INFLAMATION

When the body is on fire, sometimes we don’t even realize it, inflammation is a complicated physiological response. Essentially, it is about healing, however, there is some nuance to what it’s healing.  The most common use of inflammation is about repairing from day to day wear and tear, exercise, cuts and bruises and infections. Inflammation can also be about an underlying issues that the body is not resolving causing a long standing inflammatory response that can last for moths and even years. Exposure to chemicals, poor dietary choices, and stress can cause such responses that when left unchecked can result in autoimmune, bone density, or neurological issues. The production of two different kinds of macrophages determine what kind of inflammatory response is happening.  Macrophages are immune cells that live in tissue that destroy germs, damaged and cancer cells. They also promote tissue repair and help organs maintain function.  What I find most intriguing about inflammation is that it is about healing. Yet we are so fixated on how to mitigate inflammation, to a point that may be to our own detriment.  Trying to always stay alkalized, maybe by drinking alkalizing water, which is hard on the stomach qi, and has no real benefit of reducing inflammation in body.  Taking turmeric, ginger, Vitamin D, are well and good. However, if we are not managing our diets and life style, it is all for not.   We must make distinctions on where and how inflammation resides in the body.  

From the lens of Chinese medicine, we must focus on our filtration systems; the lungs, kidneys, and liver.  These three not only filter the air, blood and fluids, they also move and regulate the qi of the body, and provide the deepest qualities of qi that promote self healing.  The lungs job is to keep our bodies animated, without air, our lives end in seconds. It is the lungs primary function to keep our qi and blood moving through out the body.  The liver, the hardest working organ, with over 500 vital functions, such as; bile production, blood filtration, sugar and nutrient regulation, and immunity are just a few of it’s jobs. It’s primary job in Chinese medicine is the regulation of qi, making sure all things are moving appropriately; the peristalsis of the intestines and esophagus, nerve enervation, and jointly with the lungs, heart rates.   The kidneys are not just about  filter fluids, regulate blood pressure, help make blood, and keep the ph balance of the body.  The kidneys are an enormous player in Chinese medicine in maintaining homeostasis as well as body temperature (yes, it is about inflammation, we will get to that in a minute).  They provide a quality of qi called Yuan qi, which is very much like stem cells.  It provides the healing that organs need to keep maintaining their functions.      Your body has finite amount of Yuan qi, which makes living a balanced life style of good rest, proper nutrition and keeping your inner rockstar in check from too much sex drugs and rock n roll.  Now here is where your heads starts to turn like an confused puppy.  There is a another mechanism in the body called the San Jiao (meaning three energetic centers) that, in conjunction with the kidneys, help maintain the “thermostat”, heat and moisture, of the body. Which is tricky because the lungs need a different environment than the large intestines to function properly.  WHAAAATTT??!! Yes! This is a huge player in mitigating inflammation in the body.  If things get to hot anywhere, say the lungs, how are we able to breathe, or if there is too much fluid, we can literally drown in our bodies.  (Sound familiar? Cough, COVID, cough)…. Or smoking, where the constant exposure to chemicals from tar and smoke create a hostile environment for us to breathe.  The Science of Chinese Medicine has such symptoms mapped out to understanding if one organ, say the liver, is inflamed, how these not normal, patterns of disharmony show up as a liver issue. Itchy, red eyes, headaches, digestion and elimination issues, and eczema are just a few. 

 With the unique tools of Chinese Medicine to guide appropriate diet and lifestyle changes, and regular acupuncture treatment, inflammation can be corrected.  It requires a skilled practitioner to devise a nuanced treatment plan to ensure success.  In my 20yrs of practice, I have seen great results with patients who embrace the changes necessary to resolve their issues. As with all things, staying diligent with changes in life and diet, regular treatments will  Stay cool and qi-full!