Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. Three gifts mentioned around the holidays often are neglected the rest
of the year…except gold. We do hear a lot about gold! Well, frankincense is among various nutrients and phytonutrients garnering
more attention for its anti-inflammatory factors. Patients
at Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation are quite aware that we discuss inflammation and its role in Carrolltown
back pain and neck pain very often, so anti-inflammatory
supplements with anti-inflammatory nutrients are welcome!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY NUTRIENTS
A recent narrative review of medical literature regarding
the effects of certain nutrients and phytonutrients on immune system
function and on the
reduction of inflammation determined 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 this
supplementation is to reduce inflammation which is controlled
by the immune system and which is a contributing factor to
chronic disease as well as acute illness. The review got into specifics like how supplements affected
inflammatory and immune factors - whose names you may not hear
much about yet play a role in your health
- like interferon-g, nuclear factor-Kappa B, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis
factor-a, and CD4+ T cells, among others. Studies like these are garnering
much attention today as the need to avert
chronic illness and reduce the severity of acute illnesses of all
sorts that people around the world are
dealing with. (1) Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation is excited
to see these developments in the more natural approaches to health come
about!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FRANKINCENSE
You’ll notice that frankincense
was one of the nutrients listed above. A recent
study highlighted the benefits of its supplementation. Frankincense is an oil extract taken
from the Boswellia tree. It’s been used in
anti-inflammatory folk remedies for a long time. Using
bowellic acids like the 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-βBA (AKBA) are unique
anti-inflammatory components of frankincense. In combination
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 Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation,
frankincense needs to be gifted year-round and not just
at the holidays! Nutritional findings like this are just so
interesting, especially when we realize
that inflammation has a role in spine-related pain that we treat
every day. Let’s talk about our anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement at
your next Carrolltown chiropractic visit.
CONTACT Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation
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 illustrates the interaction of the immune system and inflammation as well as how
spinal manipulation can benefit the
immune system.
Make your Carrolltown 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!