Inflammation and the Immune System

Inflammation is the immue system’s first line of defense against injury and infection. At this time of the year with temperatures hovering around10 - 15 degrees Fahrenheit and you develop a sinus headache, you may want to know more about the system that presents these problems. I have written much about ways we can clean the filters of our nose and prevent bacteria buildup in our sinuses and bronchial tubes. This time I would like to address the body’s automatic response that results in the many conditions we end up treating with bad pills, antibiotics and pain killers. The drug companies will run commercials on all stations and rake in the profits in the billions. Humans need more knowledge of their bodies. We have to work to prevent conditions that make it appear we are closing the barn door after the horses have already left the stable.
When an injury occurs, such as a simple cut on the finger, a set of events take place within your body that forms a blood clot, fights infection and begins the healing process. Inflammation is painful because blood vessels dilate upstream of the injury to bring more blood and nutrients to the injured area, but they constrict at the injury site. These actions result in fluids from the bloodstream pooling in tissues around the injury, which causes swelling and pressure that stimulate nerves and cause pain.
Well that’s why we sell millions of pain pills without ever seeking the cause and effect.
In some individuals, the immune system gets confused and begins to view some of the body’s own healthy cells as “foreign invaders.” It therefore directs an immune response— complete with inflammation— at healthy tissues, harming or even destroying them. This misdirected attack results in what’s called an autoimmune disorder (“auto” meaning self). Rheumatoid arthritis and certain types of thyroid disease are autoimmune disorders. Asthma, too, is the result of inflammation gone awry.
When inflammation continues unabated for long periods of time, damage can occur in organs, such as the colon, or in blood vessels. Indeed, chronic inflammation within the body is looking more and more like a serious contributor to cardiovascular disease (heart and blood vessels), which encourages plaque deposits to form. Inflammation may also cause plaque in arteries to break off and travel downstream, where it can become lodged and stop blood flow to a crucial artery that provides oxygen to important body parts, such as your heart or brain. When this happens, a heart attack or stroke (respectively) can occur.
Chromic inflammation within the body can wreak havoc on other body parts besides arteries. A team led by the researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions found that chronic inflammation of the colon might increase the risk of colon cancer. A ten-year study of more than 20,000 patients suggested a link between chronic inflammation and this disease, although a direct cause-and-effect relationship has not yet been established. These preliminary findings were discussed in the February 2004 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. In October of 2003, my doctor ran into my room all excited saying, “Stan, we now know why you haven’t had another heart attack. The aspirin you’ve been taking is anti-inflammatory.”
Scientists knew all of this in 1983 but the drug companies in sync with the FDA and the Congress decided to keep it from the people. My doctor didn’t know of my research at the time. No doctor had remarked about the list I provided of my daily intake of aspirin. In 1981, I had been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and told by my physician that I needed to take at least 30 aspirin a day, if I were to fend off the effects of my disease~namely, “You will not be able to walk in one to two years!” The Middle-Eastern doctor stated this in 1981 and it wasn’t until 1998 that Congress allowed the information to reach the public. Aspirin manufacturers had to name their claims to aspirin as the “Freedom of Speech Aspirin.” You’ve heard of the other guy who claims to have had so much trouble revealing cures that were not allowed by the FDA. Well, read his book and tell me how many cures you find. Money is the root of all evil and he fell into the same temptation as the drug companies. He sold millions of books and bought advertising on just about every channel. Today he has enough money to do anything he wants. People, ask me if I heard of him and I reply, “Yes.” ‘They ask me if I read his books and I reply, “Yes.” When they ask me about all the cures I found in his book, I reply, “none!”
I don’t play those games and I don’t seek fame or fortune. I wanted to become a priest when I was very young (altar boy). But then, I went through puberty and learned that “celibacy” was not a natural function of my genetic make up. An altruist doesn’t need money to make him happy ~ he seeks the joy of giving and experiencing the “good” feeling one receives from knowing that “it is far better to give than to receive.”
To all of you who have sent me email responses praising my “blogs,” I can only thank you and apologize for not providing more of these articles. After 28-years, I am in the late stages of rheumatoid arthritis and at 72 it becomes more difficult just typing. No, I did not find a cure for rheumatoid arthritis, but I did develop a regimen which allows me to enjoy a little more of what life has to offer.
Doctors are not bad people, but they are very restricted in their knowledge of what works best with the body. Pills do not communicate with the brain as they would have us believe. That is why more of the pills are being sold over-the-counter and that is why you see more attorneys are advertising to provide you with free representation in a suit against a drug company. Just remember that your body is best at recognizing the cures available to us and specially combined by our creator in a manner that is appropriate and naturopathic to preventing disease and healing.
I tell my doctors that they should start “HEALING” and pay less attention to the cashier. The effort of Corporatism in our Congress to pass bills called “Tort Reform” represent an attempt to insulate physicians from the suits filed by patients who suffered the unnecessary abuses of malpractice.
There are two Americas and the “Predators” do not feel guilty about eating their “Prey” and charging them for the service. And so I say, “God bless all you dear hearts and gentle people.” The meek shall inherit the earth and whatever your faith, practice the “Golden Rule.” You may not make it to enjoy the company of those who “kneel at the Altar of the Almighty Dollar,” but you’ll be able to look in the mirror knowing you loved your neighbor as you love yourself.