Inflammation Treatment should always include diet and lifestyle modifications.
Banjo is like a special type of dietary modification.
Medications, when required, are of two basic types: steroids (like cortisone) or non-steroids (like aspirin.)
Banjo provides fast, effective relief from pain and inflammation because it enables your body’s immune system to function properly. It works just like the fruits and vegetables you eat every day – by naturally inhibiting NF-kB, the inflammation Master Switch.
Banjo works better because it combines the most effective natural extracts and delivers them in a form that ensures maximum bio-availability. You get the full spectrum of phytonutrients your body needs to turn off excess inflammation.
Current medications for inflammation generally fall into two broad categories: steroidal and non-steroidal drugs. Steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs include medications like cortisone. Cortisone is based on a naturally occurring hormone produced by the adrenal glands. This hormone is a powerful anti-inflammatory and is part of your body’s natural response to acute inflammation – especially severe inflammation. Because these steroids act in many ways and on many locations, and because synthetic analogs of the natural compound are up to 100x more powerful than the natural substance – corticosteroids have a lot of side effects.
The second major category of anti-inflammation medications are the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs.) The first NSAID was aspirin, which was first sold in its present form back in 1899. Since that time a large number of relatively similar products have been introduced, such as ibuprofen and naproxen. Acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol) is not an NSAID. It relieves pain and reduces fevers but has no significant effect on inflammation.
NSAIDs are of limited efficacy but are nonetheless associated with significant side effects. NSAIDs have been known to cause, among other things, edema, stomach upset, stomach bleeding, stomach ulcers, kidney problems, kidney failure and hearing problems. The occurrence and severity of these side effects increases with prolonged use, which further limits their usefulness, especially as many of the conditions associated with inflammation are chronic conditions requiring long term treatment.
Somewhat recently, a new form of NSAID was introduced – the COX 2 inhibitors (e.g. Celebrex.) These medications were intended to provide the benefits of an NSAID but without the associated stomach problems. What most people do not realize is that the COX 2’s were “fast-tracked” through the FDA. The “fast track” is normally reserved for medications that treat life threatening illness – but in this case the threat to life was not an illness, per se, but the treatment. Aspirin kills hundreds (at least) and hospitalizes thousands each year.
Steroidal drugs are generally more effective than NSAIDs, but are associated with more frequent and more serious side effects (when administered systemically.) Steroidal drugs have been known to cause, among other things, loss of bone mass, thinning skin, cataracts, serious infection, weight gain, mood changes, psychiatric problems, hypertension, and bone marrow dysfunction. Clinicians must therefore use steroidal drugs only with great caution. Steroidal drugs are most often prescribed for short term treatment of severe inflammation. Their side effects generally preclude long term systemic use except in the treatment of very serious ailments. Even then, the risks and side effects sometimes outweigh the benefits.
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This is an essential publication because it supports the benefits of diet in providing symptom relief in fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis.
In a nutshell 
those suffering with fibromyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis experienced a substantial improvement in their conditions when they switched to a raw, vegan diet. Specifically, they experienced a decrease in pain and stiffness and self-perception of their health was improved.
The problem, of course, is that this diet represents a substantial and some would say extreme departure from our ‘normal’ diet. A vegan diet includes no animal products whatsoever – no milk, eggs, butter. The “living food” diet studied here included only raw foods – no cooking whatsoever.
The obvious reality is that very few people will ever attempt such an extreme dietary modification, and fewer still will adhere to it. Nonetheless, it is one option, and might result in general improvement in conditions related to inflammation other than those specifically studied.
As an alternative, one might want to add more fruits and vegetables to the diet, especially fresh, raw fruits and vegetables. Supplements might be considered as well.
The publication:
Toxicology. 2000 Nov 30;155(1-3):45-53.
Hänninen, Kaartinen K, Rauma AL, Nenonen M, Törrönen R, Häkkinen AS, Adlercreutz H, Laakso J.
Department of Physiology, University of Kuopio, Finland.
Plants are rich natural sources of antioxidants in addition to other nutrients. Interventions and cross sectional studies on subjects consuming uncooked vegan diet called living food (LF) have been carried out. LF is an uncooked vegan diet and consists of berries, fruits, vegetables and roots, nuts, germinated seeds and sprouts, i.e. rich sources of carotenoids, vitamins C and E.
The efficacy of LF in rheumatoid diseases was studied as an example of a health problem where inflammation is one of the main concerns.
