Website design By BotEap.comWe all know the obvious signs of inflammation. For example, when we cut or scrape our finger in the kitchen or in the garden, we will experience:

• redness
• Swelling
• Bread
• Heat

Website design By BotEap.comInflammation is a good thing, but only if it’s at the right level for the right amount of time. It is simply the body’s initial healing response to infection or damaged tissue.

Website design By BotEap.comThe inflammation can be caused by:

• Physical reasons such as injury, burns, insect bites, frostbite, or radiation
• Chemicals such as pesticides, toxic gases and particles, and hydrochloric acid*
• Microbes such as viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi.
• Antigens to which the body is sensitive and which elicit an immune response (for example, the milk protein casein or peanuts)

Website design By BotEap.comWhat exactly is inflammation?

Website design By BotEap.comAs mentioned above, inflammation is the body’s response to damaged tissue or infection.

Website design By BotEap.comThis is what happens in the body:

• The blood vessels going to the site of the injury or infection are dilated so that more blood can get to the area.
• Meanwhile, the blood vessels leading away from the site constrict so that more blood is available to go to the site. More blood brings more oxygen for healing.
• Pain receptors in nerves are activated through chemicals such as Substance P. Pain has the important, albeit unpleasant, purpose of alerting you to a problem and is a warning to rest this area of ​​the body.
• Vessels become more permeable, allowing easier entry of the following:

Website design By BotEap.com– Leukocytes (neutrophils and macrophages): these render unwanted pathogens harmless.

Website design By BotEap.com– Excess fluid, to dilute toxins and help eliminate them from the body.

Website design By BotEap.com– Large protein molecules, such as antibodies and fibrinogen. The antibodies ‘eat’ unwanted pathogens, such as bacteria or allergens, while the fibrinogen helps seal the inflamed area to help prevent the spread of toxins.

Website design By BotEap.comAs you can see, short-term inflammation, lasting only a few hours or days, is a good and protective response. However, problems arise when ‘acute’ inflammation in the short term becomes ‘chronic’ inflammation in the long term. Chronic inflammation is now known to be involved in many of our major diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, and even Alzheimer’s disease.

Website design By BotEap.comThis will be covered in the next article – Chronic Inflammation – Consequences of a good response gone wrong.

Website design By BotEap.com*Hydrochloric acid is stomach acid needed to help digest protein, absorb calcium, and fight parasites in food or drink. It is vital to our health, and the stomach is normally protected by a layer of mucus, so the stomach wall is not damaged. However, if the acid comes out of the stomach (for example, acid reflux) it will cause inflammation in areas not protected by mucus, such as the esophagus.