So often, patients tell me that they’ve had different surgical procedures, injections, and other invasive treatments, only to receive poor or slow results. Of course there may be many reasons for disappointing results, including the person doing the procedure, the products and methods used, timing and so much more. One common denominator I see frequently, is those with an inflammatory lifestyle tend to get poor results with many types of these procedures. In most cases, the patient doesn’t even know they are living an inflammatory lifestyle.
The first part of an inflammatory versus an anti-inflammatory lifestyle is diet. Today, many products that are in otherwise “healthy” foods are highly inflammatory. One example is oatmeal. Oats are one of the grains with the highest amounts of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. It also has phytic acid like other grains that affects digestion and beneficial gut bacteria. Many people enjoy oats daily, as it’s touted as “heart healthy.” If you were to eat enough oats to affect your heart health, you’d have to eat so much more than an average serving, and you’d never do that. Just to name another major offender in “healthy food” is “natural flavors.” Natural flavors are just another word for artificial flavors. As long as the original flavor is real, they can add up to 150 chemicals, including solvents. This is a major inflammatory and toxic addition to otherwise healthy foods. Why can’t turkey be flavorful enough on its own? The company that designed natural flavors reports that they are added to enhance the flavor to make you want to eat or drink more. For more information on natural flavors, search Natural Flavors 60 Minutes on Youtube. It’s a 60 Minutes interview with the Swiss company that started it.
Another surprising aspect of an inflammatory lifestyle, is sleep depth and duration. Lack of the right type of sleep is connected to at least 50 diseases. Most are inflammatory conditions. I’ve written articles on sleep in the past and reported that many people think they sleep long enough, but they don’t sleep deeply enough. It is difficult to heal from procedures if you’re sleep deprived. The body just cannot repair and reconnect.
Stress reduction, including mindfulness, meditation, and taking time out of your life to do the things you enjoy. Someone once said, “ Make room in your life for life.” Living for the next moment once again, affects the body’s ability to reconnect and heal.
Environmental chemical exposure will also affect the body’s response time. Using chemical based household cleaners, and body products affect the endocrine system. They are called endocrine disrupters. That means that by using these products, your endocrine system can be altered. The endocrine system is made up of all of your hormones, from birth through adulthood. All systems of the body utilize the endocrine system. This includes the cardiac, reproductive, respiratory, musculoskeletal, and all of the others. How will you heal properly, or even at all if your endocrine system is disrupted? To find out if your household or body products contain endocrine disrupters, visit EWG.org. They have a section on body products that will tell you to what level something is toxic.
Personally, as a physician, I see the patients who take the time to make healthier choices in their life respond to all treatments much faster and feel better much quicker as a result.
They take the time to research and see what is really healthy, not just what’s promoted on advertising, or even by your medical provider. For those of my patients who are living an inflammatory lifestyle, I coach them on changes they can make prior to receiving any joint injections, regenerative medicine, or any procedure in my office. This assists in quicker and more effective results. There is so much that’s allowed in our foods and products, not all medical providers even know what they are. Please choose a provider who is aware of these and will promote a non-inflammatory lifestyle. These examples of inflammatory choices are important for general health, not only if you’re having a procedure of any kind.
For any questions on an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, and my programs that I offer, please call my office for a complimentary consultation.
For questions on any of my articles, please email me at [email protected].
Leisa-Marie Grgula, D.C.
Chiropractic Physician
Accurate Care Medical Wellness Center
18261 N. Pima Rd. Ste. # 115
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
480-584-3955
