When tissues are injured a specific reaction to the injury takes place. A collection of irritants and other chemical mediators are released into the injured area to aid in stabilization of the injured tissue, protection against further injury, and stimulation of healing at the injury site. These factors are referred to as the inflammatory cascade. And it includes substances such as histamine, bradykinin and prostaglandins, which aid in vasodilation to the injured area; serotonin, which acts as a vasoconstrictor, and growth factors and cytokines which act to increase fibroblast and macrophage migration to the injury site.(1) This is the acute inflammatory response and it is essential to the healing process. It should be noted that this acute reaction is healthy and we do not want to impede this process. We do, however, wish t aid the healing process in order to resolve the acute inflammatory response before it passes into a chronic state of inflammation. It is th chronic state of inflammation that is always destructive to tissues and is equated to disease.(2) When repair is successful, inflammation becomes a limited phenomena. Some conditions such as asthma, allergies, autoimmune d

Free-radicals (oxidants) are very reactive and unstable molecules that can cause damage to proteins, fats, cell membranes, and DNA.(10) When free-radicals attack, for example cell membranes, the remnants of the cell then become "information" for neighboring cells to begin the inflammatory process.(3) Thus, oxidation by free-radicals can pose a serious problem to tissues. Antioxidants, therefore, are needed to protect tissues from being destroyed by free-radicals. Essentially, polyunsaturated fatty acids in cell membranes are attacked by oxidants, thereby producing even more potent free-radicals. But, in the presence of antioxidants, these free-radicals can be reduced to a more stable and unreactive form, thus sparing other cells from damage.(7) Some important antioxidants are: Vitamins C and E, and the minerals zinc and selenium. Since many antioxidants work at different biochemical junctures, a broad spectrum approach to antioxidant therapy or supplementation should be followed. In addition, concentrated food extracts such as ginger, curcumin from tumeric root, and bromelain from pineapple can help attenuate skeletal muscle injury by modulating the inflammatory event.(11) Foods which contain copious amounts of antioxidants are: garlic, onions, carrots, green vegetables, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, and citrus fruits. In addition, red wine and grape juice contain phenolic compounds that provide protection against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and hypertension.(12)

Mediators of Inflammation(3)

Conclusion

·Lifestyle factors : Smoking; alcohol consumption; illicit drug use; lack of rest, leading to adrenal exhaustion.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Anti-Oxidants Free-radicals, Drugs NSAID's, Protocol Inflammation, Fatty Acids, Antecedents Inflammation3, Guidelines Patients, Inflammation3 Complement, Inflammation3 Injury, cell membranes, fatty acids, chronic inflammation, inflammatory response, allergies autoimmune diseases, arachidonic acid, fatty acid, healing process, n-6 oils, acute inflammatory, vitamins minerals, polyunsaturated fatty acids, acute inflammatory response,
Approximate Word count = 1260
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)