Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. Three gifts mentioned around the holidays often are overlooked the rest
of the year…except gold. We do hear a lot about gold! Well, frankincense is one
of various nutrients and phytonutrients receiving
more attention for its anti-inflammatory traits. Patients
at Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC hear us converse
about inflammation and its part in La Grande
back pain and neck pain very often, so anti-inflammatory
supplements with anti-inflammatory nutrients are welcome!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY NUTRIENTS
A new narrative review of medical literature regarding
the effects of certain nutrients and phytonutrients on immune system
function and on inflammation reduction 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 in addition 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 in addition to acute illness. The review got into specifics like how supplements affected
inflammatory and immune factors - whose names you may not know very well but impact in your health
- like interferon-g, nuclear factor-Kappa B, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis
factor-a, and CD4+ T cells, and others. Studies like these are getting
lots of attention today as the demand to prevent
chronic illness and decrease the severity of acute illnesses of all
types that people around the world are
dealing with. (1) Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC is eager
to see these developments in the more natural approaches to health come
about!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FRANKINCENSE
You’ll note that frankincense
was one of the nutrients listed above. A recent
study featured the benefits of its supplementation. Frankincense is an oil extract taken
from the Boswellia tree. It has 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 promoted
lipid mediator change of innate immune cells from pro-inflammatory to enhanced
anti-inflammatory action of frankincense from Boswellic acid. (2) For Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC,
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 La Grande chiropractic appointment.
CONTACT Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
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 positively affect the
immune system.
Schedule your La Grande chiropractic
appointment now 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 managing
inflammation!