INFLAMMATION. It’s blamed for everything under the sun- from Arthritis to Zygomycosis. In our nation today there’s a veritable feeding frenzy on inflammation- as if it were in fact the root of all evil.
But before we collectively and quickly jump on this very busy bandwagon like there was no tomorrow, perhaps it would be wise to take a step back today, and look at this subject more carefully.
I don’t want to get too technical here, and I don’t want to sound too sophisticated for the general public to understand what I am trying to convey. But regarding the subject of inflammation as the cause of disease, I must say, “Oh yeah? Says who?!”.
Seriously, though. Where did this almost universally accepted theory come from? Where is the science behind inflammation as a cause? I submit that there is virtually none. Just a widely espoused theory that has ensnared the public and professional alike, and has been swallowed- hook, line and sinker. In truth, however, is inflammation a cause or is it an effect? When dealing with the complexity of the human body- which in comparison makes the worlds greatest super-computer look like an abacus complete with wooden beads- it can be very difficult to differentiate between cause and effect. One thing we know for sure- modern medicine is not so much concerned with the cause, as in treating the symptoms with drugs and/or surgery.
Nevertheless, modern medicine seems to have an insatiable appetite for this burgeoning blame game on inflammation. Even a great many in the alternative health field seem eager to reach over the fence to grasp hands with the allopathic community and walk down this inflammatory path together. And why not? It’s easy to march in with a solution to such a common and universally accepted enemy- and make a lot of money in so doing. No argument from anyone here. Inflammation is our health terrorist, right? However, when it comes to life, death, and the quality of people’s lives relating to human health and disease, we most assuredly better know the truth. Treating an effect as a cause in the human body will not only fail to resolve the problem, but may have disastrous or deadly results.
Do a web search on inflammation and disease, and you will find millions of hits attributing disease to inflammation. One article is entitled, “Inflammation: The Root Cause of All Disease?”. Obviously, the implication is that the scientific world actually considers that inflammation may very well be the CAUSE of ALL DISEASE. Well if that were true it would sure simplify things, now wouldn’t it. But even if it were true, what caused the inflammation to begin with??? And so we come back to our old tried and true friend- Cause and Effect.
In the above-referenced article, we read, “In a medical version of the “unified field” theory in physics, many scientists now believe that most—or perhaps all— chronic diseases may have the same trigger: inflammation.” The theory goes on to link inflammation to everything from heart attacks and strokes to type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and even cancer. But is this true? While admittedly a theory, it is nevertheless generally accepted today as a fact.
Anyone who follows trends in modern health science knows that much of what is generally accepted as true today, will be considered false in about a decade. So what are we to think? Is all of it true, or is it just hype for the latest fad? Is it a huge “inflammatory lie”? Is inflammation the fall guy? A scape goat for the true cause? If so, why? Well, one thing is for sure- I think we need to think. At the very least, we should be pondering and studying to prove or disprove the veracity of these claims, without blindly accepting them as truth simply because it is popular, or politically or medicinally correct. Why? Because if it is false, then we are following a pied piper down a path to destruction while the real cause of disease is ignored- to our own physiological peril.
First, let’s consider inflammation and its role in the body. Let’s imagine that you are a world-class olympic ice skater at the peak of your game, and a favorite to win the Gold in the upcoming Olympics. Meanwhile, one of your underdog competitors believes the only way to beat you is… well… to BEAT YOU! They pay somebody to meet you in a dark parking garage and break your knees with a baseball bat. Whack! You are down for the count. What happens to your knee? Immediately, it begins to become inflamed. Why? Well, think of a police chase resulting in a bad car crash at an intersection. A large traffic jam ensues immediately because regular traffic flow is impeded, and because of an influx of police and emergency vehicles to assess the situation, administer help to the injured, remove debris, and return the road to proper and safe working order.
So it is with your knee. Injured tissue, veins, capillaries, etc., impede the regular flow of blood and lymph. Blood flow increases to the area as lymphocytes are called to the scene of the crime to protect and serve. Nutrients are brought in to rebuild damaged tissue. Debris has to be safely removed and discarded. There is a lot of work to do! And all that work causes an internal traffic jam- AKA inflammation. Once the majority of the work is done, the inflammation naturally subsides.
Now I am going to ask a stupid question, so feel free to give a stupid answer if you feel so inclined. Was inflammation the cause? Or the effect? The question doesn’t warrant a reply.
