Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. Three gifts talked
about throughout the holidays often are neglected the rest
of the year…except gold. We do hear a lot about gold! Well, frankincense is among several nutrients and phytonutrients garnering
more attention for its anti-inflammatory features. Patients
at Apple Country Chiropractic are quite aware that we converse
about inflammation and its role in Williamson
back pain and neck pain very often, so anti-inflammatory
supplements with anti-inflammatory nutrients are well received!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY NUTRIENTS
A new 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 concluded 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 interventions. The goal of such
supplementation is to decrease inflammation which is controlled
by the immune system and which is a contributor to
chronic disease as well as acute illness. The review got into specifics like how supplements affected
inflammatory and immune factors - whose names you may not hear
much about yet 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 gaining
lots of attention today as the need to prevent
chronic illness and reduce the severity of acute illnesses of all
types that people globally are
dealing with. (1) Apple Country Chiropractic is excited
to see these developments in the more natural approaches to health come
about!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FRANKINCENSE
You’ll notice that frankincense
was one of the nutrients talked about above. A new
study highlighted the benefits of its supplementation. Frankincense is an oil extract taken
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 factors of frankincense. Combined
with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosahexaenoic acid (EPA), it stimulated
lipid mediator change of innate immune cells from pro-inflammatory to boosted
anti-inflammatory action of frankincense from Boswellic acid. (2) For Apple Country Chiropractic,
frankincense needs to be gifted throughout the year and not just
at the holidays! Nutritional findings like this are just so
interesting, especially when we know
that inflammation plays a role in spine-related pain that we treat
every day. Let’s talk about our anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement at
your next Williamson chiropractic appointment.
CONTACT Apple Country Chiropractic
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 communication
between the immune system and inflammation as well as how
spinal manipulation can benefit the
immune system.
Schedule your Williamson 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 play in decreasing
inflammation!