INFLAMMATION AS THE COMMON PATHWAY TO
CHRONIC DISEASES
IN
2002, I was wandering around the streets of Johor Bahru, Malaysia when I
came across books being sold at a Hindu temple (not just religious books). Here
is where I was introduced to the excellent work of Mr Mohammed Idris and the
Consumer Association of Penang. I began reading many of their little books all
of which contained wisdom that the west took years to recognize, one good
example being BPA and its relationship to Ill health.
Malaysia like the countries in the west was
and is suffering from a plethora of chronic non-communicable diseases, and I
began to feel that it is INFLAMMATION felt by the body that leads to:
Obesity
Diabetes
Hypertension
Hypercholesterolemia
Cardiovascular disease
So it is possible that both obesity and
diabetes are caused by the same mechanism rather than obesity alone leading a
person to have diabetes.
30 per cent of the American population is
OBESE but not all of them are diabetic
During my travels I wondered at the huge
size of Tongans, Fijians and Samoans…Diabetes was not mentioned, even though
their less heavy indofijian compatriots in Fiji were Diabetes Prone.
''You've gained weight'' is a traditional
compliment in Fiji
Native Fijians are twice as often overweight
or obese compared to their Indo-Fijian counterparts but have only half the
Diabetes rates
One thing was certain, when these gentle
giants migrated to Aotearoa, they did develop diabetes disproportionately.
Inflammation and Immigration
I have lived in
Australia;
Sweden, France, Belgium, England in Europe;
Four different cities in the USA;
Two countries in the Caribbean, but had not
migrated to any of those.
With the current mood against immigrants,
there is a sensation of Xenophobia that does not distinguish between immigrants
and foreigners, visitors or temporary residents.
My father, Olav ha shalom, had reminded me
a saying from his favourite Chinese politician, Zhou En Lai: If we have to
advance all of us must advance together. Only when we have advanced would the western
people would respect us.
From being Coolies, they have gone to
become the biggest buyers of Louis Vuitton and French Perfumes
My hope is that, with the influx of the Chinese
now like a flood that cannot be stopped, the Europeans will learn to respect
the Asians once more, and not look at them as Immigrants.
Why this discussion about Chinese tourists to this introduction on Inflammation
and Immigration?
Those people, who have been only tourists
and have never lived in another country or never have been immigrants to
another country, cannot understand the constant irritation and anxiety of being
an immigrant.
This partially explains the increase in
Obesity (the Cuban migrant to Miami, puts
on 12 lbs. in the first month there, A Guatemalan migrant to the USA puts on 25
lbs. in the first year)
Diabetes (Indians living in Punjab or
Bengal have much less Diabetes than Punjabis and Bengalis living in England;
Khmer in Australia, Vietnamese in USA all have higher rates of Diabetes than
their fellow nationals in their countries of origin)
SAD identifies insulin resistance,
subclinical inflammation or raised serum lipids in a Swedish population with a
large proportion of immigrant women from the Middle East. If these results
could be confirmed in a larger population, SAD could be a more clinically useful
risk marker than other anthropometric measures in women at high risk of
cardiovascular disease.
Sagittal abdominal diameter
as a marker of inflammation and insulin resistance among immigrant women from
the Middle East and native Swedish women: a cross-sectional study
Helena
Petersson, Achraf Daryani and Ulf Risérus*
What causes inflammation in the body of the
Individual?
Chronic inflammation role in the obesity-diabetes association: a case-cohort
study
Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome 2013, 5:31 doi:10.1186/1758-5996-5-31
Bench research supports these results.
