What Is Inflammation and How It Impacts Your Overall Health

What is inflammation? Basically, it’s the body’s innate immune response to harmful stimuli like irritants, pathogens and damaged cells or tissues. As you may observe, your cuts and wounds redden and feels inflamed, which is actually a good sign because it only shows that the immune system is working on sending white blood cells to the injured area to repair the damaged tissues. However, chronic inflammation is a different story.

What is Inflammation? In its chronic form, it appears as the body’s perplexed and harmful immune response to a salvo of physical, mental and environmental aggressors that come in the form of stress, toxic chemicals and poor diet.

What Is Inflammation and How Is It Related to Obesity?

Obesity is characterized by low-grade chronic inflammation, which may occur due to poor dietary choices.  Regular consumption of particular foods can lead to diet-induced inflammation. As a result, you will develop resistance to insulin, leptin and other conditions that consort with obesity. Unfortunately, these conditions make it difficult to lose weight and or maintain a healthy physique.

A comprehensive study about ancient people, particularly the hunters and gatherers, shows that prehistoric people have no record of obesity despite the availability of food. Available literature says that human beings are poorly adapted to particular modern foods like sugar, refined vegetable oils and particular dairy products. Poor adaption to these foods encourages inflammation and obesity through different mechanisms.

What Is Inflammation In Relation To Permeable Gut?

There are obviously different gut flora compositions between lean and obese individuals. While obesity may be a result of unhealthy diet and overeating, it can also be hereditary. Flora is passed down to child from mother during birth and breastfeeding; thus obese gut flora can be inherited from the mother.

But…

Your diet also affects the composition of your gut flora and altering your gut microbiodata will play an essential role in a weight loss program; that is if you are trying to lose weight. Obese individuals normally have a defective gut flora with more methane-producing bacteria and Lipopolysaccharide or LPS-containing microbiota, which is linked to obesity, permeable gut and low-grade chronic inflammation. A leaky gut absorbs incompletely digested proteins via the gut wall which can result to various diseases including joint problems and arthritis. Symptoms like cramps, bloating, gas and food sensitivities might be caused by a leaky gut.

There are various reasons as to why the gut becomes permeable.

Drug-related:

• Too much intake of antibiotics,
• Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin,
• Birth control pills,
• Steroid drugs,
• Antacids,
• Chemotherapeutic agents

Diet and Nutrient Deficiencies:

• A diet consisting of flour, processed foods, sugar, food additives, caffeine, soda and alcohol that overwork the liver and bother the intestinal lining,
• Zinc and vitamin B-6 deficiencies that compromise the integrity of the intestinal wall,
• Vitamin A deficiency that inhibits the building of mucosal linings and of the intestines,
• Amino acid and l-glutamine deficiencies that slow down intestinal repair.

Lifestyle:

• Smoking
• Living a life with chronic stress, causing the blood flow to the gut to reduce; thus increasing free-radicals to build up.

Diseases:

• Inflammatory conditions like colitis, pancreatitis, celiac, and Crohn’s Disease,
• HIV/AIDS,
• Food allergies that usually cause an immune response within the gastro intestinal lining,
• Cancers of or related to gastro-intestinal tract,
• Poor functioning of the liver and liver disorders.

What Is Inflammation In Relation To Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis among older people. This condition causes swelling and pain as it reduces the movements of your joints. Osteoarthritis is often felt in the spine, hips, knees and hands. Although this is a common age-related illness, osteoarthritis can also be caused by being overweight and by injuring a joint. Because this is a degenerative joint condition, earlier medical claims support the concept of the wear and tear of the joints. However, some researchers from the Stanford University believe otherwise. In 2011, William Robinson – an associate professor of immunology and rheumatology in Stanford – together with his colleagues, made a very significant discovery about osteoarthritis that has changed the view about the disease.

Instead of blaming the condition to mechanical wear and tear, the researchers put a large emphasis on low-grade inflammation. Their studies show evidences that the osteoarthritic joint tissues have huge numbers of migratory inflammatory cells that ooze out particular substances before the progression of the disease. These substances trigger a chain of molecular events that lead to an attack to the joint itself.

So, what does this new research finding want to accomplish?

Osteoarthritis is currently incurable. But instead of accepting it as a predestined part of growing old, analyzing lifestyle and embracing necessary changes will help manage the occurrence of pain and inflammation. Instead of taking prescription drugs, which is the usual practice, it is more helpful to work with a nutritional practitioner in finding natural ways in dealing with osteoarthritis.

What Is Inflammation: How To Lessen Inflammation

Forget about your anti-inflammatory medicine, which only causes further damage to your body; instead focus on these natural ways of reducing chronic inflammation:

1. Change your diet into organic, plant-based, nutrient-dense and whole foods. As discussed earlier, processed foods, dairy products, flour and refined sugar cause inflammation, so you must definitely avoid these. Well ban sugar from your life and observe how your health and overall well being will improve. For the craving, indulge with dark organic chocolate.
2. Have fruits, vegetables and nuts, which have all essential nutrients, antioxidants and fibres that are needed to reduce inflammation. Remember to eat organic products as much as possible to avoid pesticides and other chemicals build toxins in the body.
3. Improve the health of your gut. Our gut holds up to 70% of our immune system, so it is the right place to reduce inflammation. Taking high quality probiotics will help heal your gut; pick a brand that includes Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria, Saccharomyces boulder and non-disease causing strains of Escheridia coli and streptococci. Take a whole course of probiotic twice a year. Also, eating fruits and vegetables will give you a healthier gut. It is also helpful to identity the foods you are allergic to and avoid eating any of these so as not to compromise the health of your gut.
4. Seek for natural remedies for inflammation instead of relying on anti-inflammatory prescription drugs.  , high quality Omega-3 fatty acids, is almost unavoidable. Aside from fruits and vegetables, olive oil, fish, nuts, garlic, herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, parsley), chocolates made of pure cocoa, and green tea are good foods and ingredients that help prevent inflammation. Curcuma is a powerful anti inflammatory spice and can be taken as a supplement or use generously in your recipes.
5. You may take supplements like vitamin E, sylimarin, polyphenols and flavanoids to help reduce inflammation. If your diet is well balanced and plant based, you should not have the need to supplement for these.
6. Take supplementation of vitamin D3. Dr Patrick Kingsley recommends “10,000IU D3 (yes ten thousand IU) daily for at least two to three weeks and then drop the dose to 5,000IU every day or 10,000IU Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays”. Vitamin D3 should be coupled with vitamin K2 to avoid symptoms of Vitamin D3 toxicity, such as inappropriate calcification or hardening of the arteries; opt for the category called MK-7 (menaquinone-7).
7. Reduce your stress, sleep more at night. The human body works at repairing and restoring all cells and tissues that might have been damaged or overworked while we are sleeping at night. Doctors recommend an 8-hour sleep every night and when we try to under sleep, our immune system works double time to keep us well; thus the inflammation. Lack of sleep can aggravate stress, which causes our system to produce more cortisol that promotes inflammation. This goes by saying you need to relax, meditate and choose your battle well to reduce stress and thereby reduce inflammation.