Inflammation is your body's natural response to injury or infection. It is the process by which your immune system recognizes harmful stimuli like pathogens or damaged cells and activates to protect and heal the body.
When inflammation occurs, there are four key things that happen:
- Increased blood flow. More blood rushes to the site of injury or infection, delivering white blood cells that "eat" pathogens and initiate healing. This increased blood flow causes redness and warmth in the inflamed area.
- Leaky blood vessels. Small blood vessels in the inflamed area become more permeable allowing fluids, proteins and white blood cells to flood to the site of injury. This leakage causes swelling.
- Immune cell activation. Macrophages and other immune cells are activated and migrate to the inflamed site to destroy pathogens and clear out dead cells. Activated macrophages release substances like cytokines and prostaglandins that aid immune response.
- Tissue repair. Growth factors and collagens are produced to help rebuild damaged tissue. New blood vessels may also form to restore healthy blood flow.
Inflammation is your friend and a natural healing response when acute. But when inflammation becomes chronic and persists, it can lead to:
- Joint pain and damage in arthritis
- Heart disease from inflamed blood vessels
- Constant stuffiness and coughing in allergic rhinitis
- Red, flaky skin in conditions like psoriasis
- Persistent gut discomfort in IBS or colitis
If you struggle with ongoing inflammation and related health issues, the integrative medicine providers at Rejuvenate Hormone Clinic can help. Through advanced testing, we get to the root causes of your inflammation - whether food sensitivities, hormonal imbalances, undiagnosed autoimmunity, gut infections or environmental toxins.
We craft fully personalized treatment plans that combine both conventional and complementary approaches like nutrition plans, microbiome repair, stress relief techniques and more. Our goal is to find the Right Plan for your unique needs so you can feel your healthiest with minimal inflammation.
Visit www.Rejuvenate Hormone Clinic.com today to learn more and schedule your inflammation-focused functional medicine evaluation. With our integrated, root-cause approach, many of our patients find lasting relief from nagging inflammatory issues. We're driven by our mission to help you regain health, restore vitality and optimize wellbeing!