The subjects eating LF showed highly increased levels of beta and alfa carotenes, lycopen and lutein in their sera. As the berry intake was 3-fold compared to controls the intake of polyphenolic compounds like quercetin, myricetin and kaempherol was much higher than in the omnivorous controls.
Those with fibromyalgia who changed to the LF diet experienced a decrease of their joint stiffness and pain as well as an improvement in perceived health and quality of life.
Rheumatoid arthritis patients eating the LF diet also reported similar positive responses and the objective measures supported this finding. The improvement of rheumatoid arthritis was significantly correlated with the day-to-day fluctuation of subjective symptoms.
In conclusion the rheumatoid patients subjectively benefited from the vegan diet. The improvements were consistent with objective measures.
The term “probiotic” is used to describe organisms that are used medicinally, including bacteria such as Lactobacillus.
Lactobacillus bacteria are normally found in the small intestine. These are ‘good bacteria’ since they produce vitamin K as well as certain anti-microbial substances which prevent the ‘overgrowth’ of harmful bacteria.
A number of human trials have reported benefits associated with lactobacillus administration for the inflammatory bowel conditions ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Lactobacillus has also been shown to benefit asthma patients.
While lactobacillus is generally helpful, the specific means by which it benefits patients with inflammatory bowel disease was uncertain. Researchers have now determined that lactobacillus exerts it anti-colitis effect through inhibition of NF-kB.
The publication:
Int J Colorectal Dis. 2009 Feb;24(2):231-7. Epub 2008 Dec 3.
Lee JH, Lee B, Lee HS, Bae EA, Lee H, Ahn YT, Lim KS, Huh CS, Kim DH.
OBJECTIVE: Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can improve disturbances of indigenous microflora as well as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
We examined the anticolitic effect of Lactobacillus, which is known to inhibit NF-kappaB activation, in a mouse model of colitis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In the mouse model of colitis we saw colon shortening and also increased markers of inflammation. However, oral administration of Lactobacillus inhibited colon shortening and decreased the level of inflammation markers. Lactobacillus inhibited the NF-kappaB activation, as well as the expression of COX-2.
CONCLUSION: Lactobacillus can improve colitis via the inhibition of NF-kappaB activation.
The publication:
Hairless rats were topically treated with a combination of 10% curcumin and 3% ginger extract (or with each agent alone) for a 21-day period. Following this, the rats were treated topically with Temovate (corticosteroid) for an additional 15 days. At the end of the treatment period, superficial abrasion wounds were induced in the treated skin.
Abrasion wounds healed more slowly in the skin of Temovate-treated rats than in skin of control animals. Healing was more rapid in skin of rats that had been pretreated with either curcumin or ginger extract alone or with the combination of curcumin-ginger extract.
Collagen production was increased and matrix metalloproteinase-9 production was decreased. In none of the rats was there any indication of skin irritation during the treatment phase or during wounding and repair.
Taken together, these data suggest that a combination of curcumin and ginger extract might provide a novel approach to improving structure and function in skin and, concomitantly, reducing formation of nonhealing wounds in “at-risk” skin.
Comments:
While this study used a topical application to promote skin healing, especially after the application of topical corticosteroids, it may have implications beyond wound healing.
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (which was shown in this study to be decreased) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer, autoimmune disease, including rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome, idiopathic uveitis, and systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as diverse pathologic conditions characterized by excessive fibrosis.
Corticosteroids may inhibit healing, as demonstrated on skin in this study. It may be that those using systemic corticosteroids could benefit from a topical composition of ginger and curcumin, though further studies would be needed to confirm this speculation.
It is noteworthy that this study confirmed, at least when topically applied to the skin, that ginger and turmeric (curcumin is a major component of turmeric) result in greater benefits when used in combination than was observed when either was used separately.
Banjo is composed of ginger, turmeric and additional plant extracts. It is not yet available in topical form, but that application is anticipated.
And, according to a study in the November issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it can probably reduce inflammation.
Flavonoids are believed to reduce inflammation. Chocolate is rich in flavonoids. So, the theory goes, eating (or drinking) a substantial amount of chocolate could reduce inflammation.
Yes, as was demonstrated to be the case when scientists had 48 volunteers drink two glasses of chocolate skim milk each day for four weeks.
