As a naturopathic doctor, my goal is not to simply treat your symptoms; but rather, I’m more concerned about treating the underlying causes of your symptoms.  One of the most overlooked ‘underlying causes’ is also one that is involved in almost every type of chronic disease.  I’m talking about ‘inflammation’.  Most of the time, inflammation is a normal process that is helpful for the body.  If you were to sprain your ankle, you will experience swelling, redness, and pain.  This inflammation encourages blood flow to the area to speed up healing and the pain you experience is your body’s way to get you to minimize use of this ankle.

The type of inflammation that is considered problematic is ‘chronic inflammation’.  Chronic inflammation has a lot to do with your diet, environment, and lifestyle factors.  The good news is that you have a lot of control over your level of inflammation.  The bad news is that chronic inflammation is a very slow and subtle process – so it’s not easy to detect and is often overlooked.  Chronic inflammation can contribute to the following health conditions:

– Cancer
– Hypertension
– Elevated Cholesterol
– Osteoarthritis & Rheumatoid Arthritis
– Urinary Tract Infections
– Asthma & Allergies
– Eczema & Psoriasis
– Anxiety & Depression
– Crohn’s Disease & Ulcerative Colitis
– Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
…and many more

In order to assess if you have chronic inflammation, it’s important to first look at some of the risk factors.  The following are dietary and lifestyle factors that can increase chronic inflammation:

– Smoking
– Sedentary
– Obesity
– High sugar diet
– Diet high in saturated & animal fats
– High toxin & heavy metal exposure
– Insomnia
– Food sensitivities

For patients with ‘chronic inflammatory’ conditions or with risk factors of inflammation we can use laboratory tests (ESR, CRP, hs-CRP, Calprotectin, Lactoferrin, Food Sensitivity Test, etc.) to examine their level of inflammation.  If your inflammation levels are high we will work on a comprehensive natural treatment plan to reduce your overall level of inflammation.  The following Anti-Inflammatory Diet can help reduce inflammation just by changing the foods we eat:

– Plenty of fruits & vegetables
– Whole grains & legumes
– Fish, omega-3-enriched or free-range eggs
– Nuts, seeds, avocado, flax, olive oil
– Limit red meats
– Limit omega-6 fatty acids

When needed, we may also include herbal medicine, teas, or supplements into our natural treatment plan to help further reduce inflammation:

– Turmeric
– Resveratrol
– Boswellia
– Ginger
– Bromelain
– Fish oil
– Green tea

 

Yours in health,

Dr. Michael Morsillo, H.B.Sc., N.D.
Newmarket Naturopathic Doctor
16655 Yonge Street, Newmarket, ON
905-898-1844 ext. 135
dr.morsillo@gmail.com
www.drmorsillo.com