214 – Is Inflammation Caused by a Repair Deficit? – My Interview with Dr. Russell Jaffe

The Role of Antioxidants in Inflammation and Repair

Inflammation & Pain Support

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dr_russell_jaffeOne of the pleasures of doing HealthQuestPodcast.com is that I am continuing to learn about how nutrition affects our health, our structure and our function. I get to learn from important innovators in the various fields of natural health and I get to bring them to you through the podcast. Dr. Russell Jaffe is new to me as a guest and I gained new insight through this interview. And it always excites me when I can introduce my audience to these important topics.

In this interview, Dr. Russell Jaffe used a phrase that conceptually made a lot of sense in a few words. He said “Inflammation is Repair Deficit.”  This simple sounding phrase is a profound statement that leads to seeking how to facilitate repair in the body.

Inflammation is not a disease. It is a result of the body’s attempt to heal. When we use targeted nutrition, we are giving the body the specific nutrients to facilitate repair. Dr. Jaffe’s research has led to our understanding of the role of specific antioxidants for inflammation repair.

“Inflammation is like a smoldering fire that eventually eats through the fiber of our being. Because it affects the connective tissue infrastructure upon which our bodies are built, repair deficits can occur in any part of the body that is stressed, lacking in nutrients, or more exposed to toxins. This makes inflammation an underlying co-morbidity for many ills including:

  • Cardiovascular problems like CAD, ASHD, PVD and stroke risk;
  • Joint problems like Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis;
  • Liver problems like infectious and non-infectious Hepatitis;
  • Tendonitis;
  • Immune problems like allergies, sinusitis, and asthma;
  • Intestinal problems like IBS, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and gastritis.

Inflammation always means a cumulative repair deficit or a block to repair completion. When one is healthy, repair occurs seamlessly and completely.” Quote from Inflammation and Repair: The power of PERQUE antioxidants.

Dr. Jaffe has researched the role of specific antioxidants and their benefits for chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is oxidative stress in action. The body produces free radicals as an inflammatory response. Chronic inflammation produces ongoing and unhealthy amounts of free radicals. Over production of free radicals damages healthy cells. This increases the inflammatory response leading to tissue damage caused by oxidative stress. And so on. The question is how do we change the repair deficit naturally?

Dr. Jaffe’s answer is to consume more of the most important and powerful antioxidant nutrients. Specifically Quercetin Dihydrate and Orthoproanthocyandidin (OPC). These are pigmented compounds called flavonoids and flavanols in plants that have major antioxidant properties. Some possess anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory activities. Other benefits are the stimulation of mast cells, basophils, neutrophils, macrophages and other immune cells.

This fits perfectly with my advice. Don’t consider nutrition as your treatment for disease. Drugs treat disease. Nutrients nourish the body. Seek to nourish your cells, tissues and organs. Your body wants to heal. High quality nutrition is the only way for your body to have the natural building blocks of good health. This includes foods and supplements. Drugs are not nutrients and nutrients are not drugs. It is critical to realize this distinction.

It is also a fact that not all products are created equal. Look for products that have science underlying their claims. This is one way to make distinctions in the marketplace. Another way is to seek out health care providers that understand the role of nutrition in health and healing and can guide you. We all wish we had access to better alternative health care providers.

Dr. Jaffe has targeted both of these concerns. He founded PERQUE Integrative Health (PHI) to create products of highest and uncompromising quality and his company works directly with natural health practitioners. The two specific products that support pain and inflammation are PERQUE Pain Guard Forte and PERQUE Repair Guard. We will discuss the role of the Quercetin and OPCs in repair deficit.Through PERQUE you can find practitioners in your area that have been trained and have expertise in natural health and nutrition. This is Dr. Jaffe’s attempt to bring together science, products and trained providers for the benefit of consumers. This is one way for consumers to have confidence.

predictive_biomarkersDr. Jaffe also strongly suggests we could all know much more about our health status and future with 8 lab tests that serve as important predictive biomarkers. These tests provide a snapshot of your current health status which can guide your choice for therapy or preventive actions. You can research these further by visiting PERQUE.com. The tests are A1c, CrP, Homocysteine, LRA, 1st AM Urine pH, Vitamin D, Omega-3 index and 8 oxo-guanine. I have long been an advocate for benchmark blood testing. Dr. Jaffe points the way for using these predictive biomarkers as guide for moving us closer to optimal health. Spend a little time learning about the importance of these tests and how you can use to make better choices. Hopefully we will cover these in a future interview. You can view Dr. Jaffe’s presentation to the International Academy of Oral Medicine on YouTube. I recommend it.

If you are interested in working with a trained health professional, contact PERQUE Intergrative Health through their website.

About Dr. Jaffe
Dr. Russell M. Jaffe received his BS, MD and Ph.D from the Boston University School of Medicine in 1972. He completed residency training in clinical chemistry at the National Institutes of Health (1973 – 1976), remaining on the permanent senior staff until 1979. He is board certified in Clinical Pathology and in Chemical Pathology. On leaving NIH Dr. Jaffe began a journey that sought to support the emerging field of Integrative and Regenerative Medicine.

Dr. Jaffe is CEO and Chairman of PERQUE Integrative Health (PIH). His dedication to the application of primary prevention and his commitment to providing superior nutraceuticals and autoimmune testing with clinical evidence of superior efficacy has made him a sought after speaker and leader in his chosen field. You can learn more about Dr. Jaffe and read some of his work here.

In 1984 after, five years of research, Dr. Jaffe invented a process that would eventually lead him to the family of companies he runs today. This innovation’s primary effort was to create a technology platform for measuring and monitoring all delayed allergies in the world’s first single step amplified (ELISA) procedure. When accomplished it was the first performed in a living cell through an advanced culture technique (ACT). Today with over 50,000 cases in the lab database it remains a vibrant part of Dr. Jaffe’s integrated operations.perque

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