Frankincense: One of Several Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients
Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. Three gifts talked about throughout the holidays often are overlooked the rest of the year…except gold. We do hear a lot about gold! Well, frankincense is among various nutrients and phytonutrients receiving more attention for its anti-inflammatory traits. Patients at Satterwhite Chiropractic hear us talk about inflammation and its role in Oxford back pain and neck pain very often, 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 immune system function and on the reduction of inflammation concluded 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 interventions. The goal of said supplementation is to reduce inflammation which is controlled by the immune system and which is a contributor to chronic disease in addition to acute illness. The review got into specifics like how supplements affected inflammatory and immune factors - whose names you may not know very well yet impact 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 lots of attention today as the need to avert chronic illness and reduce the severity of acute illnesses of all types that people globally are dealing with. (1) Satterwhite Chiropractic is eager to see these developments in the more natural approaches to health come about!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FRANKINCENSE
You will note that frankincense was one of the nutrients listed above. A recent study highlighted the benefits of its supplementation. Frankincense is an oil extract extracted from the Boswellia tree. It has been used 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 boosted anti-inflammatory action of frankincense from Boswellic acid. (2) For Satterwhite Chiropractic, frankincense needs to be gifted year-round and not just at the holidays! Nutritional findings like this are just so interesting, particularly when we acknowledge that inflammation has a role in spine-related pain that we treat every day. Let’s talk about our anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement at your next Oxford chiropractic visit.
CONTACT Satterwhite 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 describes the interaction of the immune system and inflammation as well as how spinal manipulation can beneficially impact the immune system.
Schedule your Oxford 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 play in managing inflammation!
