Aging Athlete: Controlling Inflammation (Episode 8)

Originally as a blog post entitled, "Aging Athlete: Controlling Inflammation (Episode 8)." 

I get asked all the time by patients how best to control inflammation. I have a specific protocol I personally use to control my old man’s tendency for that dangerous slow burn that we all experience as we age, so I want to share that with you. Let’s dig in.

What You Shouldn’t Use

The poet laureate William Carlos Williams, a physician, once wrote: “I’ve seen death come on slow as rust, or as quickly and suddenly as a doorknob come loose in the hand…” I may be paraphrasing, but the point here is that one of those doorknob moments is a sudden-death heart attack or stroke. Regrettably, a sure-fire way to achieve that sort of surprise death is by taking NSAID drugs.

NSAIDs are the common anti-inflammatory drugs you see in the grocery store or by prescription:

• Celebrex/Celecoxib
• Ibuprofen/Motrin/Advil
• Aleve/Naprosyn/Naproxen Sodium
• Indomethacin (Indocin)
• Diclofenac (Cambia, Cataflam, Voltaren-XR, Zipsor, Zorvolex)

Many of my patients take these drugs to function. However, they all have serious cardiac effects that can double to quadruple your chances of dropping dead and being that guy or gal with the loose doorknob in the hand (1). Hence, how does this aging athlete control inflammation while avoiding NSAIDs?

Three Simple Supplements To Control Inflammation

I control my inflammation by taking three simple supplements every day:

• High-dose fish oil.....

Published by Centeno-Schultz Clinic
Read by Chris Centeno, MD