Tag Archives: inflammation

Pets on Steroids

Last week, I took my dog Lally to the vet for help with a major allergy attack. She had been itching her face so badly that the hair around her eyes was gone and the skin was raw. Benadryl alone wasn’t doing enough to relieve the itching, so the vet brought out the big guns: steroids. Steroids are very useful for reducing inflammation, and they’ve really helped Lally with her allergy attack. Almost immediately she stopped scratching at her face and ears! She’s got a ten day course of prednisone, and the vet told me to keep up with the … Continue reading →

Inflammation and Your Appetite

Are you suffering from inflammation? Inflammation is a condition where your immune system is kicked into overdrive by stress, lack of exercise, an unhealthy diet, or exposure to toxins. Your body wants to fight something off. Inflammation can lead to weight gain, arthritis, and heart disease. Why? In a healthy, normal weight person, the body produces a hormone called leptin to control appetite and metabolism. When body fat increases, leptin levels rise to tell the brain to decrease appetite and speed up metabolism. In an obese person, the body isn’t getting the message from leptin — it may not be … Continue reading →

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet

If you have asthma, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, or even heart disease, someone may suggest you try an anti-inflammatory diet. What exactly is an anti-inflammatory diet and what is it supposed to do? Some researchers feel that the typical American diet, which is high in fat and processed foods, can actually cause our bodies to create inflammation. The body perceives that the foods we are eating are not what we should be eating. It then reacts as it would to any other invader. One of its best defenses our body has against foreign matter is inflammation. There is a blood … Continue reading →

Understanding Lupus

Lupus got its name from the Latin word “wolf” because some people with lupus will develop a butterfly shaped rash across their nose and cheeks- it was thought that this rash gave them a wolf-like appearance! Lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects connective tissues (such as joints and muscles) in your body. The immune system is supposed to distinguish normal body cells from those of invaders: in auto-immune diseases the body thinks normal cells ARE the invaders. This means that the normal immunity and defense systems have gone into over-drive and the body attacks its own cells causing tissue … Continue reading →

Aromatherapy for Pain Management

Say it with me: pain is good. Not necessarily because you like it, but because it is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Things that don’t hurt physically aren’t always as likely to get your attention, right? I’m guilty of that one too. I know something is not quite right, but until it starts to hurt, I can ignore it. But just because pain is helpful doesn’t mean you have to suffer. Aromatherapy can help manage pain in several different ways. Picking the right essential oils for your muscle rub, massage oil, or lotion can help … Continue reading →