The Mystery of INFLAMMATION & food solutions (part 2)

I can design a nutritional chart by understanding the endogenous and exogenous factors of a client’s body/lifestyle. I can manipulate the interior behavior (endogenous) cellular biochemical reactions, your digestive maintenance, boost cell proliferation, encourage cancer cell death (apoptosis), and reduce cellular respiration. We can balance our exterior influences (exogenous reality) like pollution, smoking, drugs, alcohol, sun exposure, exercise, ultraviolet rays’ exposure, and ionizing radiation (the soil we live on or the body products we use) and eliminate prolonged psychophysical stress with meditation and sound choices. Foremost, we must seriously reduce consuming food additives and ANY artificial sugars.

The solution to curb inflammation is often a balanced diet designed to meet your needs. I have irked professional medical doctors by simply showing them that when 80% of my advice was taken seriously, it helped clients eradicate inflammation by consuming an intelligent variety of foods. (I use “intelligent” because I have heard every bloody excuse in my professional journey). My results are immediately compared to Western medicinal methods that can take years to diminish the symptoms while aimlessly coping with underlying issues.

Your physical weakness, lack of sexual energy, and psychological discomfort are a direct result of not adhering to a harmonized diet and understanding individually why certain foods are not ideal or conflicting when consumed in combination with your lifestyle.

Biofilm is an understudied health issue. Only in the last decade has science focused on learning the health consequences of this slime that festers and harbors fungi and bacteria with resistance to antibiotics.

Biofilms can occur on various surfaces, including external and internal surfaces.

Found on mucosal surfaces in locations such as the ears, lungs, arteries, urinary tract, sinus, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and even your skin, biofilms that reside in the body can form, grow, mature, and spread to other locations with serious consequences. 

As biofilm populations increase over time, more bio-waste is produced from the life cycles of these bugs. Throughout their existence – defecating and dying of these microorganisms – it creates a constant influx of waste within the body, slowly reaching a critical mass named biofilm. The secretions of these bugs are now being studied.

Human contamination can occur through medical equipment, implants, sex toys, or exposure to contaminated food; on top of these items are hyper-processed foods. These microbes live with us everywhere: in sewage, industrial environments, and anywhere moist.

Once manifested in the human body, bacteria “hide” in the biofilm, and our confused immune response will destroy healthy tissue without penetrating the invasive growth. The consequences are rejection of implants, tooth decay, and your GI’s inability to break down and absorb nutrition correctly.

Biofilm infections cause immune disorders, such as arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis. Bacterial biofilms (fungal biofilms) pose a serious threat to human health because they prevent (hinder) added protection from immune response and antibiotic treatments. The ease of acquiring an infection from trauma and medical procedures and the rapid emergence of drug resistance among bacteria that form biofilms have the medical world on alert to find solutions.

The newest research demonstrates that symptoms of fibromyalgia show that the gut microbiome plays a vital role in the chronic pain associated with this disorder. The reason is likely in the presence of exotoxins, a side product of biofilm.

Exotoxins are a group of soluble proteins secreted by the bacterium that enter host cells and catalyze the covalent modification of a host cell component(s) to alter the host cell physiology. Both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria produce exotoxins. In short, it causes cell death by destroying thiol in our biological systems. Thiols have numerous functions, including central coordinating the antioxidant defense network.

Already, a handful of neurological toxins, called “endo” and “exotoxins,” have been identified and are believed to play a significant role in muscle and joint irritation, lethargy, gas/bloating, and even mood imbalances. The thiol-disulfide balance shifted toward disulfides in psoriasis patients, increasing the total oxidant status that may promote chronic inflammation. High levels of total thiol may result from oxidative stress by creating free radicals.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a condition characterized by chronic widespread pain, which has traditionally been considered psychogenic (in nature) due to a lack of known underlying organic pathophysiology. In more recent years, nervous system inflammation has become increasingly recognized as a sign of neuropsychiatric conditions, and this association may enhance our knowledge of conditions such as FM. Emerging evidence has suggested inflammation, particularly neuroinflammation, as a potential contributor underlying the etiology of FM.

