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Chronic inflammation as a major health challenge today
The Real Secret of Health is to support the healthy function of the cells. And, the best thing to help support the healthy function of the cells is to provide the cells with a balanced supply of the essential nutrients. How well the cells function determines their health and longevity, which determines our health and longevity. Cells that have inadequate and/or improperly balanced nutrients can cause cellular dysfunction. Ongoing cellular dysfunction causes cell damage, health problems, premature ageing, and eventual cell damage and cell death. Cellular dysfunction and cell damage lead to what we know as chronic degenerative diseases like Rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, vascular dementia, alzheimers disease, .....
Thus, the importance of proper nutrition – it truly is the basis of health.
What is inflammation?
Acute inflammation is your body’s natural and helpful immune response to tissue damage. When you fall off your bike, the cut swells, reddens and feels…inflamed! These are all signs that your immune system is busy at work sending white blood cells to the site of your injury to repair the tissue. In this situation, inflammation is our friend — we couldn’t live without it.
Chronic inflammation is your body’s confused and damaging immune response to a barrage of environmental, physical, and mental invaders, which come in the form of things like poor diet, toxic chemicals, and stress. Chronic inflammation is a huge piece of our health challenge today.
…There’s a silent (yet violent) kind of inflammation that can take place without you even knowing it. What you eat, drink, and think (stress!), environmental toxins, smoking, boozing, and even a couch-potato lifestyle can create a fiery cascade of inflammation in your body. When your body hits an inflammatory overload, your defence system gets so overwhelmed and confused that it literally doesn’t know the difference between the invader and you. As a result, your well-meaning immune system turns on itself, destroying healthy cells, tissue, and everything else in its wake.
The difference between chronic inflammation and acute inflammation:
Acute inflammation - starts rapidly (rapid onset) and quickly becomes severe. Signs and symptoms are only present for a few days, but in some cases may persist for a few weeks.
Examples of diseases, conditions, and situations which can result in acute inflammation include:
Chronic inflammation - this means long-term inflammation, which can last for several months and even years. It can result from:
Our infections, wounds and any damage to tissue would never heal without inflammation - tissue would become more and more damaged and the body, or any organism, would eventually perish.
However, chronic inflammation can eventually cause several diseases and conditions, including some cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, periodontitis, and hay fever.
Some of the causes of chronic inflammation. It is triggered by numerous factors, but most of them are within your control and can be avoided. Take a look at this list. Anything sound familiar?
If health issues are identified and addressed early on by looking at lifestyle and diet, inflammation-inducing habits can be nipped in the bud and a lot of pain and sorrow can be prevented .
How to reduce chronic inflammation - some general guidance
There are many more ways to reduce chronic inflammation, but the above are a good way to start. Your cells will be happier for it!
The Microbiome and Inflammatory Disease
Most of the changes seen in AD, such as inflammation, brain cell atrophy, immunological aberrations, amyloidogenesis, altered gene expression and cognitive deficits are also seen as a consequence of microbial infection. There is currently much interest in the ability of GI tract bacteria to influence host innate-immune, neuroinflammatory-, neuromodulatory- and neurotransmission-functions.
While potentially pathogenic GI tract microbes are kept in check by a homeostatic commensalism, their increased abundance has been associated with conditions that include anxiety, autoimmune-disease, diabetes, metabolic-syndrome, obesity, and stress-induced and progressive neuropsychiatric diseases including schizophrenia and AD.
Thus, the importance of proper nutrition – it truly is the basis of health.
What is inflammation?
Acute inflammation is your body’s natural and helpful immune response to tissue damage. When you fall off your bike, the cut swells, reddens and feels…inflamed! These are all signs that your immune system is busy at work sending white blood cells to the site of your injury to repair the tissue. In this situation, inflammation is our friend — we couldn’t live without it.
Chronic inflammation is your body’s confused and damaging immune response to a barrage of environmental, physical, and mental invaders, which come in the form of things like poor diet, toxic chemicals, and stress. Chronic inflammation is a huge piece of our health challenge today.
…There’s a silent (yet violent) kind of inflammation that can take place without you even knowing it. What you eat, drink, and think (stress!), environmental toxins, smoking, boozing, and even a couch-potato lifestyle can create a fiery cascade of inflammation in your body. When your body hits an inflammatory overload, your defence system gets so overwhelmed and confused that it literally doesn’t know the difference between the invader and you. As a result, your well-meaning immune system turns on itself, destroying healthy cells, tissue, and everything else in its wake.
The difference between chronic inflammation and acute inflammation:
Acute inflammation - starts rapidly (rapid onset) and quickly becomes severe. Signs and symptoms are only present for a few days, but in some cases may persist for a few weeks.
