Frankincense: One of Several Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients
Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. Three gifts talked about throughout the holidays often are neglected the rest of the year…except gold. We do hear a lot about gold! Well, frankincense is among several nutrients and phytonutrients garnering more attention for its anti-inflammatory features. Patients at Aurora Chiropractic Center hear us talk about inflammation and its role in Juneau back pain and neck pain very often, so anti-inflammatory supplements with anti-inflammatory nutrients are well received!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY NUTRIENTS
A new narrative review of medical literature about the effects of certain nutrients and phytonutrients on immune system function and on the reduction of inflammation stated 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 added to conventional medications and medical interventions. The goal of this 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 covered many specifics like how supplements impacted inflammatory and immune factors - whose names you may not hear much about yet 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 getting much attention today as the need to prevent chronic illness and reduce the severity of acute illnesses of all sorts that people globally are dealing with. (1) Aurora Chiropractic Center is eager to see these developments in the more natural approaches to health evolve!
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FRANKINCENSE
You will 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 utilized 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 components 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 Aurora Chiropractic Center, 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 Juneau chiropractic visit.
CONTACT Aurora Chiropractic Center
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 illustrates the interaction of the immune system and inflammation as well as how spinal manipulation can positively affect the immune system.
Make your Juneau 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 managing inflammation!
