Why am I Sick Again? Signs of Body Inflammation

Almost every modern disease is caused or affected by body inflammation. Your immune system can become compromised by stress, diet, and lifestyle. Everyone has had common illnesses such as a sore throat, colds, broken bones, etc. Your body goes into the appropriate defense to ward off these diseases or trauma by generating the proper white cells, known as antigens, to fight off invading bacteria or viruses to survive.

Your body’s immune system produces antibodies and destroys harmful invaders. This kind of body inflammatory is useful and necessary.

When is body inflammation terrible?

When the immune response overacts, and our body no longer can tell the difference between healthy body tissues and antigens. Your immune system begins to destroy healthy body tissues due to mixed messages transmitted from the brain. Unfortunately, in many cases, inflammation causes PAIN!

Science hasn’t figured how and why the body overacts or why it causes the brain to generate these mixed messages. Some people are more susceptible than others.

What are the seeds to autoimmune diseases: bacteria or viruses, chemicals, drugs, or environmental irritants?

Body Inflammation Allergies

There are two types of allergies we respond to; the first is when the body reacts to the environment or internal allergens, such as plants, grass, mold, food allergies, etc.

The second, when your body’s immune system doesn’t recognize healthy body tissue and attacks it like it was a foreign invader, in cases of asthma, arthritis, thyroid, multiple sclerosis. Autoimmune disease can affect more than one body tissue and can cause abnormal organ growth and change its function, such as joints, connective tissues, muscles, red blood, and skin.

According to Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), there are approximately 50 million Americans affected, and the numbers are rising. There are as many as 80 types of autoimmune diseases.

Autoimmune diseases and usually run in families. Seventy-five percent of those affected are women, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans.

Autoimmune Diseases Trigger Body Inflammation

Many autoimmune diseases have similar symptoms, which makes it tough to diagnose. There are no cures, so traditional treatment focuses on relieving symptoms. Symptoms vary depending on the autoimmune disease; symptoms can include fatigue, fever, just feeling sick or off.

Conventional treatment can include diet, supplementation, and medication to quiet or suppress symptoms and maintain the body’s ability to fight the disease.

Some common autoimmune diseases are –

• Inflammatory bowel disease – affecting the colon and small intestine
• Celiac disease – reaction to gluten that can damage the lining of the small intestine
• Hashimoto’s disease – inflammation of the thyroid (hypo)
• Graves’ disease – overactive thyroid
• Rheumatoid Arthritis – inflammation of joints and surrounding tissues
• Psoriatic arthritis – inflammation of the skin, creating scaly patches, plus the inflammation of joints and surrounding tissues
• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) – affecting the brain and spinal cord
• Type 1 diabetes – destroying insulin-producing cells in the pancreases
• Lupus – inflammation of combined joint, heart, lungs, kidneys, blood or nervous systems

Anti-inflammatory Habits

Diet – You have billions of immune cells that are always working to keep you healthy by identifying and eliminating harmful substances that make their way into your blood, 70-80% of these cells live in your small intestines.

Depending on how you feed your body, food is your foundation. Think of it this way: if you build your body on junk and processed foods, you will have a weak foundation. If you build your body on nutrient-rich, organic, whole-foods, you are going to have a strong foundation. Be mindful of what you eat at every meal and snack.

Keep a food diary – there are plenty of free apps you can down onto your phone to help you to remember what you ate from meal-to-meal. Keep away from known food allergens and toxins. Look at what you want to eat; if wheat, sugar, dairy, soy calls to you more times than you care, this is a type of food addiction that is NOT good for you. Food is meant to enjoy, and it is your source of ENERGY.

Exercise – If you spend most of your life sitting in front of a computer and TV. You’re not living, but you’re slowly dying. For your circulation’s sake, you need to move. Yes, we all need quiet down to sit and reflect, but again, too much of a good thing is also bad for you.

Pick up that body and move. You don’t have to do all of your exercises at one time. You can spread them out throughout the day. That is a good start.

Don’t know where to start? Start with a two minutes routine. By walking to get your mail can be the beginning of your two-minute routine. Then add walking time by walking to the end of the street, then around the block.

Balance – Are you getting enough rest? I admit I am a work-a-colic. I can start to work right after getting up in the morning rituals until I go to bed. (Again, too much of a good thing is terrible.) I am learning when to STOP. Too much work puts my body in overdrive, and I can’t sleep, not good. Know your limits.

Medical testing – There is a medical test for body inflammation or autoimmune disease ask your doctor about:
• C-reactive protein test. This test measures the degree of hidden inflammation throughout the body.
• Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) estimates how much inflammation is in the body.
• Complete blood count (CBC) measures the number of red and white blood cells. An unusually high or low number may indicate inflammatory problems.
• Anti-nuclear antibody test – autoantibody test looks for anti-nuclear antibodies, which attack nuclei of cells in your body.
• Auto-antibody tests – search for specific antibodies in your tissues.

Now you understand some of the causes of body inflammation, be proactive instead of reactive. All it takes is the first step towards good health.

About the Writer

Helen Chin Lui is a Certified Reflexologist and a Certified Energy Medicine Practitioner. She is the owner of the Healing Place LLC and Healing Place Energy School LLC. Helen specializes in helping people of all ages to find relief from chronic digestive disorders, chronic pain, and balance hormones naturally.

For Helen’s free report “Proven Alternative Ways to Heal Common Chronic Digestive Problems: What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know Can Keep You From Healing,” click here.