There are many side effects to the regular use of over-the-counter pain medications including indigestion, stomach ulcers, stomach bleeding, liver and kidney damage, and even stroke. While there can be a time and place for these medications, they should not be your go-to all of the time. There are many options for your natural medicine cabinet that can help you avoid pharmaceutical medications and still support pain relief and reduce inflammation. Here are a few of my favorites:
CBD
CBD is an amazing adaptogen that helps the body to deal with stress and brings it back to homeostasis, back to center. I love it as a natural pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, and mood support. It is derived from the hemp plant containing phytocannabinoids. Phytocannabinoids are health-promoting compounds that directly interact with the cannabinoid receptors in the body. The cannabinoid receptors are part of a unique communication system in the body, known as the endocannabinoid system.
The endocannabinoid system is present throughout the entire central nervous system and distributed among peripheral tissues including the immune and reproductive systems, gastrointestinal tract, brain cells, endocrine glands, arteries, lungs, and heart.
Since CBD helps the central nervous system respond appropriately to stimuli, it has health-promoting benefits in supporting the body’s pain response, balancing the immune system, relaxing muscles, supporting healthy and stabilized mood, memory, and cognitive function, supporting the movement of food through the digestive system and healthy appetite, supporting proper brain stimulation and cellular growth and activity, and even helping with weight management.
SPM Supreme
SPM Supreme is a combination of three highly potent “specialized pro-resolving mediators” designed to help support the body’s natural ability to respond to physical challenges and “resolve” the initial steps in the body’s natural inflammatory processes. The “resolution” of a healthy inflammatory response is an active process controlled by these unique metabolites.
Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) are derived from naturally-occurring omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids found in foods such as fatty fish, nuts, and seeds. They do not block the initial phase in the inflammatory pathway, which is a vital response to initial trauma or injury, but rather aid in the process of “resolving” it. In essence, SPMs signal the immune system, encouraging it to return to a state of balance or homeostasis.
I like SPM Supreme for more acute pain which can be titrated down or used on an as-needed basis as well. SPMs support proper pain management, aid in tissue repair and wound healing, and calm immune system activity without suppressing a healthy immune response. Specific conditions where SPM Supreme can be helpful include post-surgery, IBD, leaky gut, obesity, tissue regeneration, asthma and allergies, stroke, dementia, atherosclerosis, periodontal disease and oral surgery, arthritis, MS, Parkinson’s Disease, eczema, and other skin conditions, cystic fibrosis, and bone loss.
Curcumin/Turmeric
I love turmeric and it’s biologically active form curcumin in general for pain and inflammation, but I recommend Curcum-Evail by Designs for Health due to its highly bioavailable curcuminoid formulation. It contains a unique combination of three bioactive, health-promoting curcuminoids: curcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, and dimethoxy curcumin, along with turmeric oil. The three curcuminoids are the strongest, most protective, and best-researched constituents of the turmeric root with a high absorption rate.
We know that inflammation is a common risk factor for disease occurrence and progression. Inflammation can lead to joint tissue destruction, cancer, cardiovascular events, insulin resistance/diabetes, and brain/liver/kidney degenerative diseases. Curcumin helps support a healthy inflammatory response. It has been shown to reduce both acute and chronic inflammation caused by physical injury, joint wear, and tear, chronic infections, or inadequate antioxidant protection.
Curcumin can be used for its antioxidant properties, for postoperative healing, arthritis, allergies and asthma, autoimmune activity reduction, MS, GI protection and healing, balancing cholesterol, promoting brain protection, toxic metal binding, liver and gallbladder support, reducing leaky gut syndrome, and even as an anti-microbial.
Inflammatone by Designs for Health
Inflammatone is a powerful formula designed to help support a proper inflammatory response by affecting multiple pathways in your body while facilitating healthy blood flow without the undesirable side-effects of pharmaceutical drugs. It is a combination of herbs, nutrients, and proteolytic enzymes that provide natural support for a healthy inflammatory response and help protect against oxidative stress.
Ingredients include proteolytic enzymes which, when taken on an empty stomach, move systemically throughout the body, breaking down damaged tissue. Turmeric, Boswellia extract, and ginger extract help modulate the production of inflammatory compounds. Quercetin, Rutin, rosemary extract, and resveratrol are all antioxidant compounds that help protect the body at a cellular level by limiting oxidative stress, which contributes to an activated inflammatory response.
This supplement has been used for asthma, brain injury recovery, post-surgery, overall eye health, gout, pain and inflammation, periodontal disease, fibromyalgia, and even Lyme disease, just to name a few.
Consider adding one or more of these supplements to your natural medicine cabinet for multiple health benefits.
BeWell!
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