Inflammation...You may just explode!!

When we talk about inflammation, most people think about acute inflammation.  You sprain your ankle and it swells.  Or you have an infected nail bed and it's swollen and full of pus.  In reference to eating paleolithic foods, we are not referencing acute inflammation.  Acute inflammation is typically a positive stimulus.  Your body is trying to heal itself.  We are talking about chronic inflammation.  Chronic, as in on-going.  Your body is no longer trying to heal itself, but rather trying to destroy itself.

Inflammation in general terms is part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants.  When the irritant is YOU then it becomes a problem.  Many conditions and diseases are a direct result of inflammation in various cells in your body.  Whereas acute inflammation is caused by things like infection or injury or an allergic reaction, chronic inflammation is often caused by what we put INTO our bodies, purposefully, like FOOD.

When we ingest certain foods, they react to cells in our body in different ways.  There are inflammatory foods and anti-inflammatory foods.  Grains, legumes, dairy, foods in the nightshade group and even some nuts & seeds are inflammatory.  I'm not a scientist, nor will I try to re-iterate what others have already said so much better than I.  I will point you in some good direction to read more about the inflammatory process of these foods if you want the real "why's" behind it.  Below is a chart that briefly explains chronic inflammation, the cells it effects, and the outcomes.

Chronic Inflammation:

• Causative agent:  Persistent acute inflammation due to non-degradable pathogens, viral infection, persistent foreign bodies, or autoimmune reactions
• Major cells involved:  Mononuclear cells (monocytes, macrophages, lymphocytes, plasma cells), fibroblasts
• Primary mediators:  IFN-γ and other cytokines, growth factors, reactive oxygen species, hydrolytic enzymes
• Onset:  Delayed
• Duration:  Up to many months, or years
• Outcomes Resolution:  Tissue destruction, fibrosis, necrosis

Inflammation is an underlying cause in many conditions and diseases.  All 140 known autoimmune diseases have inflammation as part of their conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, infertility, multiple sclerosis, lupus, narcolepsy, schizophrenia, depression, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, hypothyroidism, IBS, Chron's disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, etc.  The list goes on.  It is also a known antagonist in cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, migraine headaches, acne and cancer.  

If all of these conditions and diseases (and a host of others) are directly linked to inflammation, it would behoove those of us with any one (or multiples) of them to reduce chronic inflammation as much as we can.  Thankfully, science has shown us that we can!  By removing grains and legumes and dairy from our diet, we can effectively decrease symptoms and possibly even reverse disease!!

I shared before what changing my everyday diet has done for me.  In the past few months I have seen joint pain and inflammation significantly decrease.  I have gone from chronic daily headaches and frequent migraines to only one or two headaches during that time.  I have seen gut healing from IBS symptoms.  My overall health is significantly better!  I chose to bring my family along for this ride because I know that many of the diseases/conditions also have a genetic component.  I see similar issues in my children already.  I cannot change their genes, but I can help them make better food choices now which will hopefully go with them throughout life.  Do they eat perfectly paleo?  No.  I don't expect them to.  But the meals I control will move them in the right direction.  As they get older they can own this for themselves as they learn how eating the wrong foods affects them physically.

Once again here are some places to read more about reversing disease via a paleo diet:

www.robbwolf.com

www.thepaleodiet.com

www.thepaleomom.com

I have books by these three scientists/authors and I haven't regretted one dime that I have spent in bettering my knowledge and my health.  :)

Did you say "Leaky Gut"? Ewwwww....

Leaky gut, yes it is as gross as it sounds.  Leaky gut, also know as "increased intestinal permeability", is exactly what it sounds like.  Something is permeating your intestinal walls and leaking into places it shouldn't be.  That includes undigested foods, bacteria, bile and waste.  All autoimmune diseases have leaky gut associated with them.  Many other health conditions and diseases are linked back to leaky gut and gut dysbiosis.  So if you knew that eliminating one food group would alleviate the key factor in these diseases wouldn't you do it?  If the FDA knew that this one food group was unhealthy and harmful for every human on the planet, wouldn't you think they'd tell everyone?  Be prepared, a rant is coming...

Scientifically speaking, if I told you that apples cannot be processed by the human digestive tract.  No matter what you do to it: cook it, peel it, bleach it, process it 150 different ways; in the end the final proteins cannot be broke down by your digestive system.  In the end, there will remain undigested parts and those will permeate your gut lining in one of two ways and leak into your body, also allowing other bacteria and waste to leak into your body.  Would you WANT to know this information?  Would you EXPECT science to make you aware of this FACT?  Would you STOP eating apples even if they were your FAVORITE?

The answer is YES!!  Who would knowingly do that to their body????

