Inflammation, Fishing for a Cure
December 9th, 2006
Did you know that inflammation is a major factor in numerous medical conditions and could very well be the primary cause of coronary disease? This natural body process is designed to protect tissues (especially skin and ligaments) from certain kinds of injury. But when inflammation is excessive, it can lead to a variety of problems, including:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Cardiovascular disease
- Prostate disorders
- Many types of cancer, including colon cancer
- Certain respertory problems
- Arthritis
- Back pain
- Some types of tumors
Traditionally, inflammation is treated with anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin and Ibuprofin, but have some unfortunate side-effects, including erectile disfunction (caused by the inhibition of nitric oxide, an inflammatory substance essential for erection) and decreased immune response. As usual, you’re better off using natural treatments to reduce inflammation. Thankfully, nature has provided quite a few plants and herbs for us to try:
- Omega-3 fatty acids are among the best anti-inflammatory substances, especially those found in oily fish. The omega-3 fatty acids produce resolvins (a type of fat) that have powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
- White Willow bark extract is what aspirin originally came from. Taking the pure, herbal form has the same effects effects as taking aspirin, but without the chemical processing agents and additives. Aspirin is an effective anti-inflammatory and helps prolong the effects of other herbal remedies. It also has antisceptic and antispasmotic properties and helps reduce fever.
- Lobelia extract is used for all types of inflammation, especially those associated with the broncules, such as coughs and asthma. It has mild sedative qualities (relaxes broncules).
- Black walnut hull or extract is also an anti-inflammatory agent and helps purify the blood. It is commonly used in natural colon cleanse products due to its laxative and anti-parasitic qualities.
- Tumeric is one of nature’s best anti-inflammatory herbs. It works both topically and internally and has been found to fight cancer cells. It also has antidepressant qualities and helps the liver and gallbladder produce bile, which aids digestions. If you are suffering from gallstones, you should first cleanse the gallbladder of stones before using tumeric.
There are many other anti-inflammatory herbs besides these. You can look into wild yam oil, milk thistle, ginger oil and vitamin C to name a few of the more noteworthy possibilities. With all these choices for anti-inflammatory herbs and remedies, nature has made it pretty easy for us to keep inflammation under control.
Fish photo by http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jewgienij_Bal
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