INFLAMMATION

Think of "inflammation," and the first thing that comes to mind may be a swollen, tender joint. The kind of thing that happens after a bad fall. Our usual response? Cold packs, rest, and maybe an over-the-counter pain reliever.

Simple, direct solutions often work well in the setting of a household accident, when acute inflammation becomes immediately obvious.

But there's another kind of inflammation; the slow-moving, far-reaching, chronic kind. Chronic inflammation silently accompanies our modern, fast paced lifestyle with its exposure to chemicals, lack of exercise or time in nature, and Standard American Diet (SAD). This sort of inflammation takes advantage of individual genetics (think family history) and brews undetected within vulnerable organ systems until symptoms develop, medical help is sought, and disease is diagnosed.

The functional health approach differs. When patients are proactive, we can investigate underlying factors that lead to chronic inflammation and address their root causes before they become disease. And sometimes, if a willing patient has already been diagnosed with something like high blood pressure, disease can actually be reversed.

For more information, check out our Quick Guide to Nutritional Medicine for Chronic Conditions.