Whereas 90% of studies around inflammation will tell you what not to eat, I am in the business of telling you what you – specifically you – CAN eat and should eat, in what order, combination, and to what effect. Restoring a healthy gut household directly impacts the balance of radicals and oxygen exchange, reducing inflammation and allowing the gut to communicate with the brain. That’s yet another blog to explain. The buildup of free radicals leads to early aging, Alzheimer’s, and the fast breakdown of healthy cell formation.

Physiologically, free radicals have a dual role; that is, they can benefit and harm the human body. In small quantities, free radicals have essential functions in the maturation processes of cellular structures and are used as real weapons by phagocytes, cells of the immune system whose function is to destroy the pathogens that manage to enter our organism physically. I have to stop here, but in the near future, slowing down aging will be the direct result of finding the solution to stop this process! Free radicals in excess will damage the skin, liver, and kidneys. The accumulation of too many radicals is called oxidative stress. That’s the beginning of arthritis, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation, and cancer.

Although my entire blog is to scold the “general fix” that is a Western medicine dilemma, list a few foods that can curb biofilm buildup and slow down oxidative stress.

Papayas and pineapples are amongst the best-known dietary sources rich in nutrients that protect the body, especially for older people. The following foods also contain proteolytic enzymes: Asparagus, Ginger, Kefir, Kimchi, Kiwi, Sauerkraut, Yogurt and well-aged cheese.

Some foods can improve oxidative stress by containing vitamins, minerals, and chemicals that introduce antioxidants into the body.

Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and spices are among the foods that are rich in antioxidants. Cocoa, tea, and coffee also contain antioxidants that fight oxidative stress.

Vitamin C-rich foods are Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cantaloupe, leafy greens, grapefruit, honeydew, kale, lemon, kiwi, orange, snow peas, papaya, sweet potato, strawberries, tomatoes, and bell peppers contain vitamin C, which is a potent antioxidant.

Vitamin E is another antioxidant that fights oxidative stress. It is found in avocados, almonds, red peppers, leafy greens, peanuts, boiled spinach, and sunflower seeds. (Chards, Kale, and Carrot tops are rich in Vitamin E but stressful on the digestive tract.)

Carotenoids give plants their color; carotenoids are also antioxidants. Although beta-carotene is a carotenoid that gives carrots their orange color, they are classified in TCM as liver nourishing because, in nature, they are white and green only). Lycopene-rich foods include tomatoes, pink grapefruits, apricots, asparagus, beets, cantaloupe, watermelons, dragon fruit, and red/orange bell peppers.

Selenium

Selenium is a trace mineral in Brazil nuts, shellfish, fish, beef, poultry, brown/red rice, rye, and barley.

Zinc is essential in beef and poultry, shrimp, oysters, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, lentils, chickpeas, cashews, and tofu.

Phenolic compounds help plants resist stress and help humans fight oxidative stress. Several types of phenolic compounds exist in apple seeds (quercetin reduces age-related shaking), red wine, onions, chili peppers,

Catechins in tea, cocoa, and dark-colored berries.

Yet, in case you have a condition that needs to be balanced—unless I see your bloodwork, examine your skin, check your tongue, and chat with you—I cannot estimate what foods in what combination would be most beneficial for you. 

The very notion of restricting your dietary palate by reducing what you think could harm you could be the reason for your inflammation. Yes, by adopting a lifestyle where you assume that “cutting out” all items you deem to be unhealthy or starving yourself of the nutrition-rich products (even if they could cause a side effect), you directly influence your bio-household and, like in most chronic patients, create the dilemma you intended to avoid.

Let someone with my passion and dedication to finding an individually designed nutritional plan share with you how to get back on track. Be open-minded and let someone else guide you.

TCMchef Raphael