Wellness, Systemic Inflammation, and Free Radical Damage in Perry Hall MD
There is a huge surge in wellness, particularly in workplace wellness programs, but most wellness programs are missing what may possibly be the greatest threats to health in the United States and many other areas of the world. Two of the greatest threats to health and wellness are free radical damage and systemic inflammation. These two threats impact the body's ability to function correctly and/or to heal properly.
Factors that have an effect on these two threats to health and wellbeing are all around us in our toxic external world as well as the internal environment of our bodies that is influenced by day-to-day stressors such as commuting in traffic, working long hours, family stressors, financial concerns, as well as the typical American diet that is nutrient-depleted and harmful to the body in a number of ways. Historically, doctors had to worry about infectious diseases as the main threat to the health of their patients but today their concerns are centered on the chronic diseases such as diabetes, aging, heart disease, and obesity. These chronic diseases are fueled by free radical damage and chronic, systemic inflammation.
Many doctors have not made the connection between chronic inflammation and how detrimental it is to the human body. To keep up-to-speed with the latest (and what will be a large part of future care of patients) doctors should read Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease 9th Edition (ISBN-13: 978-1455726134) which is available from your favorite online bookseller. Whether doctors like it or not, patients will be receiving this information in layman's term through popular magazines and if doctors are not as well informed as their patients the trust factor that is so important to patient satisfaction will be seriously impacted.
It has to be remembered that inflammation is a normal and natural part of the human body's way of dealing with acute injury or infection. But the inflammatory processes are supposed to "shut down" when it is not needed for a specific purpose and when the inflammatory processes fail to shut down the body goes into a state of chronic inflammation. A doctor may verify that chronic inflammation is present by testing for inflammation markers.
Chronic inflammation has been blamed for conditions extending from chronic pain in the musculoskeletal system to inflammation of the arterial walls resulting in plaguing in the arteries. When chronic inflammation occurs it initiates processes leading to many chronic health diseases. Patient satisfaction with their healthcare goes up considerably when their doctor intervenes to "shut down" out-of-control inflammation and relieve them of their chronic health depleting conditions. This brings us to free radical formation as another aspect of health maintenance that must be addressed to help reduce chronic disease processes from forming or progressing.
An excess of free radicals results in oxidative stress which contributes to tissue damage and inflammation. An excess of free radicals above and beyond the available antioxidants that will neutralize them can result from lifestyle as well as environmental factors. To illustrate the damaging effect of free radicals it is helpful to recognize that over 80 degenerative diseases have been linked to oxidative stress though this may only be a different manifestation of the same process in various parts and systems of the body and not merely different disease processes taking place simultaneously.
Aging and chronic diseases reflect the inability of the available antioxidants to keep oxidative stress at bay. Oxidative stress and chronic, systemic inflammation are intimately connected and fuel each other creating a vicious cycle making a life without chronic disease impossible unless proper steps are taken to break this cycle of destruction. Healthcare must embrace a comprehensive plan to enhance anti-inflammation and antioxidant protection for the entire body.
A medical doctor may not have the background, time, or inclination to supply a variety of antioxidant nutritional support or advocate dietary changes necessary to accomplish the goals of reducing systemic inflammation while enhancing antioxidant protection. However, Doctors of Chiropractic commonly use the protective measures in practice so contact your Doctor of Chiropractic in Perry Hall and find out how you can prevent the ravages of these health depleting conditions.
