If you’ve been following along, I’ve discussed how inflammation is often pinned as the root of many of our modern chronic diseases – a whopping 80%. And while this is anchored in truth, I haven’t been totally honest with you. There is a misconception about this message that requires a multi-faceted approach.
The reality is inflammation is a symptom of a deeper root cause. Think of it as a root cause to a root cause. And just think about how many layers this could potentially go down!
Really, inflammation is a symptom to a deeper dysfunction. Physiologically, inflammation is essential to your livelihood and health. When inflammation is well controlled and isolated, it saves your life and it repairs damage. It’s an integral part of the immune system. You don’t want to suppress this process. But the inflammatory process can quickly turn bad if your body is continually recognizing a threat or imbalance. In its chronic state, you want to figure out why it’s being expressed continually.
Chronic Inflammation In Real Life
There are several reasons that your body expresses acute and chronic inflammation. And there are different generators and contributing factors that play a role in chronic disease as a whole. But chronic inflammation is a big deal and we can’t ignore it. It’s a massive player in lifestyle-sourced disease development. Having an immune state that is in constant inflammation can prevent you from healing, recovering from activity, having sustained energy, being able to fall asleep and stay asleep, and it can contribute to disease development and progression.
Chronic inflammation shows up in many common diagnoses and conditions such as arthritis, asthma, eczema, autoimmune, cardiovascular diseases, brain fog, cancer, diabetes, hormone imbalances, high cholesterol, depression, anxiety, the list goes on.
The majority of people I see have dysregulated inflammation in the body that displays these symptoms and conditions. I often tell them that there can be a root cause to a root cause, and one can lead to another. And while inflammation can be the trigger for many chronic diseases, we have to discover what’s causing the inflammation and driving the immune system to be dysregulated in the first place.
Identifying triggers of your inflammation
In my functional medicine practice, where I get to work with patients all around the country, not a day goes by that I am not working on conditions that have symptoms of chronic inflammation at the core. Through an intensive and in-depth health history, functional medicine evaluation and properly used diagnostic testing, we set out to figure out why the inflammation is expressing itself in the first place – or what’s causing your immune system to continue to be in an inflammatory cascade.
Identifying the trigger or generator of inflammation gives us more personalized information and a more detailed blueprint in your quest to feel your best. Many factors perpetuate or contribute to the vicious cycle of chronic disease. Some of these factors include
There are a lot of reasons why a patient can be experiencing inflammation. This means there are a lot of ways to treat it.
The problem is that there’s an abundance of information and even more misinformation on the best foods to eat, the best way to eat, the best diet. By working through a personalized approach, you can pinpoint the exact lifestyle modification that is best for you.
One Size Does Not Fit All
So often, I see misinformation about the “best diets,” “best drugs,” or “the newest magical, mythical remedy.” One-size-fits-all treatments often leave you masking the root cause and maybe even having more issues spring up, leaving you more frustrated in the end.
But let’s keep it simple, there’s no magic pill and you may want to reconsider the latest TikTok trend. Real-life root cause medicine and the healing you deserve may be what’s in order. Back to the basics. No frills.
When we identify the triggers causing inflammation, we can then address the steps needed to take action to reduce inflammation, prevent progression, and avoid the insurance-based diagnosis and medicinal matchmaking game that ensues.
When you work with a trained functional medicine expert (hi, that’s me, by the way 😁), who can help guide you through proper testing, who understands root cause medicine, the relationship between the body and the brain, and who can help break down the basics of nutrition can help catapult you into preventing disease and improving the quality of your life.
What questions do you have about inflammation? Comment them below!