Examples of diseases, conditions, and situations which can result in acute inflammation include:
- Acute bronchitis,
- Infected ingrown toenail,
- Sore throat from a cold or flu,
- A scratch/cut on the skin,
- Exercise (especially intense training),
- Acute appendicitis,
- Acute dermatitis,
- Acute tonsillitis,
- Acute infective meningitis,
- Acute sinusitis, ......... and of course many more.
Chronic inflammation - this means long-term inflammation, which can last for several months and even years. It can result from:
- Failure to eliminate whatever was causing an acute inflammation
- An autoimmune response to a self antigen - the immune system attacks healthy tissue, mistaking it (them) for harmful pathogens.
- A chronic irritant of low intensity that persists
- Asthma,
- Alzheimers Disease
- Chronic peptic ulcer,
- Tuberculosis,
- Rheumatoid arthritis,
- Chronic periodontitis,
- Ulcerative colitis
- Crohn's disease,
- IBS,
- Chronic sinusitis,
- Eczema,
- Psorasis and
- Chronic active hepatitis (there are of course many more).
Our infections, wounds and any damage to tissue would never heal without inflammation - tissue would become more and more damaged and the body, or any organism, would eventually perish.
However, chronic inflammation can eventually cause several diseases and conditions, including some cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, periodontitis, and hay fever.
Some of the causes of chronic inflammation. It is triggered by numerous factors, but most of them are within your control and can be avoided. Take a look at this list. Anything sound familiar?
- Poor dietary choices like processed foods, too many animal products, sugary drinks, trans fats and certain unhealthy saturated fats, and excess alcohol
- Gut health issues
- Food allergies
- Chronic infections (bacteria, viruses, yeast, parasites)
- Stress and exhaustion
- Sedentary lifestyle
If health issues are identified and addressed early on by looking at lifestyle and diet, inflammation-inducing habits can be nipped in the bud and a lot of pain and sorrow can be prevented .
How to reduce chronic inflammation - some general guidance
- Eat more plant-based, whole, nutrient-dense foods, preferably organic. Reduce inflammatory foods like refined sugar and flour, processed junk food, processed animal products, etc. by adding a variety of plant-based organic whole foods to your diet. These foods will flood your body with the vitamins, minerals, cancer-fighting phytochemicals, antioxidants and fibre it needs to recover from chronic inflammation. Fighting chronic inflammation with diet and life style changes should also be fun. So make the food varied and interesting.
- Our gut holds approximately 60-70 percent of your immune system, so it stands to reason that it would be a great place to reduce chronic inflammation. And if your gut is in bad shape, you can only imagine that your immune system is in some serious trouble. A great way to start can be taking a daily probiotic . Make sure it is high quality. (50 billion bacteria & 10 different strains is optimal)
- Identify and address food allergies and chronic (or hidden) infections. You could be fighting a losing battle if you’re ignoring potential food sensitivities and/or infections. If your body is working to cope and fight these challenges every day, take care not to fuel the inflammation. Gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, and yeast are common food allergens that might be distracting your immune system every time you sit down for a meal.
- Another possibility worth exploring is chronic infection (bacteria, viruses, yeast, parasites). They could be hiding in your body just under the radar and dragging your immune system down. An analysis will identify parasites, abnormal bacteria, yeasts and other gastrointestinal issues, which can then be treated effectively with diet, herbs and supplements.
- Relax and rest. Your body is hard at work repairing and restoring your life giving cells while you sleep. Most doctors recommend seven to eight hours of sleep per night. If you’re cutting corners here, this will impact on your immune system, which means it needs to work harder in an effort to keep you well. Another cause of inflammation.
- Stress goes hand in hand with a lack of sleep and other demands in our daily lives. Unfortunately, when you’re stressed out all the time, you’re also producing more of the hormone cortisol — inflammation’s best friend. It stands to reason that you can reduce chronic inflammation by focusing on stress reduction, whether it’s through more sleep, yoga or other body mind exercises, meditation, long walks, less technology or a much needed holiday.
- Reduce toxins in your food, home and personal care products. Your body’s alarm system goes off when you absorb toxic chemicals and pesticides through your digestive tract and your skin. Cut down your exposure by eating organic foods whenever possible and choosing non-toxic personal care and cleaning products.
There are many more ways to reduce chronic inflammation, but the above are a good way to start. Your cells will be happier for it!
The Microbiome and Inflammatory Disease
Most of the changes seen in AD, such as inflammation, brain cell atrophy, immunological aberrations, amyloidogenesis, altered gene expression and cognitive deficits are also seen as a consequence of microbial infection. There is currently much interest in the ability of GI tract bacteria to influence host innate-immune, neuroinflammatory-, neuromodulatory- and neurotransmission-functions.
While potentially pathogenic GI tract microbes are kept in check by a homeostatic commensalism, their increased abundance has been associated with conditions that include anxiety, autoimmune-disease, diabetes, metabolic-syndrome, obesity, and stress-induced and progressive neuropsychiatric diseases including schizophrenia and AD.