The importance of taking advantage of natural supplements and remedies to reduce inflammation has recently been driven home by the results of a study that found that prolonged inflammation may be conducive to cancer growth.
According to scientists from the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center, inflammatory conditions may induce the proliferation of tumor cells. They analyzed a lipid mediator called S1P which regulates the immune system, including inflammation and found that it can bind to receptors on cell surfaces and activate a variety of other compounds, some of which may play a role in the development and progression of cancers.
“It is difficult to find an area in which S1P does not have important if not key roles. How [it] so profoundly regulates cell fate decisions has long remained a mystery,” said Sarah Spiegel, co-leader of VCU Masseys Cancer Cell Signaling Program and chair of VCU School of Medicines Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department.
However, it is important to note that short-term inflammation is a natural and desirable process, which enables the body to fight off viral or bacterial infections.