NSAID's Dangerous Effects & Natural Inflammation Fighters

This is an interesting article about natural ways to fight inflammation in your body. Processed foods and sugar in our diets are one of the main culprits for causing pain and inflammation, but limiting these foods while adding spices like turmeric to your cooking can help stave off the harmful effects and many diseases. Besides eating curry to your diet, adding equal parts of turmeric, salt, and pepper in a spice container and sprinkling it on vegetables, meats, and fish is an easy way to use the herb. An interesting side note is that turmeric should always be used in conjunction black pepper. Black pepper increases curcumin's absorption throughout the body or bioavailability by 1,000 times due to pepper's property called piperine. Turmeric eaten alone has a very low bioavailability or systemic absorption and most of the benefits to the body pass right through and are lost. I also checked out the author's website medicinehunter.com and it is a fairly good introduction to Ayurvedic medicine (traditional Indian medicine- similar to traditional Chinese medicine)and other healthy alternatives you can easily add to  your diet. Enjoy the article- and I urge everyone to try something new and use turmeric and pepper in  your meals today!

Natural and Safe Anti-Inflammatory Medicines

By Chris Kilham

Published May 18, 2011

FoxNews.com

An estimated 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, according to the American Pain Foundation. That’s a lot of pain. And that adds up to a lot of drug use, notably the category called NSAID’s, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), diclofenac (Voltaren) and Celebrex belong to this class of drugs. These drugs are designed to inhibit activity of what is known as the COX2 enzyme, a major factor in pain. This natural enzyme is created in all of us, and is responsible for the production of some of the agents called prostaglandins, which trigger pain and inflammation.

The role of inflammation in pain is pretty straightforward. Any of a variety of insults can cause inflammation in the tissues of our bodies. External insults like burns, bites, scrapes, stings, cuts and bruises cause skin tissue to swell as protective fluids pour into damaged tissue between cells. Nerves may also be directly hurt. All of this activity is accompanied by pain. This is also the case with internal insults that may be diet-related or the result of wear and tear. Aging joints and ligaments can become occasionally or chronically inflamed, resulting in pain. Inflammation is now recognized as a key factor in virtually all chronic and degenerative diseases, including arthritis, heart disease, asthma, neurodegeneration, cancer, and kidney and bowel diseases. The idea behind anti-inflammatory drugs is simple. Stop the inflammation; stop the pain.

The NSAID’s are COX-2 inhibitors. They do accomplish this, but along the way they can also cause liver and kidney damage, and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. A recently published study reveals even greater risks to these drugs. In the study Danish researchers found that use of NSAID’s among heart attack survivors greatly increased their risk of a repeat heart attack. This risk persisted even six months after the heart attack, and even if the use of the drugs was brief. Translation: for those who have had a heart attack or stroke, the NSAID’s pose a real danger.

Meanwhile, a recent study of acetaminophen (Tylenol) showed that those who take the drug are at an increased risk of some blood cancers. Acetaminophen use is also the leading cause of drug-induced liver failure in the United States. Though acetaminophen is not an NSAID, it poses significant health hazards nonetheless.

Hippocrates said “first of all do no harm.” This should be the guided credo of all the health arts,from pharmacy to surgery. Medicines should heal not hurt, and promote life not take it away. In part due to disappointment with drugs, and in part due to a belief that natural remedies are safer than most pharmaceuticals, many people seek natural remedies to alleviate pain.

Hippocrates also said “let your food be your medicine.” One of the very most effective and potent natural anti-inflammatory agents is curcumin, derived from turmeric root. Turmeric is a yellow spice native to Asia, widely enjoyed as both a food and a dye. Turmeric is the yellow in curry powder, and curcumin is a resinous compound found in turmeric root. Extensively well studied for its anti-inflammatory powers, curcumin is scientifically proven to be highly effective at relieving pain, and very safe. Like the NSAID’s, curcumin inhibits COX2. But unlike the NSAID’s, it does not do so selectively. Instead, curcumin also affects the activity of other key factors in inflammation, including NF-kappaB, PPAR Gamma transcription factors, and 5-LOX. By inhibiting the activity of all these aspects of inflammation, curcumin delivers far superior anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving activity than most drugs.

Ginger root, another common spice, also contains a number of scientifically proven pain relieving agents. Ginger contains a protein-digesting enzyme called zingibain, which appears to relieve arthritis pain by reducing inflammation. In fact, the anti-inflammatory activity of ginger compares favorably with aspirin. Ginger root is also rich in two groups of compounds known as the shaogals and gingerols. These compounds are powerfully antioxidant, thus helping to prevent cells from premature destruction due to exposure to environmental toxins and by-products of metabolism. Even more, these compounds are potent anti-inflammatory agents, and are proven to relieve inflammation throughout the body. Given that oxidation and inflammation are part and parcel of all chronic degenerative diseases, ginger can play a key role in disease risk reduction.

humulones, which are being studied for their significant pain-relieving properties.

Among the many plant-based anti-inflammatory products out there, I recommend Curamin, the curcumin-based pain reliever from EuroPharma, and Zyflamend, the ginger and turmeric-based anti-inflammatory from New Chapter. Both of these products work, and the ingredients in them actually contribute to overall health by enhancing immune function, increasing cardiovascular protection, and helping to inhibit the aging process of cells by their antioxidant activity. They are available online and at Whole Foods and other natural retailers.

It is sad when drugs that are commonly used are shown to pose great dangers to health. This is antithetical to their purpose. But the science of plant-based medicines is significantly advanced, and we now have products available to us that will reduce or eliminate pain without being hazardous to health. This is a good thing.