Endoplasmatic reticulum (ER) is a major site for
intracellular protein, lipid and sterol
synthesis. In balancing intracellular supply and demand in the process of
constructing new molecules, the ER has now been shown to be also a major
generator of metabolic and inflammatory signals. ER stress is an early
consequence of nutrient excess and a cause for the development of inflammation
and insulin resistance. ER stress, besides inducing the expression of
pro-inflammatory cytokines, is also a source of reactive oxygen species, which
stimulates pro-inflammatory mediators . Additionally, excess energy supply to
mitochondria leads to oxidative stress by uncoupling of the electron chain with
release of superoxide , a pro-inflammatory event producing an adverse metabolic
outcome not only in terms of insulin resistance, but perhaps also in terms of
beta cells function
. The pattern of high NEFA, high
triglyceride with low HDL is characteristic of inflammation, and
May be another manifestation of chronic low-grade
inflammation.
Almost all American Indians living in the
reservations have Low HDL and High Triglycerides. Most drugs experimented to
elevated HDL in humans have been total failures. (You cannot correct a Mistake
with another Mistake, as ancient oriental philosophers might say)
I have maintained that among the American
Indians, Insulin Sensitivity converts itself into Insulin Resistance when there
is enough Inflammation, coming to the body:
With a change in lifestyle since 1862.
Processed Food. Incl cheap cooking oil high
in Omega6
Stress of being Oppressed/de
Culturalized/forced to assimilate into the majority culture.
I have noticed that among the immigrants,
whether to France or to the UK or the USA or Australia, there is a reluctance
to acknowledge ones cultural origins (as if they are inferior), but that does
cause chronically mild anxiety. As American Indians would say, accepting what
you are (Indian, non Indian) would cause less anxiety.
In the end, advice for good healthy living
would be the same
Whether you are a westerner,
Or an Asian.
Buddhist or Hindu or Christian/
In the words of the American Indians,
Try to bring your life into more of a
balance
WORK
FAMILY
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
SPIRITUALITY
To me this is the advice for a NON
INFLAMMATORY LIFESTYLE
After seeing so many young men and women,
burdened by the current corporate culture and spending most of their time with
work related activities, I have to strongly advice that Work has its Place,
make it pleasurable, do it the best way you can but never take your work home.
Family, of course and for the Indians, that
includes Clan, Tribe, the Earth, the trees and animals and the Birds.
Study after study shows that people who
live longer have good family support, the happier people are, longer they live,
they usually are the ones with family.
Spirituality is your connection with the
world, seen and unseen, around you. It is also culturally constructed, but the
Spiritual world is one and the same for all. For the American Indians, spirituality is their
role in their universe where their winged brothers, one-legged brothers and
four legged brothers share the earth and the air with them. Apart from saying
that Religion and Spirituality are not the same, each person must find out for
himself or herself how to enter the world of Spirituality for himself or
herself. Spirituality has also be separated from Rituals, such as Yoga, is much
more a philosophy rather than repeated actions of the body, even though it is
in some ways connected to the Social Responsibility.
What is Social Responsibility? To me, this
is a definite path to happiness and contentment in your life, which of course
leads to less inflammation in your body as well.
It is to share what you have, more than
what you have with others. Be there for them in their sorrow, partaking in
their joys and do what you can, for others. I have noticed that all my good
friends scattered around the world have emic understanding of this concept:
social responsibility.
This was brought to my attention more than once
but one image that stands out is the following.
When Ethiopian Jews were airlifted into
Israel during the conflict in Sudan and Ethiopia, they were secretly loaded
into a large aircraft and taken to Israel. Many of them had never flown in an
aircraft, never been outside the country. A massive organization of volunteers
was waiting. An Israeli soldier was carrying a woman unable to walk. Someone
asked him: is she too heavy to carry? And the Israeli soldier said: She is not
heavy because she is my sister.
You can change your diet from the current every day INFLAMMATORY diet to anti Inflammatory one. There are lots of advice out there, here I reproduce one by Dr Andrew Weil.
For my Malaysian and Indonesian friends, I would recommend that you get copies of booklets published by Consumer Association of Penang, since they have dissected many of the easily available food in the Peninsula.
CAP, 10 Jalan Masjid Negeri, 11600 Pulau Penang
04-8299511
http://consumer.org.my/
