Beverly Lynn Bennett - Power Foods for an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

2020 Beverly Lynn Bennett

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, except for brief quotations in reviews, without written permission from the publisher.

Healthy Living Publications,

a division of BPC

PO Box 99

Summertown, TN 38483

888-260-8458

bookpubco.com

ISBN: 978-1-57067-388-7

Disclaimer

The information in this book is presented for educational purposes only. It isnt intended to be a substitute for the medical advice of a physician, dietitian, or other health-care professional.

Printed in the United States of America

25 24 23 22 21 201 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request

CONTENTS

Chapter 1
Defining Inflammation

Inflammation is either the cause or consequence of nearly every injury, infection, and disease, and sometimes its both. In a nutshell, inflammation is the immune systems defense mechanism in action. Under normal circumstances, inflammation occurs in response to an injury or infection and then stops once the problem has resolved. This is called acute, or useful, inflammation, and its symptoms are unmistakable. The root of the word inflammation derives from the Latin inflammare, which means to catch fire or to burst into flames. This term encompasses the four symptoms that arise when the body experiences inflammation: redness, heat, swelling, and pain.

After an injurywhether its a sprained wrist, a stubbed toe, a pinched finger, or an insect biteall four symptoms will appear. Redness and heat indicate that blood is flowing to the location of the injury. Swelling occurs as plasma begins to fill the surrounding tissues. Pain is the telltale sign that something is amissa message the body is under attack and requires immediate attention. These symptoms are often acute at first but gradually dissipate as the healing process progresses. Eventually the body returns to normal, and in most cases, not even a scar remains.

Acute systemic infections (those that occur throughout the body) often take longer to manifest, but they elicit the same response from the immune system. With infection from a flu virus, for example, there might initially be a vague feeling of discomfort, followed by a burning in the eye sockets or joints, chills, and finally a fever. These are signs the body is fighting off the infection. Some people take anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, to relieve the discomfort. Others simply allow the fever to run its course and destroy the invading pathogen.

Allergies also trigger an inflammatory response. For instance, when people are exposed to environmental substances or foods theyre allergic to, the immune system will launch an attack, causing symptoms such as a runny nose, itchy skin, or swollen joints. Usually these symptoms subside naturally once the offending allergen is removed. However, hypersensitive allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis, can be life threatening and require immediate medical intervention.

Of course, more serious illnesses require more robust therapies. But in all cases, inflammation is the bodys natural response to an invasive attack, and it usually abates once the healing is complete. Although the expression of acute inflammation can be unpleasant, it is evidence of a healthy immune system.

What Happens During Inflammation

When the body needs to respond to an injury, it mobilizes an army of specialized cells and chemicals to fight invading organisms and toxins. These specialized cells prepare pathways for fighter cells to attack and engulf the unwelcome invaders. Next, another group of cells signals the body that the fighter cells have been successful, which stops the production of the preparatory and fighter cells and triggers the appearance of clean-up and repair cells to clear the battlefield of debris and mend any damage.

Simply put, there are two stages to the inflammatory response: proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory. Each participating cell in the proinflammatory stage builds on the work of the previous cells and makes the immune reaction stronger. During the pro-inflammatory period, symptoms such as pain, itching, redness, heat, or swelling arise. The anti-inflammatory process puts out the fire, reversing the pro-inflammatory reaction and returning the body to normal.

A number of substances that either cause or block inflammation are made from essential fatty acids, which are fats the body cannot produce on its own. These fatty acids must be obtained from foods or supplements. There are two families of essential fats: omega-3s and omega-6s. Omega-6 fatty acids tend to increase inflammation; omega-3 fatty acids help to curtail it. Its important to remember that in a more complex depiction of the process of inflammation, some of these substances have multiple roles, including promoting the battle phase of inflammation and subsequently shutting it down when its no longer necessary. The most common roles are explained in the descriptions that follow.

The Preparatory Substances

A number of different substances work together to alert the body theres been an injury. Other substances prepare the area around the injury to make it easier for healing substances to fight harmful invading microbes.

Histamine. White blood cells near the injury site release a substance called histamine, which increases the permeability of blood vessels around a wound. This signals fighter cells and other substances that regulate the immune response to come to the site of the injury. They gain easier access to the site because histamine makes the surrounding blood vessels more porous. Histamine also instigates swelling and redness around the site of the injury. Its effects are particularly noticeable during an allergic reaction, when symptoms might include a runny nose, itchy eyes, or a rash.

Eicosanoids. Eicosanoids are signaling molecules produced from essential fatty acids. They can be either pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory, depending on which family of essential fats they come from. Pro-inflammatory eicosanoids continue the work of histamines, increasing the permeability of blood vessels, which causes the swelling associated with inflammation. Prostaglandins are one of the primary pro-inflammatory eicosanoids; they make blood vessels more porous, create heat or fever to kill invading pathogens, and induce pain, which helps immobilize the injured area. Leukotrienes are another primary pro-inflammatory eicosanoid, and they also make blood vessels more porous and send signals to fighter cells to help them locate the injury. In addition, leukotrienes restrict airways and create nasal mucus, in much the same way that histamine does but more intensely. Pain is caused initially by the swelling that activates the immediate nerve endings adjacent to an injury. Pro-inflammatory eicosanoids increase the sensitivity of these nerves.