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Inflammation - Our Immune System Can Go Too Far
A discussion of fatty acids needs to begin with our immune system. Our immune system protects us from viruses, bacteria,
parasites and toxins. To picture what it protects us from, consider that a dead body is reduced to a skeleton in a matter
of weeks once the immune system is no longer active!
Inflammation is, in some cases, the outward sign of our immune system at work. It is a byproduct of our body's immune
response to threats. The body's immune response is its defense against infection and injury. We are most aware of inflammation
when we cut ourselves, have a sore throat or a fever. Powerful immune cells, enzymes and other chemicals help the body to
heal wounds and combat viruses and bacteria. The soreness and redness are the obvious manifestation.
But amazingly, we are beginning to think that inflammation may be the biggest cause of modern diseases such as heart disease,
cancer, diabetes and asthma because it does not come just from external injury and microbes.
Modern Diet And Life-Style Provoke Inflammation
As Jack Challem describes in his book The Inflammatory Syndrome, the body deploys the immune response when it does not
need to and actually harms us. For example:
* Autoimmune diseases - rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease which occur when the immune system
attacks the joints, nerves or digestive system
* Allergies - the body overreacts to stimuli which it does not need to and others do not react to
* Diabetes - the immune system destroys cells in the pancreas when it does not need to
* Atherosclerosis - white blood cells multiply and congregate in arterial blood vessels to combat a perceived infection.
Together with fat, calcium and cholesterol, they form plaque. This narrows the arteries and reduces the flow of oxygen-rich
blood.
So how does a normal bodily process to combat injury and infection go so badly out of control? We need to look our modern
diet. It is very different to what our ancestors were eating even 100 years ago. Most modern westerners eat far too many
processed foods that are inflammatory because of the fatty acids they contain (or do not contain).
We confuse and stress our bodies by eating a diet it is not prepared for, by leading stressful lives and living in a toxic
environment.
These pages are for information only and are not medical advice. They do not purport to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent
any disease. Always consult a physician before taking any supplement or undergoing any procedure described here.
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