Inflammation is actually a product of our immune system, and is our body’s protective response to injury, dangerous bacteria, viruses, or toxins. Normally it is part of a healthy immune response to prevent dangerous invaders from taking over our bodies.
We often become our own worst enemies when our overly active immune systems and the inflammatory response end up damaging our own bodies. And, unfortunately, once started, inflammation becomes difficult to turn off. Often inflammation is sneaky and silent, but can