Inflammation is an uncomfortable symptom marked by four classic signs: calor, dolor, rubor, and tumor, or heat, pain, redness, and swelling. 

Although we've been taught that inflammation is negative, it is actually a good thing (to an extent!). Inflammation is our body's natural response to an injury or infection. It is a sign of increased blood flow and immune activity to the affected area. Without inflammation, your body would not be able to heal injuries and sicknesses. 

In other words, inflammation precedes healing. 

But, what about chronic inflammation? 

Chronic inflammation occurs when there isn't enough energy to bring the normal healing cycle to completion. Chronic inflammation is the result of insufficient energy flow into the cell. The body gets "stuck" in a state of healing, continuously sending energy to mop up a mess that it doesn't have the supplies to fix. 

As a result, symptoms persist. 

There are many factors that go into decreased cellular energy flow, but it boils down to systemic depletion. A vicious cycle is created through a combination of nutrient deficiencies, toxic accumulation, high microbial burdens, chronic stress, and lack of proper movement and sleep. This creates the perfect environment for overburdened cells and therefore decreased energy production, which in turn makes us less resilient to dealing with these stressors. 

Inflammation, then, is the symptom and not the root cause. Breaking the inflammatory cycle depends on getting to the root of the issue: cell energy production. This is done by increasing cellular energy, while assisting our body's ability to remove stressors. 

Addressing solutions to toxic burden and stressors is a whole topic that requires its own separate blog, but I will list some solutions to increasing cellular energy production: 

1. Red Light Therapy. Research suggests that red light therapy strengthens mitochondrial function. Our mitochondria are the organelles where ATP is created. 
2. More Minerals. Essential and trace minerals are crucial for cell function and various functions throughout the body, from the Kreb's Cycle to nerve function to muscle building. A great way to increase mineral consumption is by adding trace mineral drops to your water, or adding supplements to your diet that are high in minerals and trace minerals, like Shilajit. 
3. Ozone. Ozone therapy is a regenerative medicine that has been shown to increase tissue and cell oxygenation, stimulate the body's innate healing mechanism called preconditioning, and increasing mitochondrial function. 

By adding in therapies and targeted supplements and decreasing toxic overload, cell energy production can be restored, and therefore chronic inflammation can be eliminated.