A recent article in the New York Times has this take-away: "Control inflammation during pregnancy, and it won’t interfere with fetal brain development."
As I've written about in several of my last blogs, cellular and systemic inflammation is at the root of many chronic illnesses people suffer from today, including the nation's top two killers, heart disease and cancer.
In this article, they explain how a mother's health during pregnancy has a direct impact on her child's predisposition to developing Autism, allergies, autoimmune disorders, and more. In short, certain circumstances during pregnancy increase the developing child's brain inflammation.
Although there are sometimes controversial arguments revolving around the cause of such illnesses, the natural health community has been centered on this type of research for some time now. It is exactly this type of inflammatory response that may be responsible for SOME children developing a severe reaction to the additives and adjuvants in vaccines (and subsequently developing autism), or why we've seen a DOUBLING of the number of childhood food allergies in the last 30 years. This also helps to explain how brain inflammation in one child leads to autism, while systemic inflammation in another child leads to asthma or some other autoimmune disorder.
Cellular or Systemic Inflammation comes from many sources: Three major ones are SUGAR (including all refined sugar products, soda, and processed white flour products such as bread & pasta which act like sugar in your body), BAD FATS (including trans fats, other man-made fats, and processed vegetable oils like commercial canola, soy and safflower oil that tend to go rancid easily), and TOXINS (including food additives, artificial foods, environmental chemicals & pollution, etc.). Avoiding these things while increasing your intake of fresh, organic vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds, along with minimal amounts of free-range, grass-fed organic meats and healthy fats like coconut oil and olive oil can have a HUGE impact on your inflammation levels. This article points to the importance of mothers' health during pregnancy, but inflammation is something for everyone to be aware of.
The article also mentions probiotics, which are, in my professional opinion, a MUST for every human being living in an industrialized country. Be sure to find a brand that is third-party assayed for quality assurance, and has a broad spectrum of 6-12 different Acidophilus AND Bifidus species, taking around 15-30 billion CFUs (colony-forming units) daily for an average adult. Children can take 1/4-half this much usually, but call the office for specific questions on dosage.
As always, we at Ananda Wellness Center are here to help you look, feel, and live younger every day!
We are happy to answer any questions and always offer free consultations for new clients and patients.
In vibrant health and wellness,
Dr. Gruhl
