Picture this scenario: you are walking along in a hurry and you don’t see that the pavement has a dip in it……suddenly you are saving yourself from falling, and there is a searing pain in your ankle!
You have twisted it and already it is beginning to swell up. All very nasty and the first thing you probably do is to go home and take some ibuprofen, because you are advised and believe that it is an anti inflammatory, and will take the swelling down.
Well, infact, that is not the best thing to do because swelling and inflammation are the start of the body’s healing mechanism. It is the way the body begins to protect the damaged tissues. Healing substances called prostoglandins are sent to your ankle to help with the repair process. The inflammation, swelling and redness are part of the process, and only temporary symptoms until another set of prostoglandins come in to reduce the inflammation and pain. Once the prostaglandins have reduced the inflammation and pain, fibrin or scar tissue as we know it, is released to protectively cover the injured ankle whilst it continues to heal. After a few days the body sends signals to stop the production of prostaglandins and fibrin and any remaining scar tissue is dissolved naturally. If the swelling and pain don’t go away, you may consult a podiatrist for other treatment options.
If you take ibuprofen it reduces the pain temporarily but causes more damage in the long run. It disrupts the healing mechanism and the body’s ability to regulate the production of beneficial enzymes. It inhibits the release of prostaglandins and fibrin allowing more rogue scar tissue to accumulate in the body and cause more joint and muscle damage and more pain.
By taking anti-inflammtories you can also be at risk for abdominal bleeding, constipation, liver failure, respiratory failure, and a stroke.
So what can you do to help the healing process more naturally and protect your body from the damage of pain and inflammation? Well you can take these nutrients:
• Proteolytic enzymes – these nutrients control the production of prostaglandins, dissolve harmful fibrin, flush toxins from the blood, improve circulation, reduce pain and protect your immune system. A great proteolytic enzyme, originally isolated from the silk worm is Serrapeptase. The silkworms produce it to break down their hard cacoon walls. In research serrapeptase has been found to reduce inflammation and help with the healing process after injury.
• Anti-inflammatories for joint protection and pain relief – Curcumin, the active ingredient of Tumeric, in a special bioavailable form, has been found by researchers in Japan to have ‘outstanding’ anti inflammatory properties. Vitmain D3 has also been subject to numerous studies in recent years and found to help reduce inflammation.
• Anti-oxidants to build the immune system – Ecklonis Cava also know as ‘Seanol’ has been shown scientifically to support the immune system by activating Lymphocytes, the immune cells that detect and destroy invading pathogens. Seanol is an edible seaweed and has been the focus of numerous studies in recent years, which have revealed many health benefits.
Serranol an excellent supplement contains all these powerful nutrients – proteolytic enzymes, curcumin, Vit D3 and Ecklonis Cava – to help the healing process in any injury, and fight the pain at the source instead of covering up the underlying inflammation which is what the conventional anti-inflammatory drugs do.
So next time you injure yourself or have a lot of inflammation try something more natural that works with the body, instead of suppressing the healing process.