Frankincense: One of Several Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients
Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. Three gifts talked about throughout the holidays often are neglected the rest of the year…except gold. We do hear a lot about gold! Well, frankincense is one of several nutrients and phytonutrients receiving more attention for its anti-inflammatory features. Patients at Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka are quite aware that we chatter on about inflammation and its part in Sitka back pain and neck pain very often, so anti-inflammatory supplements with anti-inflammatory nutrients are welcome!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY NUTRIENTS
A new narrative review of medical literature about the effects of certain nutrients and phytonutrients on immune system function and on the reduction of inflammation concluded that patients with all types of health issues, minor to severe, may well get some advantage from daily supplementation of acetyl-L-carnitine, Vitamin C, Aloe vera polysaccharides, Vitamin B12, beta-glucans, bilberry, black seed oil, coenzyme Q10, curcumin (turmeric), garlic, resveratrol, ginger, hydrolyzed rice bran, lipoic acid, mistletoe, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin E (d-alpha- and gamma-tocopherol), selenium, shiitake mushroom and its derivatives, isoflavones, Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), zinc, and frankincense. Such supplementation may be in addition to conventional medications and medical therapies. The goal of this supplementation is to decrease inflammation which is controlled by the immune system and which is a contributing factor to chronic disease in addition to acute illness. The review covered many specifics like how supplements affected inflammatory and immune factors - whose names you may not know very well but play a role in your health - like interferon-g, nuclear factor-Kappa B, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-a, and CD4+ T cells, and others. Studies like these are garnering lots of attention today as the need to prevent chronic illness and reduce the severity of acute illnesses of all sorts that people around the globe are dealing with. (1) Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka is eager to see these developments in the more natural approaches to health evolve!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FRANKINCENSE
You will note that frankincense was one of the nutrients talked about above. A new study highlighted the benefits of its supplementation. Frankincense is an oil extract taken from the Boswellia tree. It has been utilized in anti-inflammatory folk remedies for a long time. Using bowellic acids like the 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-βBA (AKBA) are unique anti-inflammatory components of frankincense. In combination with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosahexaenoic acid (EPA), it promoted lipid mediator change of innate immune cells from pro-inflammatory to boosted anti-inflammatory action of frankincense from Boswellic acid. (2) For Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka, frankincense needs to be gifted throughout the year and not just at the holidays! Nutritional findings like this are just so interesting, particularly when we acknowledge that inflammation has a role in spine-related pain that we treat every day. Let’s talk about our anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement at your next Sitka chiropractic visit.
CONTACT Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox, developer of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management, on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the interaction of the immune system and inflammation as well as how spinal manipulation can positively affect the immune system.
Make your Sitka chiropractic appointment soon to visit us! Though we’re not sure when myrrh will get its due, we’ll be happy to see that frankincense is getting its due for the role it may play in reducing inflammation!
