What is Inflammation?

So what is inflammation? Inflammation is part of the body’s natural defense mechanism. We experience it as swelling, redness, heat, pain and loss of mobility¹. Historically, medical professionals have linked inflammation to injury repair and immune system response. However, there is plenty of evidence suggesting that a much broader range of diseases is triggered by inflammation.

While the body’s inflammatory response usually leads to infection recovery and healing, inflammation can result in disease if our normal healing processes are not properly regulated. As a result, maintaining a healthy inflammatory response is critical.

Inflammation can be either acute (brief and sever) or chronic (constant). Acute and chronic inflammation can occur at the same time over extended periods, suggesting inflammation in the body is continually triggered. Examples are found in rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and cancers².

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a condition that has been linked to obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease and insulin resistance.

The issue with inflammation is not how often it occurs, but how often it does not go away. Non-resolving inflammation contributes more to the medical burden in industrialized nations than perhaps any other factor³.

As this article is quite long, I thought I would add some hyperlinks below to the key topics covered:

Active vs Chronic inflammation

Risk Factors Associated with Chronic Inflammation

Symptoms of Chronic Inflammation

Can I get a test to see if I have chronic inflammation

Lowering Chronic Inflammation in the body

Diseases linked with Chronic Inflammation

5 Ways to Prevent Chronic Inflammation

Acute vs Chronic Inflammation

Acute inflammation starts rapidly, becomes severe in a short time and symptoms may last for a few days⁴. Examples of acute inflammation include tissue damage due to trauma, infection, allergic reaction, chemical irritation, infection, burns, cuts or wounds.

Chronic inflammation is low-level inflammation, lasting for long time periods of several months to years. The severity and consequences of chronic inflammation vary depending on the cause of the injury and the body’s ability to heal.

Chronic inflammation can result in a wide range of illnesses, including Alzheimer’s, cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Typically, chronic inflammatory conditions happen when an initial inflammatory response does not work. A high influx of disease-fighting white blood cells in their attempt to resolve inflammation, stimulate the release of pro-inflammatory molecules and create a highly inflammatory environment, resulting in tissue damage and scarring⁵. When the immune system loses self-tolerance and attacks the body’s cells and tissues, chemical imbalances occur and/or worsen causing disease.

Chronic inflammatory illnesses are the leading cause of death worldwide. In the United States, the prevalence of disorders linked to chronic inflammation is expected to rise steadily over the next 30 years. Nearly 125 million Americans lived with chronic diseases in 2000, with 61 million (21%) having more than one.⁶

Risk Factors Associated with Chronic Inflammation

A low-level inflammatory response is promoted by a number of risk factors:

Diet

Higher production of pro-inflammatory molecules is linked to a diet heavy in saturated fat, trans-fats, or refined sugar, especially in people with diabetes or who are overweight.

Obesity

Some reports have shown that body fat tissue secretes a variety of chemical signals that regulate inflammation. According to certain studies, an individual’s BMI is proportional to the amount of pro-inflammatory chemicals released.

Low Sex Hormones

Studies show that sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen can suppress the production and secretion of several pro-inflammatory markers and it has been observed that maintaining sex hormone levels reduces the risk of several inflammatory diseases⁷.

Age

A rise in inflammatory molecules can occur with age due to the accumulation of free radicals over time. Other age related elements may also be a factor such as an increase in internal body fat.

Smoking

Cigarette smoking is linked with causing inflammation and lowering the production of anti-inflammatory molecules.

Symptoms of Chronic Inflammation

The following are some of the symptoms of chronic inflammation:

• Joint and muscle pain
• Chronic fatigue and insomnia
• Depression, anxiety and mood disorders
• Constipation, diarrhoea, and acid reflux
• Weight gain or weight loss
• Frequent infections⁸

Can I get a test to see if I have chronic inflammation?

Unfortunately, there are no highly effective laboratory tests for evaluating people for chronic inflammation, and diagnoses are only made when the inflammation is present in conjunction with another medical disease.

If you are suffering from inflammation, certain proteins are released into the body. Healthcare professionals can test for their concentration within the bloodstream. If their concentrations increase or decrease, they can be used as systemic inflammatory markers. Unfortunately, there are many different types of conditions that can affect the blood result, so results need to be carefully interpreted.

Lowering Chronic Inflammation in the Body

As described below, a variety of dietary and lifestyle adjustments may be beneficial in removing inflammation causes and lowering chronic inflammation in the body.

Physical Exercise

The most effective lifestyle adjustment to reduce inflammation is exercise and weight loss. In some studies, exercise combined with dietary restriction more effectively reduced internal body fat and markers of inflammation than dietary restriction alone⁹.

Low GI Diet (Glycemic Index)

The low GI diet has been demonstrated in studies to help people lose weight, lower blood sugar levels, and reduce their risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Try to avoid the consumption of inflammation promoting high GI foods such as white breads, starchy vegetables, cakes and other sweets.

Reduce intake of saturated fat and trans fats

Some saturated and artificial trans-fats promote inflammation, whereas omega-3 polyunsaturated fats appear to be anti-inflammatory. Fried fast foods and processed and packaged foods that contain trans fats such as potato chips, muffins, doughnuts, meat pies, sausage rolls, pizza should be reduced from the diet.

Fruits and Vegetables

Anti-inflammatory foods such as blueberries, apples, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower are rich in natural antioxidants, polyphenols, and other anti-inflammatory compounds.

