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‘good’ and ‘bad’ inflammation. Acute inflammation—which occurs immediatelyafter an injury and is almost always short-lived—would be considered ‘good’inflammation. In contrast, chronic inflammation—which is an unhealthyinflammatory over-response is ‘bad’ inflammation because it can linger for weeks,month or even years. In addition, chronic inflammation can be linked to a numberof dangerous diseases. In fact, a growing number of experts believe that chronicinflammation may very well be the underlying root cause of a multitude of diseasesand life-threatening health conditions.Systemic inflammationis also considered badinflammation. Systemicinflammation is generallythought to be caused by amassive release of cytokinesthat spreads throughout theentire body. Left unchecked,systemic inflammation canresult in organ failure andeven death in some cases.Inflammation Can Causethe Following Diseases &Health Hazards Athsma Irritable Bowel Syndrome Allergies Skin Disordes Heart Disease Arthritis Congestive Heart Failure Arterial Diseases Obesity & Weight GainTumor FormationCancerType 2 DiabetesAlzheimer'sNow that we know the difference between acute (good) inflammation and chronic(bad) inflammation, the next step is to understand some of the causes of chronicinflammation and the steps we can take to prevent it. Environmental variables suchas stress, smoking, certain chemicals or substances and certain foods have allbeen shown to support the onset of chronic inflammation. These are all factors wecan—for the most part—reduce or eliminate from our lives (e.g., learn to managestress, don’t smoke, reduce exposure to harmful chemicals, etc.). And of these,diet is the single most important controllable factor in regards to whether or not anindividual experiences chronic inflammation.By Mike Westerdal & Rick Kaselj, MSwww.criticalbench.com 12

Food is the most important element because this is of course how our bodiesobtain the nutrients necessary to support life. Food also sets the stage for thefunctioning of the body’s metabolic systems. Healthy diets support healthymetabolic system functioning and likewise, unhealthy diets result in unhealthymetabolic system functioning—and the onset of illness, disease and conditionssuch as chronic inflammation.Later in this report I’ll tell youexactly which foods can triggerthe onset of inflammation andwhich foods can keep yourmetabolic systems in top shapeand your body free of chronicinflammation.By Mike Westerdal & Rick Kaselj, MSwww.criticalbench.com 13

How Does InflammationAffect Your Pain?As discussed in the previous section, afteran injury, there is a three-step processthat occurs:1) The flow of blood to the affected areaincreases.2) The small blood vessels in the affectedarea become more permeable, whichallows large molecules to leave thebloodstream and reach the infection.3) There is an increased migration ofphagocytes toward the site of infection.Phagocytes are white blood cells thatprotect us by ingesting harmful foreignparticles, bacteria and even dead or dyingcells. All this action going on causes theaffected area to look red, swell up andfeel hot and painful—in other words, tobecome inflamed.Pain is one of the most notable features of inflammation. The pain that we feel isa signal that the body has been injured or that something is otherwise wrong. Interms of our evolution, pain evolved as a signal to tell us to stop what we weredoing or to take alternative action. It is essentially a defense mechanism that alertsBy Mike Westerdal & Rick Kaselj, MSwww.criticalbench.com 14

us to an injury, thus allowing us to protect our bodies and not damage our bodiesany further than what we already have.Because of the potential danger involved with pain—literally life or death—thepain signal had to be strong and nearly impossible to ignore. Otherwise, we mightnot stop or avoid the pain-causing danger. The pain signal is closely linked to thefight or flight response, wherein our bodies go into alarm mode. In this state ourmuscles receive more blood flow and oxygen, our heart beats faster, our breathingquickens and we get ready to stand and fight or run from danger. In short, the painresponse is an extremely efficient way to motivate us to respond quickly to threats.When we experience inflammation, the affected area often hurts and may be stiff.The pain can result in an overall feeling of discomfort, distress and even worse,depending on the severity of the inflammation. The inflammation-related pain can beconstant and steady, in which case it is often referred to as an ache. Alternatively, thepain can be of a throbbing type, a pulsating pain, or it can be a stabbing or pinchingpain. In any case, pain is either acute (short-term, intense) or chronic.In addition, pain can also be: Nociceptive pain: This type of pain is caused when special nerve endings—called nociceptors—become irritated. Nociceptive pain is the type of pain youfeel when you burn yourself, twist your ankle, or stub your toe, all of whichcan result in inflammation. This type of pain is felt as a dull or sharp achingpain, and it can be mild to severe. Nociceptive pain can be either acute (e.g.,sprained ankle) or chronic. Nociceptive pain usually responds well to painmedications, anti-inflammatory agents, or other drug therapies. Somatic pain: Somatic pain is a kind of nociceptive pain that is felt inmuscles, joints, bones, ligaments, and on the skin. Musculo-skeletal pain issomatic pain. When you cut your skin, the pain you experience is somaticBy Mike Westerdal & Rick Kaselj, MSwww.criticalbench.com 15

