Health basics: What is Inflammation?

(NaturalNews) The standard definition of inflammation is a localized physical condition in which part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot and often painful, especially as a reaction to injury or infection. Can consuming the wrong food be considered an injury? It most certainly can, and it happens to be the most common form of self-inflicted bodily injury today, whether applied voluntarily or involuntarily. It all starts with education or lack thereof regarding foods that contain chemicals, liquids that contain chemicals and personal care products that also contain chemicals. Inflammation thrives in an acidic environment. If you tell someone to remove the "inflammation" from their diet, they will ask you, "what do you mean?"

Foods are a main culprit of inflammation. Whole grains for starters. Iodized salt. Refined sugar is another. Dairy. Should we go on? Animal protein can take some blame -- have you ever heard of Food that Kills? It's a documentary worth watching.

Watch this now or immediately after reading: YouTube.com. Over a million views.

Pain in the joints

It's almost like arthritis, even in younger people, because so many people don't drink enough water, and your digestive processes slow down due to dehydration. It could be high levels of uric acid in the body caused by too much protein. Gut microbes are even linked to rheumatoid arthritis. Fermented foods and probiotics can help replenish that good bacteria. Your gut bacteria should be at a ratio of 85% good to 15% bad bacteria, but most Americans are suffering the opposite ratio. The lack of omega-3s could also be a major culprit of inflammation here.

Digesting plastic in the human body - What happens to gut microbes?

Several studies have found interesting links between gut microbes and other diseases where the body's immune system begins to attack its own tissue. Tap water, for instance, has chlorine, residual prescription medications from others and fluoride (insecticide imported from China). This kills the good flora, period. What kind of water are YOU drinking? Most people know that tap water is bad. It's polluted. Still, if you run out and buy bottled water, there's usually no telling how long it's been sitting in that plastic, which can leech BPA, or bisphenol A, a known carcinogen that causes birth defects and reproductive organ deformations, even infertility. Meanwhile, inflammation wreaks havoc on your digestive system because your body doesn't know how to process plastic!

"Hundreds of illnesses are caused by chronic inflammation," reads an article at . "Rather than recognizing and correcting the sources of inflammation, modern medicine has classified them as unique and unrelated, when in fact they are all products of the same underlying imbalances in the body. Illnesses such as fibromyalgia, lupus, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, and others stem from inflammation."

"I am not talking about distilled water, tap water, or reverse osmosis water, which comprises 90% of the bottled waters. I mean fluoride-free, chloramines-free, and chlorine-free water that is rich in minerals. Water is the most basic and yet one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory things you can give your body."

Typical root causes of inflammation:

- Excessive stress
- Poor diet that lacks fresh, raw, organic fruits and vegetables
- Vitamin and mineral deficiencies (possibly from synthetic vitamins)
- Environmental toxicity
- Lack of sleep
- Lack of exercise
- Too much work
- Pharmaceuticals

So then, can consuming the wrong food be considered an injury? Over time, absolutely. Can chronic stress drive chronic inflammation and massive health detriment? It does it every day. There's a reason the organic food industry is so huge today. People know that inflammation is a major culprit of health issues.

Be sure to double check your organic foods for heavy metal toxins too, because some imports, like from China, are contaminated with very high levels of lead, cadmium, tungsten and aluminum, even when they're labeled "certified organic." Get informed and stay that way -- the Health Ranger is helping us in the biggest way.

Sources:

Food That Kills:
https://www.youtube.com

http://www.theatlantic.com

http://www.gobeyondorganic.com

http://labs.naturalnews.com

http://science.naturalnews.com