PART #1 – INTRODUCTION – What is Disease and Inflammation
What is Disease?
Answer:
- Deficiency and Toxicity and the result is inflammation.
Did you know that 70-80% of diseases is caused by inflammation?
Cancer, as we discussed, can also be caused by deficiency and toxicity, but eventually, the result is even more severe than just inflammation; it is oxygen deficiency and hypoxia, triggering cancer genes and oncogenes, to proactively make cancer cells and tumors.
In other posts we go into more depth of exactly what cancer is since it is not a disease but a survival tool to keep us alive and cancer tumors are temporary organs.
What is inflammation?
Inflammation is a biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, [deficiencies], or irritants. It is characterized by heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
In simple terms, it means
- the body is under attack
- It is mounting a response to the attack or survival challenge
- Short term, it can recover
- In the long term, it causes a breakdown in the body and eventual disease
If most diseases and even cancer can be related to inflammation, then it is important to be able to track that. Other markers are good and very specific, like cancer markers, but the best way to track body health is through markers of inflammation.
PART #2 – Inflammation Markers Defined
In today’s blog post
TITLE: Inflammation Markers – Systemic Analysis for Healing
- we go over four major inflammation markers you should always ask your doctor for. These are regular markers taken with blood or urine.
When getting bloodwork, these are some basic tests to ask for to analyze inflammation.
- HS-CRP – High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein
- SED – Sedimentation Rates
- Homocysteine and B12
- Melondialdehyde – Cellular Inflammation
- Fecal lactoferrin – Bowel Inflammation
#1 – HS-CRP
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a substance produced by the liver in response to inflammation in the body.
The high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) test specifically detects low levels of CRP, which are often associated with chronic, low-grade inflammation linked to cardiovascular diseases.
Inflammation that triggers CRP production can result from infections, injuries, or chronic conditions such as atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, or autoimmune disorders. Elevated CRP levels indicate the presence of systemic inflammation.
#2 – SED Rate
The sedimentation rate (SED rate) test measures how quickly red blood cells settle at the bottom of a test tube over a specific period, typically one hour.
It indirectly indicates the presence of inflammation in the body, as inflammation causes certain proteins, such as fibrinogen, to increase, making red blood cells clump together and settle faster.
Elevated SED rates can result from infections, autoimmune diseases, cancers, or chronic inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. While the test is nonspecific and doesn’t pinpoint the cause of inflammation, it helps monitor disease progression or response to treatment.
#3 – Homocysteine
Homocysteine testing measures the levels of homocysteine, an amino acid in the blood, to assess the risk of cardiovascular disease and certain metabolic or nutritional disorders.
Elevated homocysteine levels, known as hyperhomocysteinemia, can result from deficiencies in vitamin B12, folate, or vitamin B6, as these vitamins are essential for metabolizing homocysteine into other non-harmful compounds.
High levels of homocysteine are associated with increased risks of atherosclerosis, blood clots, and potentially neurodegenerative conditions, making the test valuable for detecting nutritional deficiencies and evaluating cardiovascular health.
#4 – Advanced Cellular Inflammation Testing – Malondialdehyde
Melondialdehyde is sometimes called a meta-oxy test. This test specifically analyzes inflammation on the cellular level and analyses cellular membrane damage. This is a urine test.
Doctors may not be aware of this test or simply not order it for you. It is available.
For your own interests, after searching sources for a long time to get the test on our own, I have found a reasonably priced easy one if your doctor does not order it.
Where to Get a Melondialdehyde Test
If the doctors do not give you the test, get your own, it in inexpensive. Places like Quest Diagnostics probably have it too but seem confused when I ask.
Here is outside source – NuVision Health Center.
Despite very wide variations of malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in biological samples, it is still used as a biomarker of oxidative stress in clinical investigations.
Malondialdehyde (MDA) is the most frequently used biomarker of oxidative stress in many health problems such as cancer, psychiatry, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, or cardiovascular diseases.
#5 – Advanced Gut Inflammation Marker – Fecal Lactoferrin Test
Fecal lactoferrin is a biomarker of severe gastrointestinal inflammation. Gastrointestinal inflammation is associated with increased infiltration of activated neutrophils into the mucosa and increased release of lactoferrin into the gut. Clinical studies have shown that fecal lactoferrin levels in healthy persons are similar to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients but markedly increased in patients with active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Fecal lactoferrin levels are helpful in monitoring disease activity and the efficacy of treatment for IBD.
Part #3 – 12 Tips for Reducing Inflammation
Overall, systemic and cellular detoxification can be targeted with these approaches.
- Plant-based nutrition – Alkaline Diet
- Low fat intake – 80-10-10 in later episodes
- Colon cleansing and earthen clay detoxification
- Goood, goood, goood; good hydration
- Aloe vera for increased macrophage and clean-up activity
- Intermittent fasting – increased autophagy and cellular cleanup
- Good sleep in total darkness – increased body regeneration
- Systemic enzymes between meals
- Exercise
- Plenty of Sleep
- Daily grounding with the earth
- Daily sunlight exposure
PART #4 – Conclusion – Inflammation Markers are Important
The body is complex and simple at the same time. It has trillions of cells, many organs and glands, and many interconnected systems. But, they have a singular focus, keep us alive. If there is a challenge, all these different resources come to help. One of the first signs of illness or breakdown of the body is inflammation. Everyone should always be following these markers as a baseline for all your health monitoring.
