Inflammation

As part of immunity, inflammation is one of the most basic human processes. It is our body's natural reaction to invasion by an infectious agent, toxin, physical, chemical or traumatic damage. Every fever, bump, rash, or bruise is the result of inflammation. On a microscopic level, inflammation involves dozens of different chemical factors released by injured cells. Their purpose is to limit damage to the body after injury or invasion of foreign organisms, such as bacteria or viruses. They establish a physical barrier against the spread of infection, and promote healing of any damaged tissue after the clearance of pathogens.
                                         
If our immune system detects foreign proteins, which it identifies as ‚non-self‘, it attacks them and causes inflammation. Foreign proteins are different from our body’s own proteins and are found in viruses, bacteria, fungus, parasites, toxins, and allergens.

The proteins in our food are also different from the body’s own proteins. We have to be able to change the protein from food into a form that the body recognizes as “self”, otherwise food could end up killing us. This is normally not a problem. We developed a very complex gastro-intestinal tract that digests food proteins into amino acids. Since all proteins are made up of the same amino acids, when foreign food proteins are digested into amino acids, they become “self.” The goal is to eat a food protein and thoroughly digest it into its amino acid components. This way we can maintain a healthy and functioning gastro-intestinal tract and prevent our own immune system from attacking the food and causing inflammation.