drkeithscott@medspice.com.

Best regards

Dr Keith Scott
http://medspice.com

Treatment Of Inflammation And Chronic Systemic Inflammation
Inflammation is one of the body's essential defense
mechanisms and plays a vital role in protecting us against
microbial attack, external and internally-produced toxins,
as well as damaged and diseased cells and tissues.

Unfortunately, the inflammatory process is inherently
destructive and both acute and chronic inflammation may
cause damage to healthy tissues.

Typically, the longer the inflammatory process lasts, the
more damage it does to the tissues involved. In the case of
a local infection, inflammatory damage often manifests
itself as scar tissue and if a wound becomes infected or
fails to heal quickly, it will leave more scar tissue than
it would have had it healed normally.

Similar but less visible processes are at work in a more
sinister process called chronic systemic inflammation that
can cause widespread damage to a range of different tissue
types and which ultimately leads to specific disease
entities.

Chronic systemic inflammation is a low-grade, pervasive
form of inflammation that has been implicated as a major
causative factor for several serious chronic diseases.

Although chronic systemic inflammation and local, acute
inflammation share the same biochemical processes, the
former is not restricted to a specific tissue or organ, but
instead involves the endothelial lining of blood vessels
and several other tissue types.

As a result the disruptive effects of chronic systemic
inflammation are far reaching, causing damage to the
cardiovascular, nervous, endocrine and other systems. This
damage may, in turn, precipitate or exacerbate a wide
variety of other pathological processes.

Chronic systemic inflammation is, for example, closely
implicated in the development of insulin resistance ? and
thereby metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

Damage to the arterial lining and the subsequent
development of heart disease has also been linked to
chronic systemic inflammation which has also been
implicated in some forms of depression and even sleep
disorders.

Causes of Chronic Systemic Inflammation

? Obesity: Several substances involved in the inflammatory
response are produced in adipose tissue. Central, abdominal
fat is involved in the production of excessive amounts of
pro-inflammatory cytokines and other markers of
inflammation.

? Infections: Chronic infections like kidney or bladder
infections, gall bladder infection, chronic tonsillitis,
diverticular disease; chronic viral diseases like
hepatitis, HIV, cytomegalovirus and infectious
mononucleosis or any other chronic infection such as Lyme
disease or brucellosis.

? Periodontal Disease: Periodontal infection is believed to
be one of the major causes of chronic systemic
inflammation. Dental plaque is often responsible for
initiating periodontal disease by releasing bacterial and
protein toxins, and organic acids that contribute to a
low-grade chronic systemic inflammation in tissues far from
the mouth. The treatment of periodontal disease can
actually reverse some of the damage done to the endothelial
lining of the arteries.

? Environmental Toxins, Drugs and Tobacco: Most foreign
substances can trigger an inflammatory response. This is
probably one of the reasons that smoking tobacco is
associated with an increased risk for heart disease and
stroke. Inflammation in response to tobacco toxins is known
to cause damage to the arterial endothelium, thereby
aggravating the development of atherosclerosis.

? Autoimmune Diseases: Autoimmune diseases are pathological
conditions where the immune system reacts inappropriately
to normal tissues. These conditions, which include
rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, vary widely in their
intensity and usually precipitate serious
inflammatory-mediated tissue damage.

Spices and Chronic Systemic Inflammation

The first step in dealing with chronic systemic
inflammation is to find and treat the cause of the
inflammation. This may require improving dental hygiene,
stopping smoking or losing weight. Such interventions can
be dramatically augmented by the consumption of spices,
several of which have powerful anti-inflammatory effects.

Among the most potent of these are bay leaf, garlic, ginger
oregano, rosemary, thyme and turmeric. Other spices, in
particular black pepper and garlic, counteract chronic
systemic inflammation by modulating the immune system
thereby limiting the excessive production of
pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Furthermore, as many of the causes of chronic systemic
inflammation are associated with oxidative stress, the
antioxidants found in most spices help control this
condition too. In short, spices have all the attributes
required to minimize the impact on our health of the
insidious, destructive and potentially lethal effects of
this destructive inflammatory process.

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Dr Keith Scott is a medical doctor with a special interest
in nutrition and complementary therapies. He has written
several books including "Medicinal Seasonings, The Healing
Power of Spices" and "Natural Home Pharmacy". Find out more
how spices can help to prevent and treat many inflammatory
conditions and why they are the "missing links" in
nutrition at:
http://www.medspice.com