If you’ve been dealing with chronic inflammation, you often wonder what can be done to reduce or eliminate it. Acute inflammation generally happens when your body has trauma like an injury or microbial invasion like in a cut. The inflammation usually clears up within a week or two. Chronic inflammation is referred to as long-term inflammation that has spanned over many months to years. The body is not designed to exist in a state of chronic inflammation, so discovering and eliminating the root cause is important to returning the body to a state of homeostasis.
Chronic Inflammation Symptoms
Inflammation plays a large role in the body’s healing process and defense mechanism. If the body notices a foreign body or intruder, it sends out a biological response to help remove it. Symptoms of inflammation can include swelling, pain, and redness. With chronic inflammation, the symptoms can also be silent, without outward, easily detected symptoms. Pain and fatigue are widely recognized symptoms of the effects of chronic inflammation.
Blood Testing for Chronic Inflammation
Some blood tests can be helpful in diagnosing chronic inflammation. The C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test, ESR (Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate), and plasma viscosity (PV) tests are generally used by doctors to diagnose inflammation. All of these markers can be raised in many inflammatory conditions, ranging from simple causes like tissue injury or abscess, all the way to more serious causes like Crohn’s Disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Other functional medicine bio-markers to help identify inflammation are: calprotectin (stool), lactoferrin (stool), homocysteine(blood), ferritin (blood), 8-OHDG (urine), etc.
Effects of Chronic Inflammation
Chronic inflammation affects many parts of your body. Look at the chart below of how it can negatively impact your health.
What Causes Chronic Inflammation?
Chronic inflammation can be a result of some of the following:
- Autoimmune Diseases. Autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s (thyroid autoimmune), Lupus, Celiac Disease, Diabetes, and Rheumatoid Arthritis are common causes of chronic inflammation. In an autoimmune disease, the body mistakenly identifies healthy cells as foreign invaders. For instance, in Hashimoto’s Disease, the body makes thyroid antibodies and attacks the thyroid itself.
- Food Sensitivities. Food sensitivities can cause the body to have more inflammation, especially the digestive tract. Bloating, swelling, weight problems, digestive issues, aches, and pains can all be symptoms of food sensitivities. Eliminating the top food allergens (milk, eggs, fish, seafood, wheat, peanuts, gluten, soybeans) can often be helpful in eliminating food allergies. For more intense healing, a diet like the Autoimmune Protocol can be more effective in reducing inflammation, as it reduces the body’s inflammatory response by eliminating inflammatory foods. Leaky gut can be a source of inflammation in the body, and changing the diet can be a highly effective way to help properly heal and seal the gut.
- Pathogens. Bacteria and parasites can often set off a huge inflammatory response within the body. A condition like Lyme Disease can have a huge effect on the body, as the disease and its co-infections are bacterial, parasitic, and protozoal in nature. Eliminating these pathogens can often help reduce inflammation in the body.
- Toxins. Heavy metals and mold can wreak havoc on the body, causing symptoms that are very similar in nature. Generally, when a body’s “toxin bucket” gets too full, it often overflows, and the body starts exhibiting symptoms. Oftentimes, the body’s immune system is impacted, and there are multifaceted layers of healing needed to help the body return to a state of homeostasis.
IV Vitamin Therapy Benefits
Intravenous vitamin therapy has many benefits, and one of the biggest advantages is that the nutrients enter the bloodstream more quickly and effectively than oral supplementation. There are over 2 dozen vitamins/nutrients available for IV Vitamin therapy, and some of those are Vitamin C, various B vitamins, calcium, and magnesium. There can be IVs that contain one specific vitamin like vitamin C, or they can contain a cocktail of minerals and vitamins that can target specific issues or health concerns.
High-doseVitamin C is one popular type of IV therapy, as it is a natural antioxidant and also plays a key role in making collagen for the body. When vitamin C breaks down in the body, it produces hydrogen peroxide, which can be helpful in eliminating pathogens and even possibly providing support for cancer patients. When the body receives an intravenous infusion of vitamin C, much higher blood levels of vitamin C are reached than when the same amount of vitamin C is taken orally. In clinical trials, large doses of IV vitamin C have caused very few side effects. Since your body cannot produce Vitamin C on its own, it’s important to make sure your intake is plentiful to help combat issues like chronic inflammation.
At The Dempster Clinic, we are proud to offer a wide range IV Vitamin therapy treatments to our patients. Our IV Vitamin therapy is made up of 24 different vitamins and minerals. How can IV vitamin therapy help combat chronic inflammation?
- Reducing toxicity levels in the body. Vitamins help the body detox properly, reducing inflammation as time goes on. When there are less toxins in the body, it doesn’t have to work as hard to eliminate them.
- Immune support. Vitamins improve our immune system’s ability to help neutralize viral, bacterial, and even fungal infections. They are extremely helpful in eliminating pathogens naturally. By removing these foreign invaders, the body has a better chance of naturally returning to a state of balance while also reducing the body’s inflammatory response.
- Reducing CRP and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the body. High dose IV vitamin C therapy has been proven to reduce both CRP and cytokines in cancer patients. Reducing and eliminating inflammation is a huge part of the body’s healing process back to health.
In general, inflammation in the body means there is some type of problem, and reducing it is going to be helpful to the overall health of the patient. Even if you aren’t sure of what the root cause of your illness is, working with us will help you regain your health and live a healthier life. IV Vitamin therapy can benefit pretty much anyone, so taking part will only help ensure overall better health.
Call Us Today to Schedule Your Vitamin IV
We would love to help you on your journey to healing. It can be a long, lonely process, but don’t despair. If you’ve been curious about IV Vitamin therapy, we would love to discuss the personal benefits you may experience by scheduling an appointment. Working with a knowledgeable practitioner can help get your body to heal properly and return to a state of optimal health. Don’t wait a minute longer, call today to start your path to better health!