NEW TOOLS TO REDUCE YOUR CHRONIC INFLAMMATION

This is really important.

Your longevity, the number of years you’ve got left this side of the sod, and equally important, how you will physically feel during those years, what diseases you may (or may not) develop will pretty much depend on the state of your inflammation.

Did you ever wonder why some obese people, after decades of being badgered by their families and physicians to lose weight, out-live all of them? They’re blessed with low inflammation levels. Or sometimes a guy with normal weight falls over dead in his fifties from a massive heart attack the week after his check-up which included perfect cholesterol? He may have been smoldering inside.

If you have an issue with some manifestation of chronic inflammation you might intuitively “know” something is not right within. You might feel a vague symptom like fatigue, muscle or joint achiness, poor focus and concentration, feverishness, weight gain or loss, digestive or respiratory symptoms. Long COVID caused this for millions and lasted months after their initial infections but then for most people did subside.

If you present symptoms of inflammation, your primary care doctor will order some diagnostic tests to determine if anything is the sign of an actual illness. If nothing is found, that’s great, but the chronic symptoms are a message from your body to get to work on reducing your inflammation to prevent any future damage.

Because we now know that over time chronic inflammation itself is the ultimate villain responsible for virtually all the chronic diseases you can think of…heart disease, strokes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune diseases, and on and on. They all have their origin in chronic inflammation.

IMMEDIATE STEPS TO BEGIN REVERSING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION

First: look at this list. These are the major risk factors of chronic inflammation:

• You smoke.
• You don’t exercise regularly.
• You eat a nutritionally poor diet rife with refined flour, sugar, animal fats, and processed foods filled with additives, chemicals, and preservatives. NOTE: There’s a new app FIG for scanning grocery store items for additives, etc.
• You’re stressed out.
• You’ve got some hidden food sensitivities (for some, gluten can be a villain here). NOTE: the cost of testing for food sensitivities has dropped considerably.
• You have chronic, low-level infections from bacteria, parasites, candida, or viruses.
• You have “leaky gut” (a/k/a intestinal hyperpermeability) which can be easily tested and treated.
• Your gums or teeth are in bad shape, and you don’t floss (dental plaque is a constant source of inflammation). NOTE: recent research has linked mouth bacteria, especially oral candida, to pancreatic cancer risks.
• You have chronically inflamed skin that constantly requires steroid creams to reduce its redness.
• If you’re overweight and inflamed, consider the GLP-1 injections. These are known to have anti-inflammatory effects AND the micro dose GLP-1s though not covered by insurance, are reasonably priced and can be used indefinitely.

If you want to make a real project of exploring your chronic inflammation…

There are several blood tests available that your WholeHealth Chicago practitioner can order. They will give you a snapshot of your inflammatory status and are usually covered by your health insurance.

• Sedimentation rate
• High sensitivity C-reactive protein
• C4a

However, for patients who want to seriously explore both their inflammatory status and overall nutrition status, TruHealth Diagnostics, working with Massachusetts General Hospital has developed an astonishing test using epigenetic biomarkers from your DNA genome (as opposed to a serum sample).

From a simple bloodspot (and $375), here’s what you get:

110 biomarkers for vitamins, antioxidants, healthy fats, amino acids, and toxins, as well as inflammation rates, oxidative stress, and neurocognitive factors.

Here’s a sample report.

Now I know you’ll need some help with interpretation, so when the results are back from TruHealth, you’ll meet with your WHC practitioner or Olivia Darrow, our nutritionist. Quell the fire of your chronic inflammation!

Be well,

David Edelberg, MD