Have you thought about the link between sleep disorders, inflammation and chronic disease? There is fantastic evidence linking sleep disorders to a rise in inflammatory cytokines and an increased risk for chronic pathologies such as cardiovascular disease. A 56 year old male patient presents with sleep apnea (in which he uses a CPAP machine), cardiovascular disease (diagnosed 6 years ago) and joint pain. He read on the internet that Hops is effective for sleep apnea. His brother who has a similar condition was prescribed L-trytophan (at a dose of 4 grams/day) which he insists is effective. The patient comes to you (the nutritional expert) wondering which advice he should take from either of these two questionable sources. Considering the inflammatory mediators that we have covered over the last two weeks in lecture, make a case for your side of this debate to illustrate why it is the preferred treatment option. Be sure to take into consideration all of the information you know about this patient