Guess what?  Science KNOWS that grains cannot be completely digested by our bodies.  They never have been.  You can boil it, bake it, bleach it, grind it, whatever you want, it still isn't going to be digested by your body.  The last parts of the protein cannot be broken down by our body into the amino acids our body needs.  The last parts then are able to permeate the gut lining in two ways, depending on your genetic make-up, and leak out.  This also then opens up the gut for other things to leak out as well.  They know this, yet we are encouraged to not only eat grains, but to consume 12 servings a day of grains.  12 servings a day!!  While foregoing other fiber and nutrient rich foods like fruits and vegetables.  12 servings a day while giving up healthy animal fats which are necessary to cell function in our body.  12 servings a day that permeate our gut, make us sick and no one can understand WHY we are sick, yet we keep eating our grains.

I'm thankful for the agricultural revolution.  Truly I am. If it weren't for the agricultural revolution, I wouldn't have learned this information from other sources.  If it weren't for the agricultural revolution I wouldn't be able to send this message to you across cyber space from the comfort of my home.  But along the way, when these things came to light, it sure would have been nice if someone bothered to SHARE this information with the masses. I'm even more thankful for the agricultural revolution that THANKFULLY through hundreds of people, paleo gurus and those of us just learning, the information IS getting to the masses!!!

In order to begin healing your gut and reversing disease you must eliminate the following:
ALL Grains including:

• corn
• barley
• fonio
• kamut
• oats
• rice
• rye
• sorghum
• spelt
• teff triticale
• wheat (including durum and semolina)
• wild rice
• millet

ALL Psuedo-Grains including:

• amaranth
• buckwheat
• chia
• quinoa

Each and every one of these will affect gut health, in every single person.  Now the extent that you feel the effects is determined by other things in your life.  Genetics, stress, lifestyle, environment, infections.  But this is the KEY area.  If you could improve your health, the health of your family, your children, your grandchildren, wouldn't you do it?  You might say, "But I'm not seeing any affects from this, why should I eliminate grains?"  Are you really not seeing any affects?  Do you take prescription drugs for any health issues?  Do you take antacids for heartburn, reflux, etc?  Do you experience bowel issues regularly?  Do you have a genetic predisposition for cardiovascular disease or autoimmune disease?  You can change your health dramatically in this one area!

Aside from the battle in the gut from grains, they aren't even "healthy" for you in general terms.  Grains have no more fiber in them than fruits and vegetables, yet they are higher in starches and sugar than fruits!  That all translates to sugar in your body, which translates to being overweight, fluctuating blood sugars, mood issues, headaches, and disease.  Let's face it, grains gotta go!!!

Why did I do it?

I mentioned before the goals I had for my family.  I had my own personal goals, as well as goals for each of my children. But the biggest reason was our overall health.  The more I read about the Paleolithic foods, the more I knew we had no choice but to change what we were doing.

Primary health conditions that can be reversed or greatly alleviated by removing grains, legumes, dairy, processed foods and sugar from your diet:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Degenerative disease
• Diabetes
• Autoimmune disease (which there are approx. 140 known autoimmune diseases)
• Cholesterol levels
• Acne
• Gastrointestinal diseases
• Vitamin deficiency 
• Insomnia 
• Depression
• ADD/ADHD

You can improve many, if not all, of the following:

• Mood
• Sleep
• Libido
• Energy
• Nutrient absorption
• Weight
• Performance

Mike and I both have cardiovascular disease in our family.  I know for a fact that autoimmune is close to my middle name.  Mike and I both have at least one diagnosed autoimmune disease.  I'm overweight and struggle to lose weight.  I have two children with multiple food allergies.  I have one child with Tourette's, which is autoimmune.  I have one child with sensory issues.  I have two children who are overweight.  I have a child with acne.  I have a child who has chronic gastrointestinal issues, does not digest food properly and suffers from vitamin deficiencies.  Why wouldn't I do it???  Because I like to eat bread??  Well, I've decided I like living more.  My family's health is much more important than bread.  

A year ago, my sister said to me, "If giving up bread/grains made you feel better, wouldn't you do it?"  I think my response was, "Maybe."  I wasn't yet willing to find out.  6 weeks ago, I was, and I'm so much better for it!!

Since removing grains, legumes, sugar and processed foods from my everyday diet I have experienced the beauty of sleep....yes sleep!!  I also have energy!  What's that??  I feel better overall.  That bitchy person I was becoming is now gone.  I get up early every morning!  I can't fall back to sleep even when I think I want to.  My body doesn't ache.  My joints are moving better.  No muscle aches and the chronic dosing of anti-imflamatories is gone.  I have been migraine free!!!  I have been nearly headache free!!!!  THAT is HUGE right there.  And....I've lost 15 lbs!!!  I'm looking forward to seeing how my health continues to improve as I heal my guy and begin to reverse the deterioration of my body.