Chris Kilham is a medicine hunter who researches natural remedies all over the world, from the Amazon to Siberia. He teaches ethnobotany at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he is Explorer In Residence. Chris advises herbal, cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies and is a regular guest on radio and TV programs worldwide. His field research is largely sponsored by Naturex of Avignon, France. Read more at www.MedicineHunter.com

6 Pack of Wine?

This seemed somewhat bizarre to me, so I had to share it- I'm not sure I could get over the yogurt-top lid but it is a genius idea for picnics, airplane rides, and the like. What do you think? I think I'd rather have the bottle...

Single-Serving Wine Glass is a Perfect Picnic or Party Ware

We drink beer from bottles, but even with a small single-serving wine bottle there is always a glass – so why not combine the two in to one and save everyone some hassle? These plastic glasses might not go over well at a formal dinner party, but for a toast-on-the-go or quick picnic they could just be the perfect table(-free)wares.

One inventor did just that, and then founded Wine Innovationsaround the concept. Though his yogurt-style, peal-off lid initially did not go over well with potential investors it ultimately has led to booming sales in Great Britain.

Think about it: sports games, large celebrations, all without the worry of broken glass underfoot and with the easy-carry advantage of walking around with non-spill, pre-filled glasses of wine. Hopefully they can do not just red and white but sparkling wines as well, since these would be ideal for something like a sizable New Years Eve event.

Whether this one-use disposable partyware is a step in the right direction in terms of sustainability is another question. Still, the units can be recycled, and surely it is at least a better design than handing out both miniature bottles and plastic cups (as they do on airplanes, etc…) for wine.

Little Miss Piggy

About 2 weeks ago, I contracted poison ivy for the first time. Yep... on top of the RSD. I had rashes on my face, neck, and both arms and legs. Fun stuff- I'm sure I was miserable to be around for the first couple of days. The doctor gave me a steroid shot and steroids to take for a week and since then my skin has calmed down tremendously. I still have rashes which are somewhat raised and occasionally itch but the worst is over.
Now since this whole debacle started, I have been ravenously hungry due to the steroids. I am usually pretty diligent about what I eat but in the last couple of weeks, I have thrown all caution or hesitation to the wind! For example, eating a baked potato with all the trimmings at 3am and then continuing to rummage through the fridge eating pineapple AND then moving on to the pantry where I made myself a nutella sandwich before going back to bed. Absolutely disgusting. 
My reason for bringing this up is that I need to get back on track and be more careful about what I eat. Not so much for weight reasons but for pain reasons. In fact, most people don't realize that what they eat has a serious bearing on how they feel. Just one example is eating sugar of any kind increases pain and inflammation throughout the body even in a healthy person. Something to keep in mind is that many foods that we don't necessarily categorize as 'sugar' may turn into sugar once our bodies start metabolizing it. Potatoes are good examples of foods that get converted into sugar as it is digested. 
Another easy way to remember to eat healthy is "eat the Four F's and avoid the Five C's". The four F's are 1) Fresh Fruit 2) Fresh Vegetables 3) Fish 4) Fowl. The five C's to avoid are cookies, cake, chocolate, cocktails, and candy. Generally, I think a good motto or at least the one that I try to live by is "everything in moderation". There is definitely a time and place for cookies and beer but eating the whole box by yourself should probably be avoided.
So in the spirit of tabula rasa or starting with a clean slate, let's all try to be mindful of what we eat and choose foods that are a little healthier- I'm going to severely limit my sugar intake and stop raiding the fridge in the middle of the night!

Dum spiro, spero. While I breathe, I hope.

One year ago to this day, I had the last of two surgeries to implant a spinal cord stimulator in my lumbar spine to treat RSD/CRPS in my left leg. Less than two weeks later, I had quit my teaching position in Phoenix, Az and was moving back home to live with my parents in Forth Worth, Texas. As the one year anniversary of my surgery and move to Texas approached, it was hard to not look back over the last year without a sense of disappointment. It was with the same nostalgic feeling that people get near New Year's when they are reflecting on their accomplishments and failures in the past year, but my reflections tended towards all the days I had spent in bed because of pain. So many days wasted, so many days that blur together because there was nothing memorable about them. What proved even more difficult was remembering to keep a positive attitude in spite of everything. It's so very easy to become discouraged when life doesn't go the way you wanted or expected it would- but then I guess that's life, uh? 
I've toyed around with the idea of starting a blog several times in the past year but lacked the inspiration and concept to keep me driven -until recently. Unlike Phoenix, DFW lacks any real community for RSD/CRPS suffers and I've had real difficulty finding other chronic pain support groups as well. I frequently attended symposiums and other groups raising awareness about peripheral neuropathies after being diagnosed with RSD in Decemeber 2009 but I've had trouble finding much of anything since I moved to DFW last summer. Chronic pain is already an isolating condition with being able to meet with others who have the same condition, let alone not having any empathetic support. And so my purpose for starting this blog is two fold:
  1) to reach out to others: I want to inspire and support others while spreading information about RSD/CRPS and other neuropathies.  
  2) to learn to control the parts of my life that I have control over and to learn to let go of the parts that I have no control over: I don't want to spend another day focusing on how my life has changed for the worse and focusing on all the things I had planned that at the moment are not possible to accomplish. There is still so much I can do and I should be focusing on that fact! As long as I am alive and breathing, I should have hope!
And so starting today, for one whole year, I will post at least one thing a day- whether it be a photograph I've taken or a painting I've made, an article I found inspiring or an obstacle that needs overcoming, I will post it to this blog so that next July 20th, 2012 I will not have let another year be taken away from me. Instead I will be able to look back and point to all that I've accomplished and learned... and God willing I will inspire others in the process.