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 receiving more attention for its anti-inflammatory features. Patients at Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC are quite aware that we converse about inflammation and its role in La Grande back pain and neck pain a lot, so anti-inflammatory supplements with anti-inflammatory nutrients are welcome!
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 determined that patients with all types 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 in addition to conventional medications and medical therapies. The goal of said supplementation is to reduce inflammation which is controlled by the immune system and which is a contributor 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 hear much about but have a role in your health - like interferon-g, nuclear factor-Kappa B, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-a, and CD4+ T cells, and others. Studies like these are gaining much attention today as the demand to prevent chronic illness and reduce the severity of acute illnesses of all types that people globally are dealing with. (1) Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC is excited to see these developments in the more natural approaches to health evolve!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FRANKINCENSE
You’ll note that frankincense was one of the nutrients talked about above. A new study featured 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. Combined with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosahexaenoic acid (EPA), it promoted lipid mediator change of innate immune cells from pro-inflammatory to boosted anti-inflammatory action of frankincense from Boswellic acid. (2) For Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC, frankincense needs to be gifted year-round and not just during the holidays! Nutritional findings like this are just so interesting, especially when we know 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 La Grande chiropractic appointment.
CONTACT Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
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 positively affect the immune system.
Schedule your La Grande chiropractic appointment today to see 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 decreasing inflammation!