pain. You also experience somatic pain if you stretch a muscle too far orexercise for a long period of time. In these cases, nociceptors send impulsesto the brain when they detect some kind of tissue damage. Somatic paintends to be sharp and localized - touching or moving the affected area willresult in more severe main. Visceral pain: This is also a type of nociceptive pain. With visceral pain, thepain is sensed deep down in the body, in the internal organs and main bodycavities, such as the heart, lungs, bowels, spleen, liver, kidneys, bladder,uterus, and ovaries. The pain is usually described as a deep ache. Crampingand colicky sensations are examples of visceral pain.In all of the types of pain above, inflammation primarily causes pain because theswelling pushes against the sensitive nerve endings, which send pain signals to thebrain. Nerve endings send pain signals to the brain all day long; however, it learnsto ignore most of them, unless pressure against the nerve endings increases.By Mike Westerdal & Rick Kaselj, MSwww.criticalbench.com 16

How Inflammation AffectsInjury Recovery?Wound healing takes place through a series of four precisely and highlyprogrammed phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling.In order for a wound to heal successfully, all four phases must occur in the propersequence and time frame. Many factors can interfere with one or more phases ofthis process, thus causing improper or impaired wound healing. When a woundexhibits impaired healing it is generally because it has failed to progress throughthe normal stages of healing. These ‘impaired healing’ wounds most often enter astate of pathologic inflammation due to a postponed, incomplete, or uncoordinatedhealing process. This type of situation inhibits injury recovery.A ‘wound’ can be something external such as a cut on the skin or it could be aninternal injury such as a sprain or torn ligament. Also, the muscle soreness andjoint pain the people often experience after strenuous workouts are more than justa nuisance—they’re actually symptoms of post-workout tissue inflammation, whichslows recovery, limits fitness gains and even causes overuse injuries.On the plus side, when we experience an obvious injury (e.g., twisted ankle, tornligament, etc.), inflammation helps heal the affected area and also producessymptoms of pain and stiffness that discourage activity during the healing process—thereby further supporting the recovery process. During normal workouts when wedon’t suffer any particular injury, a much tamer inflammation response occurs.The truth is that nearly every workout causes some degree of microscopic damageto muscle fibers. The body’s inflammation response repairs this damage during thefollowing recovery period, which begins about two hours after a workout and lastsfor up to 48 hours, depending onBy Mike Westerdal & Rick Kaselj, MSwww.criticalbench.com 17

Besides facilitating the repair of everyday muscle damage resulting from strengthtraining and exercise, inflammation promotes training adaptations such as satellitecell proliferation. This is an essential step in the development of bigger, strongermuscle fibers. Inflammation even makes our muscles more resistant to futuredamage by strengthening particular areas. The inflammation response essentiallyhelps protect the muscle fibers from future damage—at least to a degree.But there is of course a negative aspect to inflammation as well. Althoughinflammation does indeed repair tissue damage resulting from exercise, it can alsocause further damage—secondary muscle damage—between workout sessions.Secondary muscle damage is the main reason you feel more pain and stiffness theday after an especially strenuous workout than you do when you leave the gym.This phenomenon is referred to as delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), whichis a symptom of muscle tissue damage (inflammation).Additionally, joint tissues also suffer damage during strenuous exercise andundergo a subsequent inflammation response. When joint tissues fail to regeneratefully between workouts, they may become chronically inflamed and/or degenerateto the point of serious injury. This can lead to the development of overusesyndrome.Factors that promote healing and injury recovery (reduced inflammation) YouthGood nutrition protein, vitamins A and CAdequate hemoglobin to transport nutrients and oxygenStaying properly hydratedProper exercise and weight training regimens such as incrementallyincreasing weight or resistance (no big leaps in weight), using proper formand getting plenty of rest in between workout sessions.By Mike Westerdal & Rick Kaselj, MSwww.criticalbench.com 18

How Food Can Lead toInflammation and Pain?Food and water are the essence oflife—without them our bodies couldnot function and we would die. Foodin particular, provides the necessaryprotein, carbohydrates, fats, nutrients,vitamins and minerals we need tofunction and maintain our metabolicsystems in top form. Eat a healthy dietand the body functions well—eat a poordiet and the metabolic systems arethrown off balance, and do not functionproperly. When this occurs, in additionto loss of energy and weight gain, ourbodies become susceptible to illness,disease, injury, inflammation and pain.A proper, healthy diet is one that is richin lean proteins, complex carbohydratesand healthy fats. The body gets its fuelto facilitate the recovery process fromthe foods we eat. That’s why it’s especially important for bodybuilders and exerciseenthusiasts to focus on eating lean proteins, complex carbohydrates and healthyfats. It is from these that the body manufactures the tools of recovery.In a perfect world, we would get 100% the substances we need to recover fromthe foods we eat. But in today’s modern world that’s not always possible. ModernBy Mike Westerdal & Rick Kaselj, MSwww.criticalbench.com 19

