Inflammation: The Root of all Evil
- Bret McClellan
- Jun 10, 2017
- 3 min read
I've certainly harped on it enough times, but it's worth mentioning again: Inflammation is the root of all evil, as it relates to your health. Simply put: When you boil virtually any disease down, chronic inflammation is quite possibly the main ingredient in its bare essence. Three of the top killers in the United States are cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes - and chronic inflammation plays a huge role in the development of each.
But that's not the end of it. Chronic inflammation not only damages you at the cellular level, but also at the sub-cellular level, affecting the organelles in the inflamed cells themselves - most notably the mitochondria - the power plants of each cell. Mitochondrial damage is thought to be the root cause of many afflictions, including cancer, ADHD, autism, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, chronic fatigue syndrome, and depression.
In short, if you want to increase your chances of living a healthy, happy, longer life, you need to decrease the potential for chronic inflammation in your body. How? Well, let's look at the main sources of inflammation:
1) Stress
2) Smoking
3) Poor nutrition
4) Lack of exercise
Of the above causes, #2 and #4 are probably the easiest to address: Regarding smoking - Don't; regarding exercise - Do. There are many ways to address the #1 cause (stress) - but since stress is highly specific to each individual, it's likely a story for another blog post.
The above Item #3 (Poor nutrition) is what I'm discussing on this post. Since you're reading this blog, I'm going to assume that you already know my angle on nutrition: An ancestral approach to diet is the best, and it can take many forms, be it Paleo, Primal, Whole 30, Wild Diet, Bulletproof, or almost any other ancestrally-based approach. The ancestral approach is by nature anti-inflammatory in and of itself, especially when compared to the modern eating habits of today. One thing you can do, however, to further decrease your potential for chronic inflammation is to supplement with high-quality, anti-inflammatory omega-3s.
Some of the biggest perpetrators of chronic inflammation in diets today are the highly processed, industrialized seed and vegetable oils (canola, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed oils, etc). This is because they have massive quantities of omega-6 fatty acids, which are pro-inflammatory and subject to rapid oxidative damage - certainly something that you DON'T want to ingest intentionally. This is not to say that omega-6 fatty acids don't have a role to play in health - they do. However, unless you're consuming a lot of quality fish on a regular basis, most people (including myself) need to supplement with an omega-3 product in an effort to counterbalance the intake of omega-6s.
Ideally you should have an omega-6: omega-3 ratio of 1:1 or 2:1, meaning you're having almost as much omega-3s as omega-6s. My personal approach is to supplement with 1 gram of omega-3 fish oil during each meal (unless that meal consists of fish...) So, on a typical day, I'll take 1 to 3 grams of Primal Omegas - a high-quality supplement that I personally vouch for.
With a solid strategy of omega-3 supplementation in hand, you will decrease your potential for suffering gut inflammation associated with the wildly excessive omega-6 content of today's usual fare. Decreased gut inflammation will subsequently decrease your potential for chronic systemic inflammation, thereby improving your immune system, and thus your health.
So get started living the long, healthy, happy and inflammation-free life by addressing the above 4 points, and get your high-quality omega-3s and other very effective, natural products at our store today! Good nutrition is the very FOUNDATION of good health!
Bret McClellan
Certified Primal Health Coach #239
McClellan Natural Health, Wellness & Nutrition
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