So to continue with our conversation about a "Cytokine Storm" . . . before I tell you my personal secret on how I control my "cytokines".
Let's talk about how the body allows these "proinflammatory" cytokine to run amuck in the first place. This way, you can better understand why my method works so well.
As we now know . . . "cytokines" can be a "good" or "bad" thing in the body. And cytokines, which are the body's first line of defense, are what produces the inflammation that can either help the body to heal . . . or cause disease to become worse.
And if "too" many cytokines of a specific type are allowed in the body. . . it can cause a "cytokine storm".
So the question for today is this . . . how does this happen??? How does the body accumulate these "proinflammatory" cytokines??? And how do we know if we have them???
Well . . . that's a good question . . . there are 5 main signs of this "silent" killer of "inflammation".
BRAIN FOG - when the brain is inflamed with inflammation . . . it can cause memory and recall failure. So next time you think just because you can't remember something it's age creeping up on you . . . think again . . . it's just too many cytokines causing inflammation and a fog in the brain.
MOOD ISSUES - inflammation in the brain can also cause neurotransmitter "imbalance", which can cause anxiety, depression, anxiousness, sadness, etc.
And if severe enough . . . individuals who have an increase in inflammation during midlife . . . that maintain it into late life . . . have greater abnormalities in the brain, ultimately affecting cognitive function and leading to dementia. And this inflammation plays a major role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer's diseases.
HEART DISEASE - high levels of inflammatory "markers" increase the risk of heart disease. This is inflammation in the blood vessels.
CHOLESTEROL - inflammation triggers an increased production of cholesterol. The body attempts to use this waxy substance called cholesterol to protect the lining of blood vessels and arteries from damage . . . but inflammation causes too much production, often leading to harmful levels of build-up.
Okay . . . so what causes all this inflammation and the body to produce too many "proinflammatory" cytokines???
Well . . . the answer to that is in the food we love so much from this Western diet we consume everyday.
So let's break it down . . .
SALT and HIGH SODIUM CONDIMENTS - like soy sauce and fish sauces. Also smoked, cured, salted or canned meat, fish or poultry including bacon, cold cuts, ham, sardines, caviar and anchovies, frozen breaded meats and dinners, such as burritos and pizza, canned entrees such as ravioli, spam and chili, salted nuts, and beans canned with salt added.
SUGAR and HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP - and table sugar is sucrose
ARTIFICIAL TRANS FATS - hydrogen is added to fat to make trans fats and this raises "bad" cholesterol levels in the body and lower "good" cholesterol
REFINED CARBOHYDRATES - breads, rolls, crackers, French fries, white rice, sugary cereals
DAIRY PRODUCTS - due to the saturated fat
REFINED GRAINS - like the "glutens" in wheat
MEAT - red meat (not grass-fed), bacon, hot dogs, jerkies, pepperoni, salami, sausage, most deli meats
OMEGA-6's - canola oil, corn oil, mayonnaise, safflower oil, sunflower oil and peanut oil
Okay . . . so these are just some of the elements that can cause inflammation and increase a cytokine storm.
Tomorrow we move on and talk about how to reduce this inflammation from the body and my personal favorites.
As always, feel free to contact me here.