The International Wellness Directory calls chronic inflammation an epidemic and says: “Today modern medicine is starting to admit that chronic inflammation is the main contributing factor to all chronic degenerative diseases, and the root cause of the two greatest killers in America: Cancer and Heart Disease.”
Chronic inflammation is a good process that has gone very bad. The inflammatory mechanisms our bodies employ to deal with infections and tissue injury lose the ability to properly respond to threats. The immune system remains on high alert continuously, and this state of high alert results in damage and disease.
So that’s the bad news. The good news is that scientists from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have uncovered a key mechanism in controlling chronic inflammation. While examining the use of magnesium sulfate in the treatment of preeclampsia and pre-term labor in pregnant women, the researchers were able to determine that magnesium sulfate turned off the cytokines that promote inflammation by reducing the activity of a necessary protein. This discovery could have a profound effect on future treatments for all degenerative diseases.
How do you know if you suffer from inflammation? Monica Reinagel, MS, LN, CNS, founder of the website InflammationFactor.com, says: “Everyone needs to be worried about inflammation because virtually everyone is affected by it to some degree. Sometimes, inflammation can cause obvious symptoms, like joint pain or asthma. But just as often, cellular inflammation can be completely symptom free. You might not realize that there is a problem until a serious disease is diagnosed.”
As I noted in my book, “Kitchen Cabinet Medicine – Anti-inflammatory Edition,” the factors that contribute to inflammation are many and varied and very much a part of modern living. Some of the risk factors include: alcohol, animal fats, food sensitivities, genetics, gum disease, gut bacteria imbalances, lack of sleep or exercise, obesity, omega-6 overload, smoking, stress, sugar, toxins, trans fats and vitamin deficiency. While that is a long list, countering inflammatory factors with anti-inflammatory foods, spices and supplements is a very effective approach to preventing chronic inflammation. Now that we know the role magnesium plays in preventing inflammation, we can add this mineral to our anti-inflammatory arsenal.
Adding magnesium-rich foods to your diet is easy to do. Dark green vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, bananas, fish and dark chocolate are just some of the foods that provide an excellent source of magnesium.
References:
Case Western Reserve University. “Preterm labor powerhouse therapy offers promise for inflammatory diseases.” Science Daily, 9 Oct. 2012. Web 1 Oct. 2013
International Wellness Directory, Chronic Inflammation – an American Epidemic, 2013 Minnesota Wellness Publications, Inc. 2013. Web 1, Oct. 2013.
Reinagel, MS, LN, CNS, Monica. “Inflammation Factor.” I nflammation Factor RSS . Inflammation Factor, 2011. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.