“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine
or
the slowest form of poison”
Today I would like to talk about a serious, but often times hidden culprit that’s a factor in everything from being obese to all chronic illnesses and diseases of aging.
You’ve heard the term before and are somewhat familiar with it; I’m talking about inflammation. I want to emphasize and demonstrate how it’s a hidden cause of poor health. You’re most likely aware of the classic signs of inflammation which are pain, swelling, redness, and heat. We have all experienced inflammation at some time in our lives with different injuries, such as twisting an ankle, breaking a bone, smashing a finger and even sunburn is a form of inflammation.
Inflammation is part of the body’s natural defense system. When we have an injury to different tissues of our body, whether muscle, ligament, tendon, skin or bone, inflammation is supposed to occur. Your body is doing what it is designed to do. When your body senses an injury to a tissue, a specific cascade of events are set in motion, where white blood cells and special chemicals called cytokines mobilize and an increased blood flow also occurs, all to protect the area involved.
This is a normal type of inflammation and it’s a good thing. It helps your body protect and heal itself.
Inflammation can also occur when your body senses a foreign invader, known as an antigen. This invasion can occur from viruses and unhealthy bacteria. However, what most people do not realize is that a foreign invader can even be the very foods we are eating. When we are unaware of a food allergy, food intolerance or even sensitivity to certain foods, we ourselves are contributing to the inflammation process, by repeatedly eating these foods. Your body recognizes these foods as antigens, and these foreign invaders will trigger an out of control inflammatory process. When your immune system shifts out of balance, because of this constant self-inflicted attack, inflammation will run rampant. As Dr. Mark Hyman, one of the leading most experts in Functional Medicine, says “This will cause a chronic, smoldering fire inside your body that contributes to disease and weight gain.”
To say it plainly, the foods we eat like high fructose corn syrup, sugar, high amounts of unhealthy oils and fats in your diet, and unknown food allergens can all contribute and even be the cause of these types of inflammatory processes and diseases. Along with these allergenic foods we consume, chronic stress, lack of exercise and hidden infections all trigger an intense, unseen, and often times undetected inflammatory process deep within your body.
One of the most startling facts about this type of inflammation is that it leads to every one of the major chronic diseases — heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, and more. It is also the major contributing factor to obesity. To quote Dr. Mark Hyman “Being fat is being inflamed — period!”
If you do not detect and eliminate hidden food allergens you will not, nor cannot address the inflammation taking place within you and you will not be able succeed at effective and permanent weight loss. What’s even scarier is that you will not be able to prevent or control the chronic diseases that will occur because of inflammation. Hidden sensitivities and allergies to food you eat every day are making you sick and overweight.
How does this occur? In short, when the mucous lining of the intestines becomes too porous, because of inflammation from the foods we eat, it allows the entry of toxins, microorganisms, and undigested food particles into the bloodstream, triggering further inflammation and an exaggerated immune response. This creates a vicious cycle, leading to autoimmunity, illness and chronic diseases.
What is autoimmunity? Autoimmunity is the failure of your body to recognize its own parts as its own, which allows an immune response in the form of an attack against itself, by destroying cells and tissues. This process causes tissue destruction and death, which leads to dysfunction and disease.
So now that you know the seriousness of inflammation, autoimmunity and the chronic diseases it leads to, what should you do about it? First, the cause of the inflammation needs to be identified, to be more specific, do you have certain food allergies or sensitivities? Once we figure out this is the case, we can begin to eliminate the inflammatory foods, start an anti-inflammatory diet and begin to support the damaged digestive tract with science based supplements. This regimen will allow the body to heal and repair itself of the damages that have taken place within your digestive tract, leading to weight loss, restored health and a life not plagued by chronic illness and disease.
Stop letting inflammation, from the foods you eat, continue to make you sick and unhealthy.