Natural Anti-inflammatories
Natural Anti-inflammatories
In an acute episode of back or neck pain drug based anti-inflammatories may be necessary however they have a few side effects so avoiding them where possible is a good idea. This is where natural anti-inflammatories can be very useful.
Curcumin
Curcumin has a long history in Ayuvedic medicine as a treatment for inflammatory conditions. Curcumin is the orange pigment in turmeric and is a potent antioxidant that offers numerous health benefits including cardiovascular function, joint health and painting the bodies normal inflammatory response.
Curcumin is generally poorly absorbed into the blood stream so taking a type of curcumin called Meriva curcumin helps increase the bioavailability of the product. Bioavailability refers to the degree at which the product is absorbed. Some studies have suggested that meriva curcumin demonstrated 29 times greater bioavailability than normal curcumin.
When looking for the product that will help you the most you need to consider the bioavailability and the dosage. By looking for a product that contains meriva curcumin you are ensuring you have the best chance of absorbing it. With regards to dosage we recommend taking 1000mg when in s flare up and 125-250mg when not in a flare up, therefore keeping this in mind make sure you find a product that has a high dosage per capsule so you don’t have to take too many. The product we use here at Elite Spinal is Thorne Meriva-SR which contains 125mg per capsule.
Fish Oil
Fish oil has been shown to possess many health benefits. One of these is its ability to decrease inflammation through out the body. It acts in a way that resolves inflammation after it has done its job. Research shows that as we age we produce less inflammation resolving agents so taking fish oil you are increasing the amount of inflammation resolving agents in your system.
The active ingredients that are in fish oil are EPA and DHA. When looking for the right product for you you need to read the label and look at the level of EPA and DHA in the product. Many products will say the total amount of fish oil in each capsule for example 1000mg on the front of the container however it is important to read the back of the label to find the EPA and DHA level. You would want a product that contains at least 250mg of EPA and 230mg of DHA.
Another thing to consider when choosing your fish oil is the cleanliness of the product. Many companies obtain their fishoil from larger fish, therefore there is a risk that it may contain mercury. It is important to look at the purification method that is used to ensure there are not high levels of mercury in the product. The product we use here at Elite Spinal is Usana’s Biomega, it contains 290mg of EPA and 235mg of DHA. It is purified using a double distillation process leaving it essentially free of harmful contaminants.
With regards to dosage we recommend taking 1000mg EPA and 920mg DHA when in s flare up and 250mg EPA and 230mg DHA when not in a flare up, therefore keeping this in mind make sure you find a product that has a high dosage per capsule so you don’t have to take too many.
