Frankincense: One of Several Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients
Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. Three gifts mentioned around the holidays often are neglected the rest of the year…except gold. We do hear a lot about gold! Well, frankincense is among various nutrients and phytonutrients getting more attention for its anti-inflammatory factors. Patients at Chiropractic Solutions are quite aware that we talk about inflammation and its part in San Jose back pain and neck pain a lot, so anti-inflammatory supplements with anti-inflammatory nutrients are well received!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY NUTRIENTS
A recent narrative review of medical literature regarding the effects of certain nutrients and phytonutrients on the function of the immune system and on inflammation reduction concluded that patients with all sorts of health issues, minor to severe, may well get some advantage 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 added to conventional medications and medical interventions. The goal of this supplementation is to reduce inflammation which is regulated by the immune system and which is a contributor to chronic disease in addition to acute illness. The review covered many 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 garnering much attention today as the need to prevent chronic illness and reduce the severity of acute illnesses of all types that people globally are dealing with. (1) Chiropractic Solutions is eager to see these developments in the more natural approaches to health evolve!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FRANKINCENSE
You’ll notice that frankincense was one of the nutrients listed above. A new study highlighted the benefits of its supplementation. Frankincense is an oil extract taken from the Boswellia tree. It has been used in anti-inflammatory folk remedies for a long time. 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 promoted lipid mediator change of innate immune cells from pro-inflammatory to enhanced anti-inflammatory action of frankincense from Boswellic acid. (2) For Chiropractic Solutions, frankincense needs to be gifted year-round and not just during the holidays! Nutritional findings like this are just so interesting, especially when we realize 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 San Jose chiropractic appointment.
CONTACT Chiropractic Solutions
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 describes the communication between the immune system and inflammation as well as how spinal manipulation can positively affect the immune system.
Make your San Jose chiropractic appointment today 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 play in managing inflammation!
