The Silent Enemy Inside You
Inflammation. The world probably makes you think of a knee swollen from running or a puffed-up pimple on your face-common problems that can be cured with the help of some ice or OTC (Over-The-Counter) medicines (drugs that are safe and effective for use by the general public without a prescription).
However, there's another kind of inflammation that means something else entirely; chronic inflammation - a slow, silent disturbance that never shuts off. You can't feel it. You can't be tested for it. Yet it has become a medical hot topic. More and more research shows that chronic inflammation is involved in heavy-hitting illnesses.
Inflammation May be the Root Cause Of :
CANCER
HEART DISEASE
ALZHEIMERS
DEPRESSION
DIABETES
ALLERGIES
STROKE
Scientists are still in the process of decoding exactly how inflammation works, but here's what we know so far: It all starts with the immune system, the body's first line of defense against any kind of harm. When you're injured or sick, your bone marrow releases white blood cells to fight against infection and jump-start the healing process. However sometimes the immune system gets a faulty distress signal and deploys an unnecessary first-aid squad. Those misguided white blood cells still mobilize but because there's no infection for them to attack, they end up just hanging around, often for a long, long time.
The problem lies with the fact that your body isn't made to accommodate this kind of unfocused immune activity, and eventually those white blood cells can start damaging your internal organs. They can also needlessly assault other cells in the body routinely used to push off diseases, leaving the door wide open for illnesses such as cancer. Fortunately, you can do something to prevent and quash chronic inflammation.
