Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. Three gifts talked
about throughout the holidays often are neglected the rest
of the year…except gold. We do hear a lot about gold! Well, frankincense is one
of various nutrients and phytonutrients receiving
more attention for its anti-inflammatory traits. Patients
at Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka hear us converse
about inflammation and its part in Sitka
back pain and neck pain very often, so anti-inflammatory
supplements with anti-inflammatory nutrients are welcome!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY NUTRIENTS
A new narrative review of medical literature regarding
the effects of certain nutrients and phytonutrients on immune system
function and on the
reduction of inflammation concluded that patients with
all types of health issues, minor to severe, may well get some
advantage from daily supplementation of acetyl-L-carnitine, Vitamin
C, Aloe vera polysaccharides, Vitamin B12, beta-glucans, bilberry, black seed
oil, coenzyme Q10, curcumin (turmeric), garlic, resveratrol, ginger, hydrolyzed
rice bran, lipoic acid, mistletoe, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), omega-3 fatty
acids, Vitamin E (d-alpha- and gamma-tocopherol), selenium, shiitake mushroom
and its derivatives, isoflavones, Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), zinc, and frankincense.
Such supplementation may be added to conventional medications
and medical interventions. The goal of said
supplementation is to reduce inflammation which is controlled
by the immune system and which is a contributor to
chronic disease as well as acute illness. The review got into specifics like how supplements impacted
inflammatory and immune factors - whose names you may not hear
much about but play a role in your health
- like interferon-g, nuclear factor-Kappa B, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis
factor-a, and CD4+ T cells, and others. Studies like these are garnering
lots of attention today as the need to avert
chronic illness and reduce the severity of acute illnesses of all
types that people around the world are
dealing with. (1) Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka is eager
to see these developments in the more natural approaches to health evolve!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FRANKINCENSE
You will note that frankincense
was one of the nutrients talked about above. A new
study featured the benefits of its supplementation. Frankincense is an oil extract taken
from the Boswellia tree. It has been utilized in
anti-inflammatory folk remedies for many years. Using
bowellic acids like the 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-βBA (AKBA) are unique
anti-inflammatory components of frankincense. Combined
with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosahexaenoic acid (EPA), it stimulated
lipid mediator change of innate immune cells from pro-inflammatory to enhanced
anti-inflammatory action of frankincense from Boswellic acid. (2) For Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka,
frankincense needs to be gifted throughout the year and not just
during the holidays! Nutritional findings like this are just so
interesting, particularly when we realize
that inflammation plays a role in spine-related pain that we treat
every day. Let’s talk about our anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement at
your next Sitka chiropractic appointment.
CONTACT Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox, developer of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain
Management, on The Back
Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the communication
between the immune system and inflammation as well as how
spinal manipulation can beneficially impact the
immune system.
Make your Sitka chiropractic
appointment soon to visit us! Though we’re not sure
when myrrh will get its due, we’ll be happy to see that frankincense is getting
its due for the role it may have in managing
inflammation!