Did you know that inflammation in your body could predispose you to health risks?

Did you know that the hormone shifts in menopause could further raise levels of inflammation?

What is inflammation?

We often think inflammation with tangible things like scraped knees. A scraped knee has obvious redness, swelling, pain and heat, right? The thing about inflammation inside your body is that it is silent but still holds the possibility of being destructive. In menopause there are changes with estrogen levels. These shifts together with existing inflammation can impact your health.

This article is intended to give you food for thought, information to make educated choices, and reconnect you to the fact that your body is made to heal. Inflammation serves the valuable purpose of fixing tissue damage; so it’s not all bad. Cellular repair is important and necessary. However ongoing inflammation, which does not resolve, is problematic. Remember you always have an opportunity to guide your body away from being more inflamed to less inflamed.

So what happens with this inner inflammation?

One way to look at this “silent” inflammation is that it is like oil build-up inside an engine. Your engine needs oil to lubricate your gears. However, if the oil is dirty, build-ups occur, your gears are stressed, and things may grind to a halt. Atherosclerosis (build up of fatty materials inside blood vessels) is one common example of a result of chronic inflammation, very much like clogged gears.

Do you have:

Allergies?

Popping or clicking joints?

Redness or broken blood vessels in your face or neck?

Increasing sensitivities to foods or environmental substances?

High blood pressure?

Elevations in your cholesterol, triglycerides or C-reactive protein lab works?

High blood sugar?

Cravings for sugar?

Drowsiness after meals?

Extra weight around your mid section?

Yes to any of the above, indicates inflammation. Inflammation can be temporary or can be chronic depending upon your health history, genetics and various lifestyle habits and how many of the above factors you have at the same time.

Here is what you can do right now to help reduce inflammation in your body:

Avoid environmental and nutritional things to which you are sensitive.

It sounds simple but most of us know when we don’t tolerate specific foods or beverages. Yet we still “try them” now and again. It’s not worth it. If curry always does a number on your digestive tract: it’s not worth the stress to your system.

Give up gluten in your diet.

Even if you are not formally allergic to gluten, there are multiple reasons to avoid it. Firstly gluten is a highly inflammatory substance. It is like tossing gasoline onto any inflammation fire inside your body. Secondly, gluten found in the typical diet is a hybridized genetically modified organism (GMO), which is foreign to our bodies. Lastly it is too heavily ingested as far as quantity. Gluten will substantially ramp up any inflammatory process happening in your system. A wealth of information currently exists on gluten-free foods; so do some research. (http://www.triumphdining.com/blog/, http://www.glutenfreeliving.com/blog/)

Specifically avoid: wheat, spelt, semolina, barley, bulgur, and rye.

Incorporate into your diet: rice, potatoes, quinoa, wheat-free oats, millet, or amaranth.

Corn is a possibility but keep in mind that corn too is inflammatory though not to the degree of wheat.

Increase in your muscle mass and decrease in your body fat. This does not mean hours and hours in the gym. Even modest shifts in body fat substantially reduce your body’s tendency to make inflammatory substances.

Give your body antioxidant rich foods and supplements like:

Berries,

Broccoli,

Carrots,

Tomatoes,

Red grapes,

Garlic,

Spinach,

Green tea.

Vitamin C,

Vitamin E,

Selenium,

Beta Carotene.

Increase your intake of Omega-3 Fatty Acids like:

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA). You can also supplement with Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) but this Omega-3 is sometimes harder to absorb if you have multiple inflammatory signs.

Dietary sources of Omega-3’s:

Salmon,

Mackerel,

Tuna,

Flaxseed oil,

Algal oil,

Krill oil.

Make an appointment with your Acupuncturist, Naturopath or Nurse Practitioner, as well as a Clinical Nutritionist or Personal Trainer to get more information, get evaluated and create a plan, which will work for you and your lifestyle.

Getting your blood drawn to run lab work can feel like taking your car into the mechanic. Most of us don’t know a lot about it. What is really going on in there? What absolutely must be inspected? The tests have complicated names and do they tell you what is good, bad, or what to do next to stay healthy?

Over the last two decades managed care has developed a system of whittling down lab work such that yearly physicals may include little if any, and serious health issues go undetected until damage is done. The reality is that regular monitoring of lab work and life style changes subsequent to those results, go a long way in heading off the possibility of future disease development. So do you want to know if your gears are not shifting smoothly or your brake pads are wearing before a crash or no?

