Scientists have long been interested in studying inflammation in the body. Inflammation has been noted in Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and even the aging process itself. In and of itself, inflammation has a purpose. It eliminates things like bacteria, tumor cells, even splinters, from our body. So if you’ve ever had swelling at the site of a splinter, this is your body’s way of trying to eliminate the invading culprit. In isolated incidents, this inflammatory response lasts a day or two. The problem becomes when inflammation is chronic. This leads to infection-fighting chemicals, naturally produced in the body, fighting our healthy tissues.
Medicine
Sometimes drugs like prednisone are prescribed for those suffering from over-active immune issues. This drug is a corticosteroid that decreases inflammation and is an immunosuppressant. But for every positive effect of a drug, negative effects exist, as well. This drug stops the production of molecules that help the body to defend against inflammation, which leaves immunity suppressed. “Simply stopping inflammation is not enough to return the body to a normal state, says Ruslan Medzhitov, Yale School of Medicine professor. Resolving inflammation involves the body rebuilding tissue and removing dead bacteria and cells. If the body cannot do this, it’s easy for inflammatory diseases to surface.”
Lipoxin, a molecule called a “specialized pro-resolving mediator” or SPM, discovered at Harvard Medical School, turns out to decrease inflammation. These SPMs are often found in omega-3 fatty acids. In experiments on mice, lipoxin has helped to reduce inflammatory issues in a very big way. Scientists are also studying macrophages, which can act as trash collectors that consume waste found on dying cells. These macrophages, along with lipoxin seem to be important in a balanced approach to resolving inflammation.
Scientists continue to study the effect of these molecules on mice. Finding the correct balance of the molecules that decrease inflammation and ones that rid the body of waste seems to be a promising way to treat overreactions of the immune system from COVID to rheumatoid arthritis. Until then, eating a non-inflammatory diet as mentioned in our February 2022 article, and finding ways to eliminate waste from the body like our Cold Laser Detox and our Ionic Hand/Foot Cellular Spa Detox detoxing are great ways to combat inflammation.
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