Most have heard of it, yet few can explain what it is, and very few people test themselves for it. In 2023, The Guardian discussed it as “2023’s Hottest Health Topic.” See what they did there?
As you might read in The Vitality Code, my “Wake-Up Call” was not my own diagnosis, it was my father’s stroke. Investigating what led to his stroke, (chronic inflammation), put me on a whole new life path. I realised that chronic inflammation was underlying the eczema from which I’d suffered for most of my life, around 30 years at the time. Addressing the inflammation enabled me to heal my skin – from within. And then help others, too.
Excerpted from The Vitality Code:
My previous book, The Vitality Secret (2016), revealed that chronic inflammation is the underlying cause of almost every chronic illness that exists today. Since 2015, I’ve helped my clients reverse a variety of symptoms of chronic inflammation, including, but not limited to, eczema, acne, rosacea, IBS, pre-diabetes, type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, gout, migraines, obesity, low testosterone in men, chronic pain, brain fog, and depression.
The Western world has become increasingly toxic, leading us into a pandemic of sickness or, more accurately, a pandemic of chronic inflammation. Not only does chronic inflammation underlie virtually every chronic illness, aka pre-existing conditions, and comorbidities, it accelerates the aging process. It has aptly been dubbed inflamma-ging.
Have you ever wondered why some people appear to get ill regularly, and others do not? Do you know people who reverse “incurable” illnesses and others who do not, and stay on medications? Do you know people who look a lot older than their biological age, and others who look a lot younger than their biological age? It’s not just genetics. You might know of someone who has developed a serious illness, and is so surprised because prior to that, they rarely, if ever, got sick.
Here I’ll share what I have discovered about the power of our immune system, simplify how it works, and how you can strengthen it to reverse chronic symptoms and be resilient. I refer to the immune system as our “army of defenders.”
We will cover:
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the role of your “army of defenders,” aka your immune system
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acute inflammation and systemic inflammation
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chronic symptoms versus disease or illnesses
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toxins out; fuel in
Perhaps you know people who will catch a bug or a virus whenever there´s one “going around,” whereas others seem to rarely get sick. In 2015 I attended an intensive Tony Robbins event called “Date With Destiny.” I was warned by a friend of mine who had already attended to look after my immune system as apparently most get sick. We were 2,700 people in a room, put through our paces for 6 days, early morning, until very late at night. I didn’t do anything too different to my usual routine other than take a few more vitamins. At the end of the week, within a Facebook group, most were complaining of being ill — except for one other person and me, that I know of.
The other person who wasn’t sick was also a nutritionist. She did almost the same as I did. I’m not sharing this story to show off. I’m sharing this story to impress upon you how resilient we can be when our immune systems are optimized.
Much of the immune system is located in and around the gut — around 70%-80%, according to Functional Medicine. As long as the body is sufficiently fueled, and not overloaded with toxins, most people can have a healthy immune system. When the immune system is on overdrive (protecting us from current levels of “invaders”) or is overactive, the immune system becomes compromised. One way our body uses this is with chronic symptoms.
If one is chronically inflamed, 🔥the immune system becomes compromised. You cannot be chronically inflamed and have a strong immune system. The two cannot coexist. At the Tony Robbins event, I made sure to stick to high-quality anti-inflammatory nutrition. I decided that the best way to stay Vital and not get sick was to be as anti-inflammatory (avoiding toxins) as I could be, and ensure I was fueling my body at the cell level. I couldn’t do much about my lack of sleep, as I didn’t want to miss any of the events. That said, poor quality sleep alone is enough to compromise the immune system.
You’re likely thinking: “What exactly is inflammation?” There are two types.
Acute inflammation occurs when you injure yourself. For instance, you sprain your knee. Your body warms up the wound causing it to swell. It fills up with specific fluids designed to heal the area, and it becomes painful. This ensures no further damage is done to the injury. This kind of rapid inflammatory response is normally short-lived.
Systemic inflammation is similar, but different! It’s when the immune system deals with invaders. The immune system does not recognize them. When it comes to “food,” a solid rule of thumb is: If it is fake, man-made with added chemicals, preservatives, laced in pesticides and herbicides, fed antibiotics, pumped with hormones, farm-raised, the chances are your immune system will not like it and consider it an invasion — for your protection. A friend and ex-client recently asked me “what is a toxin?” I said: “Anything that is not in alignment with The Nature Codes.”
“If you do not recognize an ingredient, your body won’t either”#Inflammation
Your immune system will likely perceive that the body is under attack. Inflammation itself is a very healthy response. Without it, we’d die. It can be dangerous because when left unchecked or ignored (normally unknowingly because symptoms are often ignored), it lingers beneath the surface, worsening, until something drastic happens, seemingly out of the blue, like a heart attack or stroke. It can also be dangerous because you can have inflammation without a symptom telling you so, which is why I believe it is important to test regularly for systemic inflammation. I would argue it is one of the most important tests we can do – and rarely do.
Simple Definition
Toxins come in many forms, and each can trigger an inflammatory response. Food is just one of many considerations. Chronic inflammation also occurs due to chronic stress – which is a PERCEIVED threat. Simply put, it’s created through a physical attack on the body, or a perceived attack on the body. It can also occur due to lack of essential cell fuels – namely – oxygen, water, nutrients, sleep, grounding, and sunlight – and another “fuel” is the ability for cells to eliminate waste.
Healing the body normally requires treating the whole — a holistic approach — hence the Physical, Mental, Emotional and Energetic Pillars of Vitality presented to you in this book.
The Symptoms Tree – Chronic Inflammation, The Vitality Code
Chronic inflammation is known to be the foundation for almost every single chronic illness and disease including most skin conditions like eczema, acne and psoriasis, asthma, diabetes, depression arthritis, hypertension (high blood pressure), obesity, cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke), cancer, neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s (now dubbed type-3 diabetes) and Parkinson’s. That list is not exhaustive.
Chronic inflammation increases our sensitivity to pain, and it accelerates biological aging. This means inflammation makes you age faster. (It has been dubbed inflammaging.) Inflammation accelerates free-radical damage and suppresses healthy immune function. This is why you will likely know 50-year-olds who look 60 and 50-year-olds who look 40.
The great news is that systemic inflammation is reversible, and naturally. Anti-inflammatory drugs on the market normally treat acute inflammation, and some can actually cause systemic inflammation. The beauty about all of this, is that in time, you’ll have full faith in your own innate immune system and know that Nature makes no mistakes. In my opinion, the “Nature Codes” are superior to any medical intervention when it comes to chronic illness and disease.
When you do what is necessary to reduce or eliminate inflammation from your body, you’ll notice symptoms ease and hopefully disappear, hormones might balance, your energy will likely improve, and you’ll feel more optimized and Vital.
How do you do this? Look into what might be causing toxicity in your body, remove or reduce it, and ensure that you fuel your body at the cellular level. This is not just food. We must, or rather, “get to”, breathe, and breathe well. Most of us do not breathe effectively! We will explore this further. We get to hydrate with the purest of water money can buy. We get to consume food that consists of true nutrients and is not just “stuff.” We get to detoxify and eliminate waste. We get to sleep well. And we get to remain calm, relaxed, happy and joyful, as much as we possibly can, and enjoy life.
Your immune system is immaculately designed. I encourage you to get to know it, and develop faith in it, so you can control your own health and body, reverse-engineer symptoms using the Four Pillars of Vitality and discover the energy you never knew you had.
Instead of thinking “I have a genetic disease” or “I have an incurable illness” consider instead: I have a chronic symptom of an underlying cause, aka chronic inflammation, and now I get to investigate what is causing it. Simply: some form of toxin (s), deprivation of essential cell fuels, and/or trapped emotions/trauma.
I have created an “inflammation quiz” if you’d like to get an idea of whether or not you are inflamed, and to what degree. I’ll also send you some recommended blood tests and other types of tests you can use once you complete the form (which takes about 5 mins):
