Written by: Chris Chappel, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Inflammation is like a wildfire. It burns away invading bacteria and viruses, but it can also damage your cells that are caught in the crossfire. When your immune system activates, the body can get confused and start attacking itself, and then an auto-immune disease occurs. Research is finding many diseases are driven by some form of inflammation. By putting out the fire, our body can heal, so your pain, fatigue, brain fog, and other symptoms improve, and life becomes better.
As a Functional Medicine doctor, I firmly believe that inflammation anywhere, is inflammation everywhere. It doesn’t matter if you have inflammation in a single joint, an organ like your thyroid or liver, or just your skin, because your entire body ends up being affected. By calming the inflammation down, you can make a real difference to your health. You won’t feel great if you have the flu, but if you have a subtle low grade level of chronic inflammation you also won’t be at your best. The problem is you may not even realise you’re affected, as it’s something that’s been present for a long time.
Chronic infections
These need to be addressed as soon as possible. If you have a root canal, get it checked by holistic dentist using a Conebeam Xray. A bug called P gingivalis can live there for decades without you knowing about it. This bacterium is considered a strong risk for developing Alzheimer’s dementia, as the bacteria gets into the blood and damages the brain. The only way to know you have it is to get the special Conebeam Xray. See here.
Omega 6/3 ratio
What you build the body from matters! If you have a house made with cheap bricks it will crumble and decay. If we feed our body the wrong fats, the cell membranes that hold every cell together, become unhealthy. We can now measure and optimize this with pinpoint precision, and doing this test is one of my favorite ways to help my patients fix their inflammation.
Omega 3s are things like chia, hemp, tofu, tempeh, raw walnuts, fish, and eggs. Omega 6s are things like sunflower oil, safflower oil, and peanut oil. Some omega 6s like evening primrose oil or borage oil are anti-inflammatory however the ratio of omega 6 to 3 is what matters, and most people have far too many omega 6s in their body. As such, you want to boost the omega 3s with a high-quality fish oil (such as available here) and eat more whole foods high in omega 3s. You want to avoid any food that contains vegetable oil and only cook in stable oils like coconut, ghee, butter, avocado, or beef tallow. At low temperatures cooking in olive oil is fine, and certainly put a lot of olive oil on your food if you can, as that is a powerful omega 9 anti-inflammatory oil.
The problem with too many omega-6s is they take years to get out of the body. Studies have shown they increase obesity and can cause Ulcerative Colitis, and even Alzheimer’s dementia.
Recently it’s been shown that omega oils turn into a special building block called a Plasmalogen. When these levels are high, disease risk is very low, and the cell is protected as they are the sacrificial antioxidants, the first line of defense. My clinic measures and boosts these key levels with our patients. Studies are showing promising results in Autism, Alzheimer’s, cancer, fatty liver, and more, by measuring then optimizing key plasmalogens. Watch my Webinar on Plasmalogens here.
Gut microbiome
The food you eat feeds countless bacteria, viruses, fungi, and more, inside your digestive tract. These bugs overall are called the “microbiome”, and they weigh around 1kg (2.2 pounds). That collection of organisms is more biologically active than your liver, and makes 36% of all the small molecules in your blood! 80% of your immune system is in your gut because your body needs to keep that huge ecosystem in check. This microbiome connects to the body via the Gut-Brain Axis. Research has shown that modifying the microbiome improves diabetes, levels of dopamine, Serotonin, and other important chemicals. Veillonella bacteria isolated from marathon runners and given to mice increased their performances in treadmill tests by 13%!
Specific bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, modulate cannabinoid receptors and reduce abdominal pain. The bacteria eat fiber and make Gastrointestinal Tract Acids that prevent bowel cancer and are very anti-inflammatory in the blood.
Unfortunately, due to our modern diets, stress, lack of exercise, antibiotics, toxins, pesticides, and so forth, our microbiomes are less healthy than ever. The good news is we can measure then modify and permanently improve our microbiome.
Many food sensitivities are caused by an overgrowth of certain bacteria that make lactic acid. To survive this hostile environment other bacteria make a shield called “amines”, this is like an allergic nuclear bomb going off and causing leaky gut, brain fog, rashes, allergic reactions, and much more. When we weed these out, many food sensitivities disappear.
For a Reliable Gut Specialist and an overview of the 5-Step Gut Restoration Program, book with Evergreen Doctors, we see patients from around the world.
Vagal tone
The master control switch of whether you’re in the stress state or the calm healing state is the vagus nerve. By increasing the volume on this nerve you can tell your brain to cool things down. This can be measured indirectly via your heart rate variability. There is a life insurance company in New Zealand that now charges people a lower premium if they have a good heart rate variability. The reason is, that if you’re in the stress state most of your life, you’re at far higher risk of diseases and early death. People who are in a calm state biochemically, are on a healthy trajectory.
Breathing methods, meditation, yoga, humming, and doing things you enjoy can all enhance your vagal tone. Walking in nature has been shown to lower your blood markers of inflammation, and the mechanism is likely via upregulation of the vagus nerve.
Resolvins
One in a million molecules in fish oil is a compound called a Resolvin. This is a key signaling molecule that turns off inflammation. If you develop a cough or cold and defeat the infection, the body turns off the immune response, which results in inflammation returning to a normal level. In many diseases, the issue is that inflammation continues. Think of it like missing a turn on the freeway so now you have to keep going. Resolvins are like a tug boat, just gently nudging the big ship to change direction. They tell the body to turn off the chronic inflammation, like a plane coming to land. You can order some here, using the password evergreendoctors
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)
Mild (mHBOT) and regular HBOT can also be a great way to heal your body. It enhances Natural Killer Cells in healthy people, boosting the immune system. It has also been shown to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease and improve diabetes, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, eczema, psoriasis, and post-concussion syndrome. Watch my Webinar on HBOT here.
To become optimally well in all ways, you need a holistic approach. The Functional Medicine doctors at Evergreen Doctors are experts in this approach and can help you restore your well-being.
Chris Chappel, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr Chris Chappel MBBS, FRACGP, IFMCP, FAAMM, ABAARM is Australia’s most credentialed Functional Medicine Doctor. He is the cofounder of Evergreen Doctors, the founder of the Metabolism Clinic and the IBS Institute. He helps patients prevent and reverse diseases, and optimise wellbeing in all ways. He is committed to transforming the world’s healthcare and food systems, and empowering patients to live their best lives.
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