Inflammation - What is it?
Inflammation is a natural response of the body to protect itself against harm. Some outside factors of stress can be: running to a wall, stubbing your toe, or getting a splinter stuck in your finger. First thing, the body will begin to increase the white blood cell count to the effected area.
Today there is a lot of talk of “anti-inflammatory” superfoods, and these foods are amazing! Don’t let this sway you into thinking they aren’t. However, it tends to make “inflammation” seem like a dirty word that we must avoid at all cost, and this is not so.
There are two different types of inflammation.
Acute Inflammation.
Chronic Inflammation.
Chronic Inflammation is like it sounds, it is serious. A few examples are; HEART DISEASE - DIABETES - CANCER - ARTHRITIS - and BOWEL DISEASES. When the body is chronically inflamed, white blood cells may end up attacking nearby healthy tissues and organs.
The other type of inflammation (acute) is actually very important! It is the first line of defense of out immune system! This is how your body fights infections and helps speed up the healing process. So think of that bruise, the sprained toe, the splinter wound…
The goal is to recognize when inflammation is simply doing its job, and when it can potentially cause problems.
