Frankincense: One of Several Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients
Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. Three gifts talked about throughout the holidays often are neglected the rest of the year…except gold. We do hear a lot about gold! Well, frankincense is one of several nutrients and phytonutrients receiving more attention for its anti-inflammatory traits. Patients at Connected Chiropractic are quite aware that we converse about inflammation and its role in Elgin back pain and neck pain very often, so anti-inflammatory supplements with anti-inflammatory nutrients are well received!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY NUTRIENTS
A new narrative review of medical literature about the effects of certain nutrients and phytonutrients on the function of the immune system and on the reduction of inflammation stated that patients with all sorts of health issues, minor to severe, may well benefit from daily supplementation of acetyl-L-carnitine, Vitamin C, Aloe vera polysaccharides, Vitamin B12, beta-glucans, bilberry, black seed oil, coenzyme Q10, curcumin (turmeric), garlic, resveratrol, ginger, hydrolyzed rice bran, lipoic acid, mistletoe, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin E (d-alpha- and gamma-tocopherol), selenium, shiitake mushroom and its derivatives, isoflavones, Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), zinc, and frankincense. Such supplementation may be in addition to conventional medications and medical therapies. The goal of this supplementation is to decrease inflammation which is regulated by the immune system and which is a contributing factor to chronic disease as well as acute illness. The review got into specifics like how supplements affected inflammatory and immune factors - whose names you may not know very well but have a role in your health - like interferon-g, nuclear factor-Kappa B, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-a, and CD4+ T cells, among others. Studies like these are getting much attention today as the demand to avert chronic illness and reduce the severity of acute illnesses of all types that people around the globe are dealing with. (1) Connected Chiropractic is excited to see these developments in the more natural approaches to health come about!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FRANKINCENSE
You’ll notice that frankincense was one of the nutrients talked about above. A recent study highlighted the benefits of its supplementation. Frankincense is an oil extract extracted from the Boswellia tree. It has been utilized in anti-inflammatory folk remedies for many years. Using bowellic acids like the 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-βBA (AKBA) are unique anti-inflammatory factors of frankincense. In combination with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosahexaenoic acid (EPA), it stimulated lipid mediator change of innate immune cells from pro-inflammatory to enhanced anti-inflammatory action of frankincense from Boswellic acid. (2) For Connected Chiropractic, frankincense needs to be gifted throughout the year and not just at the holidays! Nutritional findings like this are just so interesting, particularly when we acknowledge that inflammation plays a role in spine-related pain that we treat every day. Let’s talk about our anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement at your next Elgin chiropractic appointment.
CONTACT Connected Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox, developer of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management, on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the communication between the immune system and inflammation as well as how spinal manipulation can positively affect the immune system.
Schedule your Elgin chiropractic appointment now to visit us! Though we’re not sure when myrrh will get its due, we’ll be happy to see that frankincense is getting its due for the role it may have in reducing inflammation!
