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Minneapolis Chiropractic Clinic Preventative Health Program

(A Minneapolis chiropractic clinic – Mittag Holistic Chiropractic – establishes a new preventative health program for it’s clients.)

Many of our patients want to know what they can do to improve their health and/or prevent the risk of future illness.  The single most important thing that you can do for your health is to make sure that you are not suffering from “silent inflammation”.

This page explains what silent inflammation is and how to know if it is a risk factor for your health and longevity.

“Silent Inflammation” Bio-Marker

Bio-markers are things that can be measured that show how healthy (or unhealthy) you are.  If your bio-markers are off, your risk for ill health and disease is increased.  What are some examples of bio-markers?

  • Cholesterol (total)
  • Bad cholesterol
  • Good cholesterol
  • Triglycerides
  • Blood pressure
  • Weight (over weight, under weight)

Conventional medicine has placed tremendous emphasis on high cholesterol as a critical bio-marker of risk for cardiovascular disease.  The wisdom of lowering cholesterol has been challenged by both medical doctors and alternative health care providers.  In fact, lowered cholesterol and cholesterol lowering drugs are revealed to be harmful to your health.

There is a bio-marker that is more important than cholesterol, blood pressure and weight for predicting your health and longevity.  This bio-marker measures “silent inflammation” in your body.  What is silent inflammation?  Listen to what Dr. Barry Sears, biochemist and author of numerous health books has to say about silent inflammation.

 

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Do You Have Silent Inflammation?

Here again is the list of questions to ask yourself to see if you have silent inflammation (list is expanded beyond the five questions mentioned in the video):

  • Are you overweight?
  • Do you crave carbohydrates?
  • Are you constantly hungry?
  • Are you tired, especially after exercise?
  • Are your fingernails brittle?
  • Is your hair limp with little texture?
  • Are you constipated?
  • Do you sleep excessively?
  • Are you groggy upon waking?
  • Do you have a lack of mental concentration?
  • Do you lack a sense of well-being?
  • Do you have headaches?
  • Are you constantly fatigued?
  • Do you have dry skin?

If you answered yes to three or more of these questions it is very likely that you are suffering from silent inflammation without knowing it.

What Causes Silent Inflammation

The major causes of silent inflammation in your body is an imbalanced diet.  What type of imbalances in the diet?  Primarily an excess of refined carbohydrates which elevate insulin levels and excess consumption of omega-6 fats combined with a dietary deficiency of omega-3 fats.  In addition, lack of exercise and excessive stress also cause silent inflammation.

Testing for Silent Inflammation

The foregoing factors that cause silent inflammation do so by unbalancing of cellular hormones called eicosanoids.   Your body uses different eicosanoids to promote inflammation and control inflammation.  The ratio of these different eicosanoids in your tissues reflects whether or not your body is in a state of silent inflammation or not.

Eicosanoids in our tissues cannot be measured directly.  They have a very short life (seconds).

An accurate way to determine the ratio of pro-inflammatory versus anti-inflammatory eicosanoids in your body (and whether or not you are experiencing silent inflammation) is to measure their precursors.  Eicosanoids are made from omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids.  Omega-6 fats are the building block for pro-inflammatory eicosanoids and omega-3 fats are the building block for anti-inflammatory eicosanoids.

An established method for determining the amount of silent inflammation in one’s tissues is to measure the concentration of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fat in cell membranes of red blood cells.  This test is called the Omega Index.

The Omega Index

 


Omega Index

Cardiologist on the Omega Index as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease:

The higher your Omega 3 Index the less likely you’ll suffer from a cardiovascular event. The research is conclusive according to cardiologist Dr Clemens Von Schacky.

 

How To Get Tested

Getting tested for silent inflammation via a blood test which will show your Omega Index is available through Mittag Holistic Chiropractic (Minneapolis | St. Louis Park).  Call (952) 345-8245 to schedule an appointment or leave a message for Dr. Mittag if you have questions.

The Remedy For Silent Inflammation

There are several remedies for silent inflammation that should be done together.  The two most important are diet and supplementation with pharmaceutical grade fish oil that is rich in omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.

Dr. Barry Sears, a lipid biochemist (biochemist specialized in fats) has written numerous books on “The Zone Diet”.  The Zone Diet is a way to keep two critical metabolic hormones (insulin and glucagon) in a healthy zone.  This zone helps to reduce hunger so that it is easier to lower your caloric intake and lose weight.  It also promotes fat loss by decreasing the amount of circulating insulin and reducing insulin resistance.  Finally, it reduces silent inflammation, also by reducing insulin resistance and by getting rid of inflammation producing abdominal fat stores.

The Diet That Eliminates Silent Inflammation

Insulin and glucagon are two “metabolic” hormones that respond to what we eat.  Anything that raises blood sugar levels (sweets and starches) stimulates a rise in insulin which in turn tells your body to store the calories as fat.  Glucagon is secreted by the pancreas when blood sugar drops (several hours after your last meal).  It raises blood sugar levels by stimulating the break down of stored sugar (glycogen).  When there is no more stored sugar left, glucagon stimulates the digestion and conversion of protein into sugar.

All of the above can sound very complex and involved.

Fortunately, eating in the zone is fairly simple.  To stay in the zone you balance the amount of protein, carbohydrate and fat every time you eat.  With regard to the carbohydrate, you can eat sugars and starches if you choose, but in very limited quantities (if you are going to stay in the zone).  It’s much easier to eat low glycemic vegetables and fruits–carbohydrates that don’t raise your blood sugar as much.  It’s healthier too since vegetables and fruits have many more additional nutrients than sweets and starches do.

Link to video of Barry Sears explaining how to eat in the zone.