May 31st, 2016 
Inflammation: it’s a double-edged sword.
Acute inflammation, meaning inflammation, or swelling, that lasts for a short period of time, is usually very good for you. Think of a cut you get on your finger, hand, or anywhere. Everyone’s had a cut. But what happens when you get cut? First, your body works to restrict blood flow by tightening blood vessels, your blood itself uses clotting agents to stop bleeding, your white blood cells and other antibodies work to fight infection, and all of that leads to swelling, or inflammation, which, over days or maybe weeks, depending on the severity of the cut, is actually responsible for healing the cut. That kind of inflammation is entirely healthy.
Chronic lower muscular back pain has been a part of me since I took a knee-buckling zap in my back raking leaves in the backyard almost 20 years ago. Since then, I think I’ve managed the pain pretty well despite quite a few intense flare-ups every year that, for a few days at least, require me to throw clothing for my lower body on the floor first to have them snagged with my feet and then maneuvered where they belong by rolling gingerly on my back and using a combination of gravity and some ridiculous looking anti-gymnastics. If you’ve had or have back pain, you know the deal.
An extraordinarily friendly woman I check out with almost everytime I take a run through BJ’s Wholesale Club in Northborough, MA, noticed a bag of mixed dried fruit along with containers of fresh fruit in my shopping cart and asked, “What’s better for you, dried or fresh fruit? I’ve tried looking it up online, but I can’t find a good answer.”