Now, although this is just one isolated example, I submit that inflammation is ALWAYS an effect and not a cause. With very few exceptions like when a traumatic head injury causes intracranial pressure to the brain, or a tumor or other inflamed tissue presses up against a nerve or organ. But even in these cases, the inflammation that exacerbated the problem is not the cause of the problem. So it is throughout the whole human body. Inflammation is a result of the body’s attempt to repair and preserve itself at every level. Just like the traumatic knee injury, the greater the trauma or threat, the greater the inflammatory immune response. Considering the extremely toxic, nutritionally deprived state of our body’s today, it is no wonder inflammation is rampant.
Let’s consider these thoughts in relation to so-called autoimmune diseases- which have become epidemic in the US. Autoimmune disease is also being blamed on inflammation, and an immune system that is said to attack itself. I have to say this makes as much sense to me as sitting down to a nice Thanksgiving Day dinner with your family, placing a napkin under your chin, saying Grace, and then proceeding to repeatedly and forcefully punch yourself in the face! The insanity of it all reminds me of a scene from one of my favorite movies- “Liar, Liar!”- where Jim Carrie plays a lawyer who is literally “cursed” to tell the truth and not lie for 24 hours. He finds himself defending a dishonest woman, but cannot lie to do so. In desperation he asks for a bathroom break and proceeds to beat the daylights out of himself in the bathroom to get a continuance and avoid having to tell the truth to the judge. When asked by a dumbfounded witness what he was doing, disheveled and bloodied he replies, matter-of-factly, “I’m kicking my [butt]!!!”
In my opinion, it is just as insane to think that your miraculous body can’t tell the difference between an invader and itself, and would proceed to attack itself regularly. Matter of fact, isn’t the premise of vaccines to teach the body to recognize a specific foreign invader? If the medical community claims a body can learn to recognize one pathogen out of millions through vaccination (assuming the vaccine theory is true- but that’s another story), then how in the world can the medical community claim at the same time that your body is too stupid to recognize itself, and beat the crap out of itself? Couldn’t there possibly be another explanation to the autoimmune response? Isn’t it possible that an autoimmune response is an effect, and not a cause?
Let’s consider today’s rampant occurrence of gluten intolerance, or Celiac disease, as one example. It is claimed that gluten intolerance is caused by the ingestion of gluten-containing grains. That it is an inflammatory, allergic reaction to the presence of gluten- a natural protein found in almost all grains since the beginning of time. Now, all of a sudden after thousands of years of eating gluten with no problem, and with no logical explanation, we are told that millions of people can no longer tolerate this natural protein. However, when we consider the emaciated state of the gut in America today, and the devastating effects of Candida Albicans rhizomes drilling holes in the gut and allowing undigested gluten and a host of other undigested matter directly into the bloodstream (Leaky Gut Syndrome), then we have to question what is the cause, and what is the effect of yet another so-called inflammatory condition.
In fact, through my study and investigation, I am absolutely convinced that a leaky gut is the cause of Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance. Or perhaps the fact that genetically modified grains such as Monsanto’s Bt corn, which contains a gene copied from an insect-killing bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, may be a catalyst to the cause because it is designed to burst the guts of invading insects. It’s not a far stretch to consider that this inbred insecticide which is designed to burst the gut of invading insects could damage our intestinal lining as well. Especially when we consider that almost all farmers spray their grain crops with RoundUp 1-2 weeks before harvest for better yield. Killing the crop with RoundUp forces it into survival mode, and the plant ripens any unripened grain in order to perpetuate the species. A little extra money for the farmer, and a lot of extra glycophosphate for us. Whatever the true cause, this is just one of many examples that illustrate how an effect is blamed as the cause- just like our old friend inflammation is becoming the scapegoat for all disease.
Is it not also possible or even probable that inflammatory reactions throughout the body that are attributed to autoimmune disease are actually the immune system doing what it was designed to do– attacking REAL foreign invaders, such as a virus or a fungus among us, and NOT our body attacking itself like some fictional character in a movie? Why are systemic fungal infections largely ignored by modern medicine? Could it be that these tiny and insidious foreign invaders, and the ensuing battle with our immune system, are what is CAUSING the inflammatory responses in our bodies? Why are some doctors today, like Oncologist Dr Tullio Simoncini, claiming that even cancer is caused by a fungus?
In my opinion, to claim that inflammation- a natural effect- is the cause of disease is one of the most absurd ideas to be promulgated by the medical community since the days of bloodletting and administering calomel (mercury) as a curative agent in the 1800’s. But wait- we still use mercury in amalgam fillings and vaccines…. so how far has the medical community really come? In trauma care- admittedly a long way. In treating the underlying cause of chronic disease? Well, we all have to answer that question for ourselves….
We must know the cause.
In the next article we will discuss why. Why the entire scientific community is deflecting the real cause of disease onto the hugely inflated scape goat of inflammation, instead of the real cause of disease. And if inflammation is not the cause of all disease, what is….
