Acute inflammation (such as when you twist your ankle and it swells up) is your body’s natural response to trauma or injury. It’s actually a good thing. It helps jumpstart the healing process, kicking it into action once the inflammation fades. What we’re about to talk about here is something different, called chronic inflammation, which isn’t the same thing as acute inflammation.
If acute (short-term) inflammation is a good thing, chronic (long-term) inflammation can be described as a good thing gone bad. Chronic inflammation is a natural process that has overstepped its bounds and started to create more problems than it solves. It’s what happens when the acute inflammatory process isn’t turned off completely.
Chronic inflammation isn’t exactly as localized or simple as a twisted ankle, though. It arises from many different forms of trauma or injury, many of which we can’t feel and don’t realize. Maybe you unknowingly eat a lot of a certain food that inflames your digestive system every time you eat it.Or maybe you consume too many carbohydrates, leading to high blood sugar you may not know about. Maybe your liver isn’t working the way it should and it can’t completely clear out metabolic wastes from your cells and organs. Chronic inflammation is like a small fire smoldering, getting rekindled every time it is fed, and spreading to other places and systems in the body, undetected and out of control.
Conventional medicine is only now starting to recognize what various forward-thinking doctors and other practitioners of natural-minded medicine have known for a long time: chronic inflammation plays a critical role in disease and premature aging. It is found at the root of most chronic “diseases of civilization”, especially cancer, heart disease, diabetes, premature aging, cognitive decline, autoimmune conditions, hormone imbalances, allergies, and more. Controlling and reducing inflammation is key to getting healthy and feeling good.
When it comes to addressing chronic inflammation, however, the medical establishment still has it all wrong. Most doctors still don’t run complete testing to evaluate inflammation. Harsh, toxic pharmaceuticals completely miss the point, often doing more harm than good.
Are you inflamed?
Check this list to find out:
- Weight gain or obesity
- Fatigue or low energy
- Can’t think clearly
- Autoimmune disorder (any kind – thyroid, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Celiac Disease, etc)
- Allergies and sensitivities
- Aches and pains
- Memory issues
- Atherosclerosis
- Digestive problems
- Frequent, lingering infections
- Skin problems (hives, rashes, eczema, dryness, flakiness)
- Congestion (sinuses and/or lungs)
- High blood pressure
- Difficulty learning new things
- Stiffness
- Aging too much, too fast, and too early
- Diabetes
The more items ring true for you, the more inflamed you probably are.
“The best way to to cure chronic disease is to prevent it from starting!”
–Dr. Lara Sweeney
Our personalized programs are an excellent place to start.
There is plenty we can do to figure out how much inflammation you have (at least a ballpark estimate) and calm it down, without using any drugs.
Dr. Lara Sweeney practices Nutritional Medicine and Functional Endocrinology, as well as working toward joining the community of Certified Clinical Nutritionists, (although she already has most of the information that an official CCN has). She uses science-based, research-proven protocols to:
- Identify sources that contribute to inflammation
- Control the inflammation present
- Regulate the immune system so that the excessive inflammatory response is calmed and reset to where it should be
Working with Dr. Sweeney, you’ll learn:
- What is causing your inflammation
- How to gain control of it
- How to prevent it from spreading
- Why most doctors don’t discover chronic inflammation
- Which foods fight inflammation effectively
- Which foods can sabotage your progress
- How to prevent chronic, degenerative diseases, like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s Disease
Together, we can:
- Design an effective, enjoyable nutrition plan that dampens inflammation
- Target specific needs through excellent medical-quality supplementation
- Design an efficient physical activity program to boost your “good” cholesterol to kickstart your healing and turn back the clock
Chronic inflammation doesn’t have to be an inevitable fact of life. People tell me all the time that they’ve come to expect–and accept–certain symptoms as simply “getting older”. You simply don’t know how BADLY you’ve been feeling until you start to feel BETTER. You’ll feel better than you ever thought possible and you will wish you had found us 5, 10, 20 years ago. But it’s never too late – see what you’ve been missing; start NOW!