggs, organ meat, poultry, lamb, fish, wild game (venison, etc)

• butter, ghee, lard, avocado oil (substitute for seed oils)

• whole fruit (in moderation) berries are best

• Above ground vegetables

• sweet potatoes

• leafy greens

CI is driven by all the foods on the ‘cut out’ list. Giving them up won’t be easy but here is what will happen if you do:

• lose weight without restricting calories

• better mental clarity

• better breathing

• more energy

• less joint pain

• improved mobility

• better sleep

• better digestion

• water weight loss

• look/feel younger

• reverse chronic inflammatory diseases

Is all of that worth giving up your favorite Mac and Cheese? Your favorite PB&J sandwich? That’s for you to decide, but if it is, I’m here to help.

FIRST STEP

Start educating yourself. Google Paleo diet plans and theory. There is wealth of data for self help here. “Gundry’ is also worth looking at. He has one of the better ways eating to avoid CI. In one of our earlies letters we looked at Intermittent Fasting. Add this to your daily routine. (That newsletter should be available by going to the archive.)

I will provide you snippets in each newsletter to help you make this transition. We will also start looking at non-dietary causes of CI and how to deal with those.

MEANWHILE…

Until next time - Yabba Dabba Doo!!!

Dr. Seiler