After writing this, I rediscovered a book in my library, The Better Brain Book by David Perlmutter, M.D., a board certified neurologist, and Carol Colman. The book deals with “The Best Tools for Improving Memory and Sharpness and for Preventing Aging of the Brain” It also touches on diabetes and heart disease, inflammation, and the supplements and treatment regimens used at the Perlmutter Health Center for the following neurological conditions: Stroke, Vascular Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). A set of book tests for determining the degree of risk you have the is called the Brain Audit.  Three Tiers or sets of recommendations based on the outcome of the audit. Meal plans and recipes are also included!

An alert today, April 25, 2015, from Medscape reports that Biotin was used to help slow down “Primary and Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.”

As an advocate of Whole Health, Wellness, and Well-Being, adjectives that encompass the same ideas as Holistic Integrative Medicine, I recently ordered The Science of Natural Healing by Dr. Mimi Guarneri, M. D., FACC, founder of the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine from The Great Courses catalog. I’m happy to report that many helpful suggestions are included for a range of illnesses including Diabetes, Migraine Headache, Allergies, Inflammation, Elevated Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure. In addition, she addresses Mental Health, Spirituality, Love and Ecology. I heartily encourage people to make use of this valuable resource.

I spent several weeks with bad bout of inflammation following anti-biotic treatment for a urinary infection and several weeks of “inflammation” causing an irritable bladder, which ultimately turned out to be an inadequately treated infection. Therefore, I am particularly interested in what is being done to promote health with anti-inflammatory agents. Dr Guarneri’s lecture on Inflammation lists Alzheimer’s Disease, Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Cancer among the results of inflammation. Causes of inflammation can be anything that irritates or injures the body. She gives a variety of interventions.

Looking to the future, Scientific American’s March 2015 issue has two articles related to inflammation. “Shock Medicine” by brain surgeon Kevin J. Tracey describes stimulation of the nervous system’s reflex circuits to reduce the effects of inflammation, pain, swelling and tissue damage. The special report “Innovations in the Microbiome” focuses on microbes in the human intestinal tract that help keep us healthy, especially those in pre and probiotics. Factors that inhibit healthy inhabitants of the intestinal tract are overuse of antibiotics and possibly being too clean in our everyday sanitary practices plus high sugar and high fat diets. Treatment for inflammatory bowel disease is already being used. Upcoming treatment for obesity, C difficile infection and even mood disorders seem possible and perhaps even autism.

In the meantime, you can use probiotics, either in pill form or in yogurt with active cultures, to boost your immune system. In addition, eating foods with soluble fiber seems to encourage the growth of heathy microbes in the gut. LiveStrong.com has a list of high fiber foods at http://www.livestrong.com/article/28882-list-foods-high-soluble-fiber/, however, you would want to avoid any that are allergen for you.

Since many of the irritants end up in the liver which has the job of breaking them down for disposal, the April 2015 article in “Better Nutrition” by nutritionist Mellissa Diane Smith on “Spring Cleaning Time” is helpful to protect the liver. She advocates among other things, a glass of warm purified water with lemon every morning to help “cleanse the liver and actively promote detoxification.” She mentions milkthistle as the herb most helpful to the liver. I like it as a tea.

Now if only we can find ways to communicate that reduce inflammatory language and actions! St. Paul admonishes Christians to

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Ephesians 4 : 31-32

and we must remember that forgiveness is available to all, not merely to Christians! As Jesus’ close friend, John wrote:

“God so loved the WORLD (people, animals, all creatures, inhabitants and environments, governments, religions, etc., etc.) that he gave his special son (the Greek word for “only” is not a number, it is used also for Isaac, one of  Abraham’s several sons) that WHOSOEVER (meaning ANYbody regardless of status, wealth, poverty, gender, religion, crime or worthiness) believes and trusts in him (that is Jesus, and particularly what he tried to teach us about having a relationship with G-d, forgiveness and  peace among people) shall not perish (decay and turn to dust) but have a special quality of life that is everlasting.”

my paraphrase of John 3 : 16

Let’s reduce inflammation and be a healthier person and world!