Inflammation is good and normal…in certain
circumstances like defending a part of the body that is injured or infected.
Inflammation is not good...like when it persists too long. Inflammation is a cellular level event and may be a
factor in a variety of chronic diseases: cardiovascular,
gastrointestinal, lung, mental, metabolic, neurodegenerative, and more. (1)
Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka strives to lessen inflammation’s
influence on the health of our Sitka
chiropractic patients dealing with issues like
back pain, headache/migraine, depression and even cognitive issues related to Alzheimer’s. An anti-inflammatory diet has a
role in this effort.
INFLAMMATION LINKED TO BACK PAIN, DEPRESSION, ALZHEIMER’S…
A systematic review and meta-analysis of current
medical studies regarding the role of inflammation and
depression reported that a pro-inflammatory diet was related
to a bigger risk of depression symptoms
and diagnosis compared to those who chose an
anti-inflammatory diet. (2) Another study recommended a link
between low back pain and pro-inflammatory diets as well. A study of 7346
people revealed that those reporting
the highest inflammatory diet had higher risk of saying they have
low back pain, too. (3) Links between diet, nutrition and Alzheimer’s
disease have been reported. The good news is that
nutrition was described as being able to regulate
the immune system and even alter the neuroinflammatory processes
related to Alzheimer’s and age-related cognition issues. (4) These descriptions
demonstrate just how extensive inflammation can be.
…EVEN MIGRAINE
Migraine as primary headache is projected to
impact 14.4% of people and ranked as the greatest
contributor to disability in people over 50 years of age. Migraine is studied
a lot as to what causes it but still remains somewhat of a mystery. Researchers summarized
that many factors are involved: vascular function,
trigeminovascular pathway activation, pro-inflammatory and oxidative stats may add
to migraine pain. Studies associating migraine to the role of dietary interventions are not many, but a recent
data search found that Ketogenic diet, modified Atkins diets, and low glycemic
diets may better mitochondrial function and energy metabolism, decrease
CGRP (calcitonin gene related peptide) level, stabilize serotonin,
and subdue neuroinflammation. Through inflammation and
irregular hypothalamic function, obesity and headaches (including
migraines) may be related. The inflammatory link appeared in the published papers. Dietary interventions like supplementing
with essential fatty acids (decreasing omega-6
and boosting omega-3 which were documented to affect inflammation)
were discussed as helpful. (5) Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka
knows the power diet and nutrition may have in disease issues
like migraine, back pain, depression, and cognition.
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET
Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka also knows many of us don’t like
the word diet. It often reminds us of things what we can’t
eat. A good diet allows a lot of good food though. Basic guidelines
for an anti-inflammatory diet design incorporate eating
lean meat, eggs, fish, fruit,
legumes, coffee, tea, vegetables, honey and plain dairy
like milk, yogurt, hard cheeses, kefir with limited consumption of
red meat and other dairy and sugar while avoiding canned/processed
food, sweetened drinks, and alcohol. (6) We are sure our
chiropractic patients can handle this kind of diet!
CONTACT Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka
Listen to the PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on the Back
Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes how inflammation and the immune system interact and how
chiropractic care and the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management may be
beneficial.
Make your next Sitka
chiropractic visit with Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka. If inflammation has overstayed its good and normal welcome, we can talk about taking some steps toward a more beneficial
anti-inflammatory diet.