Ditch Inflammation with POWERFUL “Light Fix”
By
Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Posted October 17, 2022
Dear Living Well Daily Reader,
Inflammation gets a bad rap.
Commercials try to sell us the latest pills and potions to fight it. And drug-store shelves are lined with products designed to target it.
We’re told to wipe out inflammation at all costs because it’s bad for your body.
But that’s not entirely true.
In fact, short-term inflammation is an essential tool for your continued good health. (More on this in just a moment.)
It’s long-term or chronic inflammation that you want to avoid. It wreaks havoc on your body, damaging cells, tissues, and organs.
Many doctors will insist that this type of inflammation is a normal part of aging that you can’t do anything about. Don’t buy that nonsense.
There are various safe and easy ways to REDUCE inflammation in your body, such as quitting smoking or ditching processed sugar. But research just revealed one of the easiest inflammation-soothing moves you can make is also one of the most effective.
When you have an injury or develop an infection, your body reacts with short-term or acute inflammation. It triggers white blood cells to rush to the scene to help protect your body from invaders.
This process raises blood flow to the area, ultimately promoting healing. On the other hand, chronic inflammation isn’t such a welcome visitor.
If you were going to pick a single trigger for almost every modern disease we face today, chronic inflammation would be a good candidate.
After all, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer can all be traced back to this type of inflammation.
Chronic inflammation can be caused by a variety of things:
- Autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and psoriatic arthritis
- Exposure to pollution, chemicals, and toxins
- Smoking, a diet full of refined sugars, obesity, stress, sleep issues, and dropping hormone levels
- Untreated acute inflammation
But now, new research published in the International Journal of Epidemiology has revealed a powerful drug-free solution that can help us fight back against this killer.
It turns out our old friend vitamin D can help lower inflammation.
A molecule called C-reactive protein (CRP) is used to measure inflammation. Researchers used a high-powered computer to compare vitamin D levels and CRP in 294,970 people in the new study.
The team found a direct link between low vitamin D and high inflammation levels.
Getting enough vitamin D is vital. D not only helps with inflammation but also supports better health from head to toe, including boosting bone, muscle, and skin health and better blood sugar, heart, brain, and immune health.
The good news is getting enough vitamin D isn’t difficult.
- Assess your vitamin D status. Start at your doctor’s office with a blood test to check your levels. Keep in mind most of us have sagging levels after a long winter, and our highest numbers show up during the summer months.
- Get enough sun. Vitamin D is produced in your body when sunlight hits your skin. The key is to get enough without overdoing it. I believe most of us need far more than the 15 minutes of sun exposure a day you often hear recommended. Just make sure to not burn your skin.
- Consider supplements. We can get a lot of our necessary nutrients from our diet. But many of us fall short in vitamin D. So taking a daily vitamin D supplement is a good idea, especially in winter.
P.S. Beware of these 6 Conditions that STEAL your vitamin D.
Source: “Vitamin D deficiency and C-reactive protein: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study,” International Journal of Epidemiology, 2022;, dyac087
Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.
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