Here are two tests to consider having drawn at least once per year. Do make it practice to keep your own file with copies of your lab works. When your health care practitioners have the ability to view your lab results over spans of time it is invaluable.

Homocysteine (abbreviated tHcy or HCY)

Homocysteine is an amino acid which if elevated is associated with:

•Higher risk for developing cardiovascular disease.

•Higher risk for developing blood clots.

•Increased risk for pregnancy complications, miscarriage & fetal growth problems.

•Reduced cognitive functioning in the elderly.

What helps reduce Homocysteine levels?

Supplementing with B Vitamins including:

Folic acid, Vitamin B6 (pyridoxines) and Vitamin B12 (cobalamins).

Dietary sources of Vitamin B12 are animal based:

fish, mussels, clams, lamb, and beef.

Dietary sources of Vitamin B6 as well as the other B Vitamins are:

kombucha, whole, grains, potatoes, bananas, lentils, chili peppers, tempeh,             beans, nutritional and brewer’s yeasts, and molasses.

High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (abbreviated  hs-CRP)

High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) measures inflammation in the body.

For someone fighting off an infection, with a significant illness, or recovering from a surgery or trauma, we would expect the hs-CRP to naturally be elevated. After healing, the hs-CRP is typically no longer detectable in the bloodstream. However inflammation can also be associated with more silent cardiovascular developments. It is widely accepted that predisposition to developing heart attacks and cardiovascular disease is associated with generalized inflammation in the blood vessels.

Are you in a higher risk group for inflammation? Here are some important questions:

Do you smoke?

Do you have high blood pressure?

Do you have high cholesterol?

Are you diabetic?

Are you overweight?

Are you physically inactive?

If you are answering yes to any of the above, you are in a high-risk category; so having a High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein assessed regularly is a good idea. If your hs-CRP is elevated, there are sundry lifestyle, dietary and supplemental practices you can employ to reduce inflammation in your system and thereby lower your risk for a future cardiac event.

Sometimes managed care sources are reluctant or refuse to draw lab markers key to thoroughly monitoring your health. However these days many reduced fee labs exist and provide options for consumers to have blood works drawn at greatly reduced rates.  Depending upon the state in which you live, you can also access allied licensed health care practitioners such as Nurse Practitioners and Acupuncturists to order labs and help you manage and effectively monitor your health.

We all know that our cars run better and risk less by changing the oil, right? So check your oil, that blood the flowing through your body, to make sure your engine is in top condition.

Did you know that the severity of Peri-menopause & Menopause is related to adrenal health? Healthy adrenals act as the reserve for hormone production when your ovaries slow down. Many women enter Menopause with tired adrenals. Exhausted adrenals cannot function as nature’s back up.

Here is a partial list of symptoms of what is called adrenal stress syndrome:

Frequent nighttime waking, especially with a racing heart.

Reliance on caffeine to get going in the AM.

Shakiness/Irritability/Lightheadedness with missed or delayed meals.

Cravings for sweets, caffeine, cigarettes.

Fatigue, which can be relieved by eating.

Inability to fall asleep.

Inability to stay asleep.

So what can you do to take care of your adrenals? The adrenals are stressed by stimulants such as caffeine, sugar and cigarettes. Initially you feel a little surge of energy because stimulants push the already fatigued adrenals to pump out epinephrine. However epinephrine is short lasting and nature intends for it to be available for emergencies, not navigating typical daily life.

Try slowly weaning yourself from coffee to black and then green tea. If you are big coffee drinker it’s good to wean incrementally such as starting with ¾ caffeinated coffee beans mixed with ¼ decaffeinated for several days. Then mix ½ caffeinated with ½-decaffeinated beans for several days. Gradually continue to taper down the mix of caffeinated coffee beans in your daily intake and then transition over to black tea followed by green tea.

Another tip is eating at least every 4 hours and do not skip breakfast. Even if you are “not a breakfast person” you’ve got to get glucose to your brain after a night’s sleep. Start with a protein drink and an egg. Protein is key and breakfast is key-even if it’s a very small meal.

There are also various blood and salivary lab works, which your Acupuncturist, MD, or Nurse Practitioner can order to further evaluate the health of your adrenals. Be well!  Karen Reynolds, L.Ac., M.S., R.N.