When it comes to persistent inflammation it’s best to have an open mind and a “try everything” approach, it’s the approach I take and it helped me discover boswellia. Hopefully you’ll try it out too because this is not just another highly marketed herbal tonic?
Boswellia, also known as frankincense can be a powerful and very beneficial supplement for arthritis sufferers, with many people I speak to reporting great results. However, some people see little or no positive effect from taking boswellia and there may be a very good reason why people aren’t feeling the boswellia love.
They may of simply bought the wrong supplement?
Which Boswellia should I look for?
Boswellia is effective in treating several health conditions and comes in all manner of gels, creams, pills and different concentrations. When seeking to counter inflammation we should look out for supplements made of 500mg’s of Bosweillia serrata gum resin that contain 70% organic boswellic acids and 10% AKBA.
Many of the cheaper supplements don’t contain those high levels of boswellic acid or AKBA but why is that a problem? Couldn’t we just take a higher dose?
Upping the dose of lower quality supplements may be dangerous and counter productive because many boswellic acid supplements naturally contain a pro inflammatory compound called beta-boswellic acid.
This pro-inflammatory compound may increase inflammation or cancel out the anti-inflammatory benefits boswellic acid should be providing.
If we find supplements with at least those levels shown above, we should feel the benefits of boswellia.
How does Boswellia work?
Boswellia is an inhibitor of the 5-LOX enzyme which activates the leukotrienes that cause inflammation. Reducing inflammation by tackling the pathways that support inflammation is vital, but Boswellia also has the double benefit of helping to tackle free radical damage.
I is suggested that taking 500 mg of high quality boswellia extract twice daily will help combat oxidative stress (free radical damage) and soothe inflammation. however, we should be addressing inflammation with every whole foods meal we eat, not just taking extra supplements. We can best help our bodies stay free of cellular damage, and become healthier if we eat natural food. Adding boswellia should surely help with the extra inflammation you are bound to get in diseases like RA.
Boswellia can help with
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
- Asthma
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
Boswellia isn’t my first choice anti inflammatory because of it’s potential interactions with some drugs, and a variety of medical conditions. If you tolerate it well you should see some results immediately, and more powerful results building up after about 1 month.