technologies and processes allow us to have convenient access to food thatwasn’t possible a couple generations ago, but along the way, a good portion ofthe nutritional content gets lost. That’s where nutritional supplements come intothe picture. In addition to eating healthy, taking supplements can help ensure thatour muscles have ready access to everything they need for the recovery process,which ultimately results in less inflammation.Conversely, a poor diet can lead to both inflammation and pain. In 2006, theUniversity of Naples conducted a study on the impact of diet on inflammation. Thestudy showed that dietary patterns high in refined starches, sugar, and saturatedand trans-fatty acids, poor in natural antioxidants and fiber from fruits, vegetables,and whole grains, and poor in omega-3 fatty acids may cause an activation of theinnate immune system. Researchers determined that this is most likely caused byan excessive production of pro-inflammatory cytokines associated with a reducedproduction of anti-inflammatory cytokines. The study determined that the whole dietapproach is particularly promising to reduce the inflammation associated with themetabolic syndrome.By Mike Westerdal & Rick Kaselj, MSwww.criticalbench.com 20

Foods that Inflame theBody and Increase PainWe know that inflammation is swellingthat occurs as the body’s self-protectionmechanism tries to remove harmfulstimuli such as damaged cells or irritants.The body’s approximately 230 joints areparticularly susceptible to inflammation.And when joint inflammation occurs,it inhibits mobility and causes pain. Insome cases joint inflammation can resultin severe pain that can last for days,weeks or longer, sometimes becoming achronic condition that lasts a lifetime. Ineither case, joint inflammation can reallyinhibit or even bring to a halt weight andstrength training.In an effort to uncover the reasonswhy some people seem to be moresusceptible to inflammation than others,researchers discovered a link between diet and occurrences of painful suddenor chronic joint inflammation. Their studies showed that people who at certainfoods—or types of foods—had few instances of joint inflammation and when it didoccur, these people recovered at a faster rate than others, who did not eat thesefoods.Even more interesting is the fact that they discovered that people who at a differentBy Mike Westerdal & Rick Kaselj, MSwww.criticalbench.com 21

type of food—or types of foods—were more likely to be plagued by either suddenor chronic joint inflammation. Not surprisingly, it also took these individuals muchmore time to recover from joint inflammation than those who belonged to the othergroup.And there’s good reason to be concerned about joint inflammation—particularlychronic inflammation—and it’s not just the painful joints, muscles, swelling and lossof mobility. In fact, chronic joint inflammation can increase your risk of developingserious and potentially deadly diseases and conditions including diabetes, heartdisease, Alzheimer’s disease and certain types of cancer. Other factors such asgenetics, overall health, lifestyle, amount of sleep and more play a role as well, butnevertheless, chronic joint inflammation can be a significant contributing factor.Because it is how our bodies obtain the nutrients they need to thrive and behealthy, diet can be linked to an increased likelihood of developing any of theconditions or diseases above. But diet isn’t the only common thread here—chronicjoint inflammation can actually be viewed as a ‘precursor’ to these other conditionssuch as diabetes, heart disease and the others. That does not necessarily meanthat every person with chronic joint inflammation will develop these other illnessesor conditions, but it does increase the chances.Unfortunately, outward symptoms of joint inflammation can take years and yearsto develop, meaning that many people are not even aware of the fact that theirjoints are inflamed until it becomes painful and inhibits mobility. Luckily though,measuring C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the bloodstream can help tell you thedegree to which you are on the path towards developing chronic joint inflammation.Researchers have discovered a link between increased CRP levels in thebloodstream and systemic joint inflammation. Even more important, they now knowthat there is a correlation between diet and CRP levels. People whose diets includehealthy fats, complex carbohydrates, lean proteins and antioxidant-rich foodsBy Mike Westerdal & Rick Kaselj, MSwww.criticalbench.com 22

showed lower levels of CRP than persons with diets that mostly consist of highlyprocessed foods, refined sugars, trans fats and simple carbs.Here are foods to avoid for the next seven days (and beyond), if you want toreduce the probability that you will develop systemic joint inflammation:1. Sugars—especially ones that are refined such as those found in candies,sodas, condiments and other common foods2. Wheat—(gluten) because a growingnumber of people are becominggluten sensitive, which simulates anallergic response3. Dairy and milk products—likegluten, more and more people aredeveloping lactose intolerance, whichupsets the body’s natural metabolicbalance. Additionally, the majority of commercial dairy products come fromcows that have been exposed to a lifetime of antibiotics, growth hormonesand worse4. Processed foods—of any type because processing usually means thatthe natural beneficial nutrients have been taken away and other, artificialingredients added to take their place5. Fast foods—these are usually very high in unhealthy, saturated and transfats, sodium and sugar6. White bread—which is ‘white’ because many of the he

In fact, some inflammation is actually very good for our bodies while other types of inflammation are not. Although we generally associate inflammation with pain, we need to understand that the inflammation is a necessary element in the body’s healing response to an injury (or infection). The inflam