Naperville Integrated Wellness
NAPERVILLE'S TOP RATED LOCAL® FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE FACILITY
What is Inflammation?
Inflammation, you have heard it’s bad for you. You don’t want it…but what the heck is it? Inflammation is a root cause of countless health problems and is the only factor common to all chronic diseases. In functional medicine we are very interested in the subject of inflammation because until it is brought under control you simply cannot restore function and therefore health. That may sound like a rather harsh question, but this is where the word inflammation comes from. The word inflammation comes from the Latin word inflammatio; inflammare which means to set on fire. The best way to describe inflammation is to say the tissues of the body are “on fire.” Your body is creating this fire in response to damaged cells in your body. When your cells are damaged by anything, your body starts a fire. The purpose of this fire is to contain/limit the damage so it does not spread, break down damaged cells for removal and permit the development of new, healthy cells. Inflammation is like a fire in your body, but since it is not an actual fire, what causes this body-fire? Below are some of the chemicals your body makes to create this fire: As you can see from the list above, the process of inflammation is not caused by a single chemical; it is a complicated process, involving many different chemicals. This is why so few people understand what inflammation actually is…there is not a single cause. You just need to know that inflammation is like a fire in your body. When inflammation is short-term and controlled it is a very good thing because it is a necessary part of the healing process. The “fire” of inflammation cleans out the useless and damaged cells and lets new healthy ones take their place. This is what I call “healthy inflammation.” Healthy inflammation is like a cleansing process of the body. It is short-term and beneficial. It is like fire that occurs in nature. For example, fire is a cleansing process in forests; old, sick and decaying vegetation is burned and removed, making way for new life, triggering new trees and other plants to sprout, grow and take the place of the old, sick and dead vegetation. This process in nature is beneficial when it occurs periodically. It would be harmful if the forest was constantly burning or if it burned down every year. This is what happens in your body with chronic inflammation…the fire never dies out. The cells of your body cannot repair themselves and new, healthy cells can’t form. Your “forest” can’t rebuild and thrive and function as nature intended. Chronic inflammation can affect all systems of your body. I could keep going, but I think you get the idea, chronic inflammation causes many problems for your body. Functional medicine doctors specialize in finding the root cause of chronic inflammation. The root cause of inflammation; the thing that causes it is cell damage. The next step in your healing process is to identify what is damaging your cells. Now you know what inflammation is…the body on fire and this fire is your body’s response to damaged cells. Discover what is causing the damage to cells and you can reduce inflammation.Is Your Body on Fire?
What Causes This Fire?
“Body-Fire Chemicals”
Healthy Inflammation is Good!
Chronic Inflammation is Bad!
How Chronic Inflammation Affects Your Health?
Brain
Gut Health
Thyroid
Weight Gain
Hormone Balance
Liver
Heart disease and Stroke
Autoimmune Disease