“Inflammation” describes what your body does to heal itself. Typically, inflammation involves redness, swelling, heat and pain. These are a result of the body bringing all of its repair chemicals to the site of injury.

Inflammation is of course a good thing when we are injured. Yes, it causes quite a bit of discomfort, but this is only a ‘side effect’ of your body trying to repair itself. These symptoms are why we are so often told to use rest, ice, compression and elevation to get rid of it.

We’ve also been taught to pop non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) at the first sign of pain or discomfort. Ibuprofen is the most popular choice; so much so that we like to refer to it as ‘Vitamin I’ because so many active and athletic people take it.

But did you know that ibuprofen, and other NSAIDs will actually contribute to the degeneration of your cartilage, tendons and ligaments? Yes, it’s true! And did you know that these drugs cause approximately 15,000 deaths per year in the U.S. alone? About 6% of people taking them will be hospitalized. One nasty thing these drugs do is cause your stomach to bleed…nice huh?

That’s why when it comes to treating an injury, or some other inflammatory process, we use systemic enzymes instead. Enzymes are specialized proteins that speed up chemical reactions in the body. Enzymes help to safely control inflammation by breaking down the inflammation-causing chemicals. They can also help relieve pain and decrease swelling. Enzymes also help the immune system to be more efficient at clearing up the leftover debris left at the site of an injury. This helps speed healing.

They can be taken indefinitely, with nowhere near the risk that comes with taking NSAIDS. We get them from both plant and animal sources.

So, if you want to preserve your cartilage, tendons and ligaments, and not have your stomach bleed, you may want to consider using a good systemic enzyme complex for your aches and pains.