by Lorelei Cohen

Created on: September 21, 2008

Rheumatoid arthritis, Systemic lupus, Scleroderma, and cardiovascular disease are illnesses where chronic inflammation can be the root cause of the illness. Chronic inflammation generally occurs when the body's immune system becomes confused. For some unknown reason it mistakes the body's normal healthy tissue as an invader and in error it launches an all out attack on this suspected intruder. Our immune system which should protect our body from harm by only attacking threats to the body such as bacteria or cancer, rather than defending the body, instead sets out on a relentless mission to damage and destroy the very healthy tissue that it is there to protect.

There are a number of the theories as to why this process of chronic inflammation occurs. One theory is that the inflammation might be caused by an allergic type response of the body to certain foods or pollutants. Because we continue to expose ourselves to the offending product or products, the inflammation remains within our body, and it becomes chronic. The longer that this chronic inflammation affects the body, then the more damage that usually occurs from it, and the more disabling the inflammatory based illness becomes.

It is believed that some types of chronic inflammation particularly that of Rheumatoid arthritis may have its roots in a dietary trigger. By removing this triggering agent we may be able to substantially reduce the symptoms of this illness, and in some instances, even induce a total remission. Studies have proven that this is indeed possible.

So what are these foods that promote chronic inflammation? Well the largest suspected dietary trigger for these inflammatory based illnesses is dairy products. They rank as the out and out number one possible dietary inflammation trigger. To discover if this is the possible reason for your chronic inflammation, simply eliminate all dairy products from your diet (this means ALL!) within a few weeks your symptoms will subside if dairy is the root cause of your illness.

Another top suspect in the cause of inflammation caused by diet is red meat, and other high in fat products such as oils, and margarines. Studies have proven that cox-2 enzymes within the body cause more inflammation when there is a higher imbalance between the omega-6 fatty acids and the omega-3 fatty acids in the body. By decreasing our intake of those foods containing omega-6 fats (saturated and transfats) and increasing our intake of omega-3 fats (such as those found in flax seed

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