After the four weeks, participants had significantly lower levels of several inflammatory biomarkers, while several other markers of cellular inflammation remained unchanged. Participants also had significantly higher levels of ‘good cholesterol’ (HDL) at the conclusion of the study.
Summary of the abstract
BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have suggested that flavonoid intake plays a critical role in the prevention of coronary heart disease. Because atherosclerosis is considered a low-grade inflammatory disease, some feeding trials have analyzed the effects of cocoa (an important source of flavonoids) on inflammatory bio-markers, but the results have been controversial.
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the intake of cocoa polyphenols may modulate inflammatory mediators in patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease. These anti-inflammatory effects may contribute to the overall benefits of cocoa consumption against atherosclerosis.
Since atherosclerosis is a low-grade inflammatory disease of the arteries, regular cocoa intake seems to prevent or reduce” it, said Dr. Ramón Estruch of the University of Barcelona, the paper’s senior author, adding that more studies were needed.
What it means is that you should consume more flavonoid-rich foods. Aside from that it doesn’t mean much.
Flavonoids can be found in great abundance in citrus fruits (especially lemon) wine, tea, dark chocolate, peppermint, berries, yellow and purple vegetables and many other foods. Some foods will have more flavonoids than others, and some flavonoids are no doubt more effective than others. In the study referenced above, chocolate milk was found to be somewhat less effective than red wine at reducing inflammation.
The chief benefit of this study might be that it demonstrates there is nothing ’special’ about either red wine or chocolate. We should be eating more of all types of fruits and vegetables – but we already knew that.
For more information:
Here is an excellent review of the flavonoids.
Here is the USDA Database of the Flavonoid Content of Select Foods (in pdf format.)
It might be difficult to believe that a single agent could effectively treat a large number of inflammatory conditions, including:
But that’s what natural NF-kB inhibitors do. Some do it (much) better than others. But they all do it – because they fight inflammation.
So at first it’s hard to believe, but since NF-kB inhibitors fight inflammation, it makes sense. If inflammation contributes to the cause of many conditions (and it does) then whatever relieves inflammation (actually treating the cause, not just masking the symptoms) should be effective in treating many ailments.
So you might want to consider using natural NF-kB inhibitors.
Except that you’re already using them. Every fresh fruit and vegetable is a natural NF-kB inhibitor.
The problem is – you’re probably not using enough of them. That’s because our modern world is filled with so many things that cause inflammation. It might not be enough to ‘only’ eat the recommended 9 portions of fruits and vegetable each day. And if you have an autoimmune disease – or if conditions related to inflammation run in your family – then you probably have a genetic vulnerability to inflammation. If so, you’ll need even more of these NF-kB inhibitors.
Frankincense is a very effective NF-kB inhibitor. Banjo is a combination of many very effective NF-kB inhibitors. And because Banjo uses a unique “trans-mucosal” delivery system, it’s very fast acting and even more effective.
So take your pick. With additional NF-kB inhibitors from fruits and vegetables (a lot for a long time) or frankincense, or Banjo – you can get better. That’s my theory. And it’s consistent with the results from thousands of studies, a few of which are referenced on this site – one of which is briefly summarized below.
The publication:
J Immunol. 2006 Mar 1;176(5):3127-40.
Takada Y, Ichikawa H, Badmaev V, Aggarwal BB.
Acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA), a component of an Ayurvedic therapeutic plant Boswellia serrata (frankincense) is active against a large number of inflammatory diseases, including cancer, arthritis, chronic colitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and bronchial asthma, but the mechanism is poorly understood.
AKBA was found to inhibit NF-kB. AKBA suppressed NF-kB activation in tumor cells. It also countered inflammation and NF-kB activation induced by cigarette smoke.
Overall, results indicated that AKBA enhances apoptosis induced by cytokines and chemotherapeutic agents, inhibits invasion, and suppresses osteoclastogenesis through inhibition of NF-kappaB-regulated gene expression.
Aging Alzheimer's Arthritis Asthma Atherosclerosis Back Pain Banjo Cancer Chronic Pain Cluster Headache Crohn's Diabetes Fatigue Fibromyalgia Gout Headache Heart Disease IBD Inflammation Joint Pain Lupus Migraine Multiple Sclerosis Muscular Dystrophy Neck Pain Neuropathic Pain NF-kB Osteoarthritis Pain Parkinson's Psoriasis Rheumatoid Arthritis Sjogren's Stroke TMJ Ulcerative Colitis
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