Fibre

A diet high in dietary soluble and insoluble fibre has been linked to lower body weight and a reduction in inflammatory markers within the body.

Nuts

A greater intake of nuts has been associated with lowering inflammatory markers. Nuts are high in unsaturated fatty acids (especially -linoleic acid), dietary fibre, vitamin E, l-arginine, and phenolic compounds, all of which have been linked to anti-inflammatory properties. ¹⁰.

Green and black tea polyphenols

Tea polyphenols are effective antioxidants and associated with a reduction in inflammation markers in the body. 

Curcumin

Curcumin is a natural anti-inflammatory agent that has been used for treating medical conditions for many years. Its effectiveness as an anti-inflammatory drug has been proven in several experimental and pharmacologic trials. Curcumin has been shown to be effective in treating chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer’s and colon, stomach, lung, breast, and skin cancers¹¹.

Fish Oil

The most abundant source of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acid consumption is linked to decreased levels of inflammatory molecules.

Micronutrients – (Magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc and selenium)

Magnesium is listed as one of the most anti-inflammatory dietary factors, and its consumption is linked to a reduction in inflammatory molecules. Vitamin D works to reduce inflammation by inhibiting the production of inflammatory molecules. Vitamin E, zinc, and selenium act as antioxidants in the body¹².

Diseases linked with Chronic Inflammation

Chronic inflammation in the body is the cause of most chronic diseases and presents a major threat to the health of individuals. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers chronic diseases the major cause of death and disability worldwide.

Chronic inflammation is implicated in the development in a variety of diseases:

Diabetes

According to the American Diabetes Association, 30.3 million people or 9.4% of the American population, had diabetes in 2015 and it was the 7th leading cause of death in the United States¹³.

Cardiovascular Diseases

Clinical research has found substantial and persistent links between inflammatory markers and risk of cardiovascular disease.

In line with 2017 updated report from the American Heart Association, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) accounts for 1 out of every three deaths or approximately 800,000 deaths in the United States. Globally, CVD accounts for 31% of all deaths, and coronary heart disease (CHD) accounts for most deaths due to CVD, followed by stroke (1 of 20 deaths in the United States) and heart failure¹⁴.

Arthritis and Joint Diseases

These affect approximately 350 million people worldwide and nearly 43 million people in the United States or almost 20% of the population¹⁵.

Allergies

Allergic illnesses such as anaphylaxis, hay fever, eczema, and asthma now affect around a quarter of the population in affluent countries. Chronic allergic inflammation develops in allergic patients after repeated or prolonged contact to allergens, which are normally harmless compounds found in the environment. This results in long-term structural alterations in the affected organs as well as significant anomalies in their function.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

COPD is an obstructive lung disease that develops as a result of a persistent inflammatory response to inhaled irritants and is marked by long-term breathing difficulties. COPD was the third leading cause of death in the United States in2014, with almost 15.7 million Americans (6.4 percent) diagnosed with the disease¹⁶.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Chronic low-level inflammation has been linked to cognitive impairment and dementia in older adults.

Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease is characterized by low-grade inflammation, which contributes to the progression of CKD by causing the retention of numerous pro-inflammatory molecules in the blood.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

IBD is a term used to describe a group of chronic inflammatory illnesses of the gastrointestinal system. It can manifest as ulcerative colitis, which causes long-term inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the large intestine and rectum, or Crohn’s disease, which is characterized by inflammation of the digestive tract lining that spreads to affected tissues like the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, and anus.

Cancer

Many forms of cancer, including kidney, prostate, ovarian, hepatic, pancreatic, colorectal, lung, and mesothelioma, appear to be influenced by chronic low-level inflammation.

5 Ways to Prevent Chronic Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is a crucial element in almost all chronic degenerative diseases and can be harmful to the body. Some of the most effective techniques to prevent chronic inflammation are listed below.

Increase your intake of anti inflammatory foods

Simple sugars, refined carbohydrates, high-glycemic meals, trans fats, and hydrogenated oils should all be avoided. Inflammation can be reduced by consuming whole grains, natural foods, and plenty of vegetables and fruits like avocados, cherries, kale, and fatty fish like salmon.

Exercise regularly to maintain an optimum weight

It is widely accepted that body fat causes low-grade systemic inflammation in overweight people. Regular exercise can help you lose weight while also lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease and strengthening your heart, muscles, and bones.

Stress Less

Chronic psychological stress has been related to an increased risk of depression, heart disease, and a loss of the body’s capacity to control the inflammatory response and normal defences¹⁷. Stress-induced inflammation and its detrimental effects on the body can be alleviated with exercise, yoga and meditation.

Sleep Longer

Sleep deprivation raises the levels of inflammatory mediators throughout the body.

Minimize intake of antibiotics and NSAIDs

Antibiotics, antacids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) should be avoided because they can disrupt the microbiota in the gut, creating leaky gut, which releases toxins and produces persistent, body-wide inflammation.

Shifts in the inflammatory response from short-to long-lived can compromise immune tolerance and produce profound changes in all tissues and organs, as well as normal cellular physiology, raising the risk of non-communicable illnesses in both young and old people¹⁸. Chronic Inflammation can also impede normal immune function, making you more vulnerable to infections and cancers, as well as having a poor response to vaccinations. Chronic inflammation during pregnancy and childhood can also have major developmental implications, such as increasing the risk of non-communicable diseases later in life.

Footnotes