The redness, warmth, swelling, and pain that characterize inflammatory reactions are all evidence that the immune, circulatory, and hormonal systems are actively working to boost the efficiency of the body's defenses and speed the repair of damaged tissue. Inflammation creates illness when it continues beyond its normal limits or serves no purpose. It is often an unwelcome feature of autoimmunity, for example, and a major component of musculo-skeletal disease. Medical doctors treat inflammation with anti-inflammatory drugs , which can injure the stomach, and with corticosteroids, which are suppressive and toxic. There are natural alternatives.
Inflammation is regulated by a group of hormones called prostaglandins .
Some prostaglandins intensify the inflammatory response while others reduce it. Aspirin , ibuprofen , and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs work on the prostaglandin system. You can also affect this system by diet, specifically by the kinds of fats you do and don't eat, since the body makes prostaglandins from fatty acids. Also eliminate sources of trans -fatty acids, such as margarine and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Gamma-linolenic acid , found in black currant oil, favors the synthesis of inhibitory prostaglandins and should be added to the diet.