The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Guide - a useful resource for pharmacists to support patient health and wellbeing

When Hemant Patel was struck down by Covid, he was determined to discover what was it that led to the disease having a devastating impact on the lives of people who seemed be healthy – the culmination of his journey is the book, The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Guide.

“I was gasping for breath and counting the number of days I might be alive when I was infected with Covid,” reveals Patel.

“I was watching TV and two Covid-related stories came on the news. One was of a 70-year-old man returning home after spending time in hospital, and the other was of a 40-year-old marathon runner who died.

“My brain couldn’t comprehend that. I would have expected outcomes to be a bit different as I'm sure most people would have done.”

Patel was a colossal figure in the world of community pharmacy. He was the secretary of North East London’s Local Pharmaceutical Committee for 26 years and also served four terms as president of the then Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB).

Hemant Patel

He passionately worked towards improving the health of patients, helping contractors develop new clinical services, including smoking cessation, sexual health, mental health support and the use of electrocardiogram devices within community pharmacy.

He used his vast knowledge and experience to look into the impact of Covid and discovered the profound impact inflammation plays on a person’s health and well-being.

In fact, chronic inflammation is linked to more than 50 per cent of all deaths worldwide and one in five cancers.

“I started investigating and I realised in the West, particularly, we are confused between physical fitness and resilience,” he said.

“What I learned from my extensive research is that you can be physically fit but immunologically not resilient. Then I said, ‘what do we need to do to become resilient? And the outcome is the book.”

As first-line healthcare providers, Patel believes the book will be an excellent resource for community pharmacists advising their patients on living healthier lives.

He’s received an overwhelmingly positive response from some pharmacists who have had an early read of the book which will be launched at the Sigma Conference in Baku next week.

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“The Secretary of State (Wes Streeting) has said the government will be investing in prevention, not in treatment, because at the present time, there is more and more hospitals needed because we are being poisoned every single day.

“Pharmacists can be the force in the community that helps patients to change their lifestyles.”

Patel’s determination to write the book led him to become a certified health coach after he completed a course in integrative nutrition functional medicine.

“The common link for vast number of long-term conditions is inflammation,” he said.

“If you look at the prevalence of things like obesity, diabetes, blood pressure, mental illness - it has all increased since World War Two due to changes in our environment, food, water, the air we breathe, the stuff we spray on ourselves - all this is leading to toxicity and immunological response to it and it is slow and prolonged.

“If you look at carrots for example, it is estimated that it only contains 40 per cent of the nutrients it had some 60 years ago because the soil is being depleted. That is affecting the food. The food is affecting our bodies. When people say, eat healthily, nobody actually knows what's going on in their body.”

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There are 12 steps in the book that can be used to combat chronic inflammation and regain “internal balance”.

Patel gives evidence-based advice on ways to reduce inflammation, such as going for a walk in the park, meditation, getting regular sleep, switching to organic foods, eating more vegetables, reducing meat - particularly red meat, drinking filtered water.

He describes alcohol as “poison, – we use to clean our skin when we fall down and hurt”.

Two areas, for example, of scientifically-proven ways to reverse chronic inflammation relate to exercise and intermittent fasting – something which Patel himself has seen the benefits of.

“When you fast, instead of using energy to digest food, the body switches into clearing the mess in the body - it clears out the dead cells and recycles them. And much more importantly, new cells are produced when you are fasting through a process called autophagy.”

Autophagy is a natural process by which a cell breaks down old, damaged, unnecessary, or dysfunctional components within a cell and then repurposes those components for fuel and to build or maintain cells.

It also destroys disease-causing pathogens, like bacteria and viruses, that can harm cells and has been linked in playing a role in preventing and fighting diseases like Parkinson's disease and Crohn's disease.

As for exercise, Patel explains you don’t have to run a marathon to see benefits.

“When we use our muscles, the body releases a substance called myokines which is anti-inflammatory,” he said.

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Patel has carried out extensive research into ancient cultures who he believes had a more holistic approach to health.

“The book looks areas such as Chinese culture and Ayurvedic cultures, we have a lot to learn from them,” he said.

“It’s a pity we have moved away from it because they look at the whole body. In the West, we look at each organ, so you've got a cardiologist, rheumatologist, you've got a kidney specialist, whereas in Ayurveda, they look at the whole body, and that is where the inflammation comes in.

“The inflammation doesn't just affect one part. When you go to a dodgy knee, the symptoms are being shown in your knee, but there is inflammation going on in the other parts of the body as well.”

Patel reveals he has seen first-hand the result diet and exercise has had on his own father’s life.

“My father and my uncle were twins, but they had different lifestyles. My father did not drink alcohol, stuck to vegetarian diet, and he would start his day with yoga. He's 94-years-old and can still touch the back of his head with his toes,” said Patel.

“My uncle put on a lot of weight. Ate nastas (wholesome breakfasts), salty foods. When you look at the health outcomes, my dad is healthy and alive, whilst my uncle died a year ago after being really ill for two years.

“Investing in health does two things - it extends the life and it improves the quality of your life towards the end of your life.”

As for Patel’s own health, at 71, he feels in the best shape he has for decades after implementing the strategies he has shared in the book.

“I had long Covid and I was in a bad state,” he said.

“When I got up in the morning, it was like I had drank a bottle of whiskey the night before. I was rested but my head wasn't clear. By lunchtime, I was fatigued and wanting to go to sleep. I was in so much pain constantly.

“Now my head is clear. My pain has eased up a lot. I'm sleeping much better and probably a better person to be around than before because I was just so irritable.

“Every single day, using my dad as an inspiration, I'm going to keep going.”

The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Guide is available to download as a free e-book from Amazon only between May 12-13^th. Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F6VLX2DC