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 several nutrients and phytonutrients garnering more attention for its anti-inflammatory traits. Patients at Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries are quite aware that we converse about inflammation and its role in Manchester back pain and neck pain very often, 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 immune system function and on inflammation reduction stated that patients with all sorts 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 said supplementation is to reduce inflammation which is controlled by the immune system and which is a contributing factor to chronic disease as well as acute illness. The review got into specifics like how supplements impacted inflammatory and immune factors - whose names you may not hear much about yet impact 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) Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries is excited 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 featured the benefits of its supplementation. Frankincense is an oil extract taken from the Boswellia tree. It’s 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. In combination 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 Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries, frankincense needs to be gifted year-round and not just during 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 Manchester chiropractic visit.
CONTACT Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries
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.
Make your Manchester 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 have in managing inflammation!
