The Greatest Gift This Season-Optimal Health

By Dr. Greg Fors, DC, DIBCN (Board-certified Neurologist)

Sick and tired of being sick and tired? Fed up with chronic muscle pain, stiffness and headaches? Frustrated with sleepless nights and sleepy days? Are you stressed, wired and tired with anxiety and depression? New research finds that chronic fatigue, pain, insomnia and mood disorders have a common origin, which you must address if real healing is to happen.    The common thread that weaves these symptoms together is metabolic dysfunction known as chronic systemic inflammation.

This process that we call inflammation is actually the body's healing response involving your immune and nervous system.  Inflammation that is chronically triggered through repetitive physical or chemical injury causes white blood cells of your immune system to produce ‘chemical messengers’ called inflammatory cytokines that invade tissues.  These messengers start the healing process, but they also cause pain to let you know something is wrong. Furthermore, they “clean-up” the tissue by attacking and disposing of cells in the affected area. The more chronic this becomes the more cells it destroys which leads to a loss of tissue vitality and damage.  Your muscles will let you know this by becoming chronically painful, weak and fatigued.

Here are some other interesting correlations:
*If this chronic inflammation and loss of vitality takes place within your digestive tract you then can develop commonly diagnosed digestive disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome. *Research has also found that chronic inflammation triggered within the thyroid gland can disrupt its function, leading to the evermore prevalent hypo and hyper thyroid symptoms seen today.
*Chronic inflammation taking place within specific areas of the brain can lead to depression, anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain disorders and eventually Alzheimer's.

WHY?
*Since World War II we have placed more than 4 million synthetic compounds and over 89,000 industrial chemicals into our environment. They are found everywhere and one of the most common triggers of chronic inflammation by creating free radicals in your cells. It is no wonder then that we have seen a popularity of antioxidants. These antioxidant nutrients help to stop free radicals and the damage they can cause to your cells.
*Another common trigger for chronic systemic inflammation comes from your gastrointestinal tract, which contains about 70% of your immune system. Research is now showing that an imbalance in gut bacteria, called Dysbiosis, can activate your immune system creating a low-grade systemic inflammatory response.
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Taking drugs to block inflammation do not treat the underlying cause, and these drugs can worsen your condition over time, especially when the underlying cause is not found and removed. Because inflammation is actually your body's healing response taking anti-inflammatory drugs on an ongoing basis can inhibit your body's healing and regenerative abilities.

Be totally aware of this, when inflammation and the associated pain do become chronic it is your body's way of setting off an alarm to let you know something is wrong in your tissues. Therefore, continual use of anti-inflammatory drugs is like turning off the fire alarm in your house without investigating the cause of its ringing. This is one reason nearly 18,000 individuals each year bleed to death from overuse of prescription anti-inflammatory drugs.
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Take Hope!  If you truly want to heal and feel better you have to think outside the “standards of care” box your insurance company dictates, and which follows the present disease care model of giving your symptoms a name so it can be matched to the newest drug on the market.

Thinking outside this box means utilizing what today are under-utilized scientific breakthroughs in laboratory testing. Metabolic urinary organic acid profile, oxidative stress panel, plasma amino acids, essential fatty acid profile comprehensive digestive stool analysis, along with comprehensive metabolic and thyroid blood profile are just some of the tests designed to determine the underlying cause of chronic systemic inflammation. They can and are used to more accurately determine the causes of a wide variety of disorders such as hypothyroidism, chronic pain and fatigue, fibromyalgia, depression, autism and ADHD. Utilizing a 3R program of Remove/Restore and Repair, factors causing your chronic inflammation are identified, removed, and then nutrients based on your metabolic needs are restored to levels that help repair and revitalize your cells.
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If you are truly serious about healing and giving your self the greatest gift possible this Holiday Season, then you are invited to a special Holiday Event at my clinic on December 20. Festivities start at 6:30 PM.  At 7:00 PM a FREE seminar Fatigue, Pain, Anxiety, and Insomnia -How Do I Heal? It is limited to 15 motivated individuals so call 763-862-7100 to reserve a space. Leave your name, telephone number and email, a return email will be sent to you confirming your reservation and providing directions.

Dr. Greg Fors, D.C. is a Board-certified Neurologist (IBCN), certified in Applied Herbal Sciences (NWHSU) and acupuncture. Trained through the Autism Research Institute he is a registered Defeat Autism Now! Doctor. As the clinic director of the Pain and Brain Healing Center in Blaine Minnesota he specializes in a natural biomedical approach to fibromyalgia, fatigue, depression, autism and ADHD. If you have any questions or comments regarding this article you can contact Dr. Fors at 763-862-7100. Dr. Fors is the author of the highly acclaimed book, “Why We Hurt” available through booksellers everywhere.