Glossary

Targeted dietary and lifestyle actions taken to decrease or diminish the inflammation that causes chronic symptoms of pain, dysfunction, or discomfort.

Inflammation abatement focuses on identifying and removing personal triggers of inflammation.

Sudden, severe symptoms of short duration. As in acute inflammation.

As opposed to chronic symptoms, which last and last.

Most people in today’s world are familiar with allopathic doctors who prescribe pharmaceuticals, do surgeries, and promote vaccines. Allopathic doctors staff emergency rooms and hospitals and offer care with the goal of alleviating the discomfort from symptoms of pain or dysfunction by masking or blocking the symptoms.

Allopathic medicine is what is practiced in most conventional hospitals, clinics, and doctor’s offices.

In allopathic medicine, the practitioner is trained to match symptoms to diagnoses. Then they either treat each condition with a pharmaceutical regimen approved by the official scientific community, or they suggest a surgical procedure. Their goal is to mask or alleviate the patient’s current pain, discomfort, or dysfunction.

Allopathic doctors excel at providing acute care.

Allopathic medicine is increasingly specialized with practitioners becoming highly knowledgeable about one aspect of the human body.

Allopathic doctors are not trained to look for the root causes of pain or discomfort in the way that practitioners of functional medicine do. They are not trained in “lifestyle medicine” and not taught to prescribe lifestyle changes in place of pharmaceuticals. They get extensive training in pharmaceutical-based medicine.

Severe acute inflammation may manifest as anaphylaxis, or swelling of the airways that inhibits breathing, and is a severe result of an allergic reaction that can result in sudden death from eating a peanut or a shrimp, or even getting stung by a bee, for those who are sensitive to those substances.

Our allopathic medical system classifies conditions as autoimmune when there are symptoms of inflammation without an attributable cause such as an injury or an infection.

Inflammation happens is when something triggers a subset of white blood cells called T cells to go out and vanquish the threat. For instance, during an allergic reaction, inflammation may affect breathing, itching, bowel function, and more.

In autoimmunity, symptoms of inflammation may appear frequently, constantly, or sporadically and cause physical, mental and/or emotional discomfort and/or dysfunction.

When we break down the word “autoimmune” into root words, auto (self) and immune (allergic), the word literally means “allergic to self”.

A state when the immune system appears to be reacting to anything and everything, yet inflammatory triggers can be identified and removed by targeted personal actions.

Symptoms that are continual or re-occuring. As in chronic inflammation. Autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis are considered chronic diseases.

The opposite of acute symptoms, which are severe and intense for a brief period.

Electric pulses, magnetic waves, currents, or generated frequencies are used to stimulate and adjust the vibration of the bonds between the atoms to encourage and enhance health and optimal physical functioning.

I often recommend electroceutical devices including but not limited to TENS units, Ionic Foot Baths, BEMER, infrared saunas, and Nebulizers.

In the tradition of functional medicine, evidence-based medicine combines an awareness of the results from formal clinical studies, but gives the same amount of consideration to the personal experiences of themselves and their patients.  Anecdotal evidence may be just as compelling —or more — as the results of a double-blind-placebo-controlled published study when it comes to tailoring treatments to the person in order to facilitate true healing from ailments.

As a traditional naturopath, I lean heavily on the anecdotal experiences of other sufferers as evidence, as well as on my base of scientific knowledge concerning how the systems of the body work together, in addition to the results of large trials. To me, evidence-based medicine means I look at all of the evidence available before suggesting a course to follow, including anecdotal evidence from others in a similar situation. I consider this to be evidence-based medicine.

When there is a flare-up of new or existing symptoms, typically severe enough to recognize that something intense is going on in the body that is causing increased pain, discomfort, and/or dysfunction. They indicate the presence of increased inflammation in the body.

Exacerbations are also known as attacks, flares, relapses, or flare-ups of symptoms.

In Functional Medicine, doctors look to the root causes of disease and work to heal the body by supporting weakened biological systems. Functional Medicine practitioners frequently order specialized laboratory testing to identify deficiencies and dysfunction, and then prescribe specific supplementation or actions to reverse the problem. They often subscribe to a “test, don’t guess” mentality and tailor therapies to the individual patient.

There are 4 pillars of functional medicine:

1. Nutrition
2. Stress Management
3. Exercise
4. Sleep

In my practice as a traditional naturopath, I employ many of the precepts of functional medicine, including specialized testing to show me exactly what is going on in the body of someone who is suffering.

A disease of unknown origin.

Multiple sclerosis is thought to be an idiopathic disease, meaning that we don’t know why some people come down with it.

Inflammation is the body’s response to being triggered by an external substance.

Autoimmune and other chronic conditions are conditions of inflammation in the body. Most, if not all, symptoms are due to inflammation.

Inflammation is not a mystery as there is always a trigger.

When I refer to an inflammatory food I don’t mean a food that provokes controversy or a food that bursts into flame, but rather a food that triggers inflammation in a body.

Affecting all of the body systems and not restricted to a specific body part. Inflammation is systemic.

Any substance that is contraindicated for human health.

I consider everything on of the following list and more to be toxins:

• Petroleum and its derivatives
• Particulates and gases in smog
• Pharmaceutical drugs
• Synthetic sweeteners
• Artificial flavors
• So-called natural flavors
• Synthetic fragrance/parfum
• Engineered chemicals added to foods, personal care products, cleaning products, etc.
• Genetically-Modified Foods
• Mold

The exposure to something outside the human body may trigger the inflammatory response, resulting in undesirable symptoms in the body.

An inflammatory trigger may be a food or drink, a chemical additive or preservative, a fragrance or added flavor chemical, a pharmaceutical, an air- or water-borne contaminant, a parasite, or anything else foreign to the natural integrity of the human body. Exposure to a trigger may cause symptoms of pain, discomfort, or dysfunction.

So, no, I am not referring to the grocery store chain when I talk about a whole foods-based diet.