If you are suffering with pain or disease of any kind, your body is brewing your personal cauldron of inflammation. Research has shown that every major disease or condition has an inflammation component. From heart disease to Alzheimer's, from muscle pain to diabetes, inflammation plays a major role in the origin and perpetuation of almost any condition you can think of.

What is Inflammation?

Inflammation is your body's way of letting you know, "Houston, we have a problem." If there is an injury or disorder, inflammation goes to work to head off further damage or disease. Just like you might temporarily board up a broken window, to keep a storm from doing further damage, inflammation keeps a sprained ankle from further injury with swelling and pain so you keep off it and avoid more serious consequences.

Your immune system usually keeps the inflammation process in check. But sometimes the body doesn't work the way it's supposed to and inflammation runs rampant. What should have been a self- limiting condition, drags on creating pain, disease and sometimes, premature death.

What You Can Do

Diet is probably the largest contributor to inflammation. Junk food, foods high in refined carbohydrates like bread, pasta, and sweets disrupt blood sugar regulation, which results in inflammation. Trans fats and an overabundance of Omega 6 fatty acids found in most vegetable oils also stoke the inflammation furnace. Eat completely unprocessed foods and complex carbohydrates including beans and non-starchy vegetables. Supplement with Omega 3 fatty acids like fish oil, which is highly anti-inflammatory. Although labels can be misleading, look for trans fat free foods. After age 27, your stores of systemic enzymes start to dwindle. When you eat cooked foods, your body uses its stores of enzymes for digestion. Systemic enzymes destroy the circulating immune complexes (CIC's) that fuel inflammation. CIC's can lead to scar tissue build up, accumulation of plaque in arteries, fibromyalgia, and a host of other conditions. To counteract dangerous enzyme depletion, eat more raw foods and supplement with systemic enzymes. Sleep more. Lack of sleep causes inflammation. Think about how you feel after a sleepless night. Brain fog, fatigue... you can feel the inflammation. Lack of sleep also depresses your immune system, which encourages the inflammatory response. Manage your stress. Stress creates stress hormones which cause... you guessed it, inflammation. For example, the adrenals secrete excess cortisol when you are under stress. In proper amounts, cortisol is an anti-inflammatory. Too much cortisol suppresses the immune system and leads to more inflammation. It's unrealistic to think we can eliminate all stress from our lives. But you can address stressful conditions to make them more manageable. And you can also take steps to reduce ongoing stress build up. Get a massage. Massage reduces stress hormones and can change your perspective on life. Regular meditation brings calmness. Avoid neuro-stimulants like caffeine and sugar that will stress you even more. Allergies create inflammation. Allergies are an immune system response and can cause inflammatory reactions including anaphylaxes, (swelling, hives, inability to breathe) sinusitis, bronchitis, arthritis, congestion and many other symptoms. Get reliable allergy testing and either stay away from offending foods or employ a rotation diet. The most obvious cause of inflammation is an injury. You can see the redness, swelling, and feel the pain. Rest, ice, compression and elevation are the usual recommendations. If you want to significantly speed up the healing process and decrease your time out of commission, use systemic enzymes. They reduce swelling, pain, and help the immune system to keep inflammation under control.

If you follow these suggestions, you will have a head start on reducing pain and future disease.

You can find more information about inflammation and substantial discounts on the supplements that quiet it. Sign up for a free special report - "Seven Foods That Cause Inflammation."

Janice Schwartz has been a Licensed Massage Therapist for 20 years. Janice experienced the benefits of systemic enzymes and lifestyle modification after a diagnosis of fibromyalgia while she was attending Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy in 1987. Now her clients reap the benefit of that experience. Not only does she have more empathy for their pain, the addition of enzymes to their treatment allows them to be healthier and pain free faster. Visit http://healthtouch-massage.com/ for information about Janice's practice in Fairfield, Connecticut.