Nearly all my clients that I have seen in clinic have one thing in common –inflammation, as a Naturopath – we have been taught to search for the underlying cause of this inflammation, and address that.
But the question is why? Why is it so important to address inflammation?
The repercussions of inflammation in the body are numerous and the long term consequences have many outcomes, some are:
· Chronic diseases e.g fibromyalgia, thyroid disorders, arthritis , digestive issues
· Nervous system dysregulation – insomnia, anxiety, depression
· Immune dysregulation, which at a cellular level often results in auto-immune disorders and cancer
· Skin disorders – eczema, rashes, psoriasis,
Our body is always trying to heal itself – with inflammation, an immune response is ignited, constant calls for the immune system to regulate the body, resulting in an immune response cascade – The triggers for this are varied - most common triggers are the stress response, food/chemical intolerances , viruses and infections.
Our body, as stated earlier is always looking to keep itself in balance – this balance is regulated by a system that our amazing body employs called the “negative feedback system” it’s a response system. Unfortunately, in our present day of life, we are constantly calling on our stress responses, our diet is highly processed with chemicals, the body may be infected by viruses – and in this our body is responding efficiently working towards getting our systems into balance. After a period of time , this constant call to balance brings about dis-balance often resulting is dis-ease.
So, when I see a client with symptoms of pain, weight gain, hormonal imbalances, digestive and nervous and immune system dysregulation and skin disorders – a thorough case is taken, pathology that is on hand is analysed, and lifestyle and diet are examined.
With chronic inflammation of the body – it is common for long term toxic build up and this build up impacts the ability for the body to effectively remove toxins via its emunctory systems integumentary (skin), kidney, lungs, mucous membranes , GIT and liver ) – in particular the liver and its role of detoxification , this taken into consideration when planning diet/lifestyle changes and implementing a treatment protocol.
Quite often it is simple and small changes needed that give great results, vitality of the self is often missing due to the ongoing stressors in their life at a particular tim.
This can be addressed with simple lifestyle changes and if the inflammation has been ongoing – support is given with herbal and or nutraceutical supplementation – acting as a facilitator towards balance - aiming always for the body and mind to heal with minimal intervention.
I look forward to helping you soon. My clinic, Sonia Ellery Naturopath is based in Camden, New South Wales and you can book an appointment when you are ready to feel better again.
Supportive Evidence-based research links
Berk, M., Williams, L.J., Jacka, F.N. et al. So depression is an inflammatory disease, but where does the inflammation come from?. BMC Med 11, 200 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-11-200
Simopoulos AP. The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids. Biomed Pharmacother. 2002 Oct;56(8):365-79. doi: 10.1016/s0753-3322(02)00253-6. PMID: 12442909.
González-Vallinas, M., Molina, S., Vicente, G., Zarza, V., Martín-Hernández, R., García-Risco, M. R., Fornari, T., Reglero, G., & Ramírez de Molina, A. (2014). Expression of microRNA-15b and the glycosyltransferase GCNT3 correlates with antitumor efficacy of Rosemary diterpenes in colon and pancreatic cancer. PloS one, 9(6), e98556. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098556
Hodges RE, Minich DM. Modulation of Metabolic Detoxification Pathways Using Foods and Food-Derived Components: A Scientific Review with Clinical Application. J Nutr Metab. 2015;2015:760689. doi: 10.1155/2015/760689. Epub 2015 Jun 16. PMID: 26167297; PMCID: PMC4488002.
Maloney EM, Boneva R, Nater UM, Reeves WC. Chronic fatigue syndrome and high allostatic load: results from a population-based case-control study in Georgia. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2009 Jun;71(5):549-556. DOI: 10.1097/psy.0b013e3181a4fea8.
Romano GF, Tomassi S, Russell A, Mondelli V, Pariante CM. Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue: the underlying biology and related theoretical issues. Adv Psychosom Med. 2015;34:61-77. doi: 10.1159/000369085. Epub 2015 Mar 30. PMID: 25832514.