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 one
of various nutrients and phytonutrients garnering
more attention for its anti-inflammatory factors. Patients
at Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office are quite aware that we talk about inflammation and its part in Groton
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 the function of the immune system and on the
reduction of inflammation determined that patients with
all sorts of health issues, minor to severe, may well benefit 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 therapies. The goal of this
supplementation is to reduce inflammation which is regulated
by the immune system and which is a contributor to
chronic disease as well as acute illness. The review covered
many specifics like how supplements impacted
inflammatory and immune factors - whose names you may not know very well but have 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
lots of attention today as the demand to prevent
chronic illness and decrease the severity of acute illnesses of all
sorts that people globally are
dealing with. (1) Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office is excited
to see these developments in the more natural approaches to health evolve!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FRANKINCENSE
You’ll note that frankincense
was one of the nutrients talked about above. A recent
study highlighted the benefits of its supplementation. Frankincense is an oil extract extracted
from the Boswellia tree. It’s been utilized 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 promoted
lipid mediator change of innate immune cells from pro-inflammatory to boosted
anti-inflammatory action of frankincense from Boswellic acid. (2) For Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office,
frankincense needs to be gifted year-round and not just
at the holidays! Nutritional findings like this are just so
interesting, especially when we know
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 Groton chiropractic appointment.
CONTACT Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office
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 describes the interaction of the immune system and inflammation as well as how
spinal manipulation can positively affect the
immune system.
Schedule your Groton chiropractic
appointment soon to see 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 decreasing
inflammation!