No Pain, No Gain? The Best Natural Relief

I decided to watch a bit of the Ironman competition the other night.  They began to feature a man named Lew Hollander.  He looked around 65 years old and they said he was about to complete his 21^st Ironman competition.  That in itself was shocking, but then they went on to say that he was not 65 as I thought, but 80 years old!  My jaw dropped.  Lew Hollander is truly a testimony of what our bodies are capable of doing.

Many people believe that pain, discomfort and lack of physical fitness come with age.  They believe there is nothing you can do about it and you just have to “survive” the best you can.  This is not true!  Our bodies are amazing creations and made to function without pain and discomfort well into our “old age.”

If we experience pain and discomfort, then our body is giving us a message: something is out of balance.  Instead of taking medication to dull the pain, the key is to find the cause of the imbalance and correct it.

Inflammatory Pain

The #1 cause of pain is inflammation.  Whether you are dealing with fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis or just over-all aches and pains, inflammation is the likely culprit.

Many things can cause inflammation in the body:

• Injury or trauma
• Infection
• Autoimmune disorders
• Allergic reactions
• Stress

Inflammationwas not meant to be the “bad guy.” It is actually designed to help heal. It clears damaged and dysfunctional tissue from area and creates an increased blood flow causing swelling.  This swelling allows repair cells and protein-rich plasma to gather around the wound to help heal it.

But when inflammation becomes ongoing, it can start causing more harm than good.  In fact, chronic inflammation is a disease.  This type of inflammation can cause serious conditions, including:

• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• And more

 Anti-Inflammatory Drugs = Terrible Side-Effects

Once inflammation becomes problematic, doctors typically prescribe some sort of anti-inflammatory or steroid.  These drugs may work, but long-term use is harsh on the body.   Steroids actually weaken your immune system and put you at greater risk for infections.  Long-term use of steroids can cause many harmful side-effects, including: