While you may not have heard of Boswellia serrata, chances are you have heard of the family of plants it belongs to: Frankincense. Boswellia serrata is often burnt as an aromatic but has also been used as medicine.  

This gum resin extracted from Boswellia trees has been identified as having several healing properties that can benefit health. Used as an incense, this sap has been reported to relieve depression and anxiety and for thousands of years, has been used to manage inflammatory diseases.  

Phase One: Digestive Problems and Inflammation

To understand how Boswellia serrata contributes to your health, you need to take a journey through your gut. Your sensitive intestinal lining can be easily damaged from poor diet, stress, and illness. When permeability is thin, toxins and bacteria can leak into the bloodstream.  

Repeated damage causes poor absorption of vital nutrients and elements from your food. As a result, an increasing amount of toxins are able to take over the body. Your immune system, in defense, will launch an inflammatory attack and when overburdened, this inflammation can begin to target nerves, organs, tissues, and joints.

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The mere presence of inflammation in our body is an indicator of disease. In fact, without inflammation, most diseases would not even exist. Many serious and debilitating diseases are associated with inflammation:

♦ Alzheimer's disease

♦ Autism

♦ Arthritis

♦ Crohn's disease

♦ Celiac disease

♦ Fibromyalgia

♦ GERD

♦ Heart attack

♦ Kidney failure

♦ Multiple Sclerosis

♦ Psoriasis

♦ Rheumatoid Arthritis

♦ Stroke

Phase Two: Inflammation and Joint Pain

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States. The root of arthritis is severe and sometimes debilitating joint pain caused by inflammation. When joint pain interferes with your daily life and activities, it catches the attention of the medical field.

Collected under the name arthritis are actually over 100 different types of joint pain that can be severe. The pain stems from inflammatory attacks against your joints. These autoimmune diseases are triggered every time your body triggers an attack against itself.  

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When our immune systems are designed to protect us, how exactly does it happen that these internal attacks occur? As stated earlier, the problem lies in your gut. Improper digestion or a dysfunctional digestive system allows toxic particles and bacteria to seep through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream.

Once these are flowing through the body, they are identified as foreign and are immediately attacked. The increased and overwhelming inflammation throughout the body begins to damage vital parts, like your joints.  

There are several tactics available to address this inflammation, such as immunosuppressive agents or steroids. While these can reduce inflammation, they never address the underlying issue causing the problem.  

Additionally, you can choose dietary changes to improve your digestive system or address the unhealthy lifestyle mechanisms you have in place. Plan to get more sleep, resolve stress issues, increase exercise, and avoid unhealthy social habits.

Introducing Boswellia Serrata

While dietary and lifestyle changes can take commitment, there is a new solution that has caught the attention of joint pain sufferers. This tree resin from Boswellia trees has been used in India for centuries as healing medicine and has recently caught the interest of the world medical community.

Its anti-inflammatory properties have been found to equal those of prescription medications with no unpleasant or dangerous side effects. As the evidence will show, you really should only buy a joint health supplement containing Boswellia.

Most of the drugs for inflammation function as Cox enzyme inhibitors, whereas Boswellia works by inhibiting Lox (lipoxygenase) enzymes. Inhibition of the Lox enzymes blocks leukotriene synthesis, which plays a major role in inflammation-related diseases, such as joint diseases, intestinal disorders, cancer, and lung diseases.

Additionally, Boswellia inhibits the breakdown of connective tissue caused by potent inflammatory agents in the body. The overall ability of Boswellia serrata to modulate the inflammatory response of the immune system makes it promising to address autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Specifically, Boswellia acids are able to suppress proliferating tissues found in inflamed areas of the body and to prevent their breakdown. This powerful tree resin also helps to improve blood flow to your joints, improving the integrity of weakened blood vessels.  

Benefits of Boswellia Serrata

There are numerous benefits that can be contributed to Boswellic resin.  In addition to inflammation, regular intake of Boswellia serrata can help in the following ways:

Dissipated cluster headaches

Alleviated depressive symptoms 

Reduced anxiety and stress

Reduction in blood clotting

Fat loss from heat generation associated with incensole

Prevention of oral pathogens in the digestive system

Increased osteoclast production and improved bone health

Inhibited pro-inflammatory enzymes that degrade collagen and elasticity of the skin

Induced apoptosis (programmed cell death) of cervical cancer cells with hot water extract of Boswellia

The Bottom Line

The Three Wise Men Were on to something. Along with the gold and highly prized perfume, Frankincense or Boswellia serrata was obviously a gift fit only for a king. The extensive healing powers have been proven through countless research studies.

Evidence increasingly shows that this tree resin is more effective than traditional NSAIDs at reducing pain and inflammation and most recently, has been shown to help in the fights against cancer and diabetes.  

More than just natural treatment for arthritis and joint discomfort, Boswellia serrata can be taken daily to boost overall health. With inflammation linked to every serious disease we face, tackling the problem at the source seems to be our best bet.

As powerful and fast acting as its properties are, you need to remember that there is no such thing as a magic pill. The best defense against arthritis and relieving joint pain is to combine the supplemental herb with an anti-inflammatory diet. You need to treat your body like royalty and a gift like Boswellia serrata is a perfect place to start.

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Sources

1. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6539a2.htm

2. https://www.healthline.com/health/boswellia

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1112084/

4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3309643/