Pain, Inflammation & Nutrition

By Vic Shayne, PhD

Nobody gets through life unscathed and unhurt. From the time we are little children, we come to understand the meaning of bruises, scratches, sores, infections and inflammation. But what is not well known is that inflammation is a process of great importance, and not something to regard as a disease itself. In fact, inflammation is a process that the body encourages, yet the medical community discourages. The goal of many doctors in natural health care is to find a balance by helping the body move smoothly and rapidly through the process of inflammation.

Adjunctive Nutritional Schedule

• InflaPlex: 6 capsules a day (2 every other hour with acute inflammation)
• CalMag Balance: 8 tablets a day
• FishOils: 4 capsules a day
• GreenNutrients: 8 tablets a day

With injuries of the joints, muscles, bone, tendons, cartilage, add
ProMin Complex, 6 tablets a day

With pain, add
VasCor Complex: 4 tablets a day

It takes A LOT OF NUTRIENTS to help the inflammation process.

More on Inflammation.
Modern science treats inflammation as a disease, or symptom. To compound this problem, the word “infection” is used very often to describe inflammation, and is applied to ear aches, arthritic swelling, head colds, flu, congestion, sore throat, sinus problems, fever, cuts and scrapes, urinary tract problems and even the body’s reaction to toxic exposure. The word infection is not really accurate.
An infection is defined as: “Invasion by and multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms in a bodily part or tissue, which may produce subsequent tissue injury and progress to overt disease through a variety of cellular or toxic mechanisms; An instance of being infected; An agent or a contaminated substance responsible for one’s becoming infected; The pathological state resulting from having been infected. ” (dictionary.com)

Inflammation is not infection. When body tissues are insulted or injured, as with trauma, excess stress, fatigue, drastic temperature changes, exposure to toxins and poisons, or nutritional deficiencies, there is some damage or breakdown of cells. The body’s reaction is a process called the biochemistry of inflammation and repair.

Symptoms are presented at each stage of inflammation, and these are often misinterpreted as “bad,” to be halted with drugs, herbs or other chemicals. Yet, if the process is interfered with, the body may not fully accomplish its mission to fully repair the tissue.

Certain requirements are needed by the cells to accomplish its process of inflammation and repair:

1. A constant blood supply to the area;
2. A constant nerve supply to the area;
3. Natural vitamin complexes, enzymes, minerals, trace elements, bioflavonoids, amino acids, etc.

If all these items are not present in sufficient supplies, the original problem is prolonged and repair may not be properly completed.
With inflammation comes swelling, blood flow, white blood cells, removal of damaged cells, mucus, pus, enzyme activity, nutrients, heat and pain. These are all natural occurrences.

Five basic symptoms of inflammation are

1. redness
2. swelling
3. heat
4. pain
5. limited/impaired function

These have been known since the ancient Greek and Roman era. “These signs are due to extravasation [forcing the flow of (blood or lymph) from a vessel out into surrounding tissue.] of plasma and infiltration of leukocytes into the site of inflammation. Early investigators considered inflammation a primary host defence system.
“According to different criteria, inflammatory responses can be divided into several categories. The criteria include:

1. time — hyperacute (peracute), acute, subacute, and chronic inflammation;
2. the main inflammatory manifestation – alteration, exudation, proliferation;
3. the degree of tissue damage – superficial, profound (bordered, not bordered);
4. characteristic picture – nonspecific, specific; immunopathological mechanisms allergic (reaginic) inflammation,
5. inflammation mediated by cytotoxic antibodies,
6. inflammation mediated by immune complexes, delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions. ” (http://nic.sav.sk/logos/books/scientific/node5.html)

NUTRITIONAL NEEDS (See Adjunctive Nutritional Schedule above)
Inflammation carries with it a call for specific nutrients to aid in the repair process, which in turn eliminate inflammation. Needed are specific vitamins (A, C, E, K, etc.), minerals (calcium, phosophorus, zinc, selenium, potassium, etc.), and bioflavonoids (rutin, quercetin, hesperidin, et.al.) to increase the strength of capillaries (blood vessels) and to regulate their permeability. Bioflavonoids assist vitamin C in supporting collagen , the intercellular “cement” and; are essential for the proper absorption and use of vitamin C, prevent Vitamin C from being destroyed in the body by oxidation, are beneficial in hypertension, help hemorrhages and ruptures in the capillaries and connective tissues, and build a protective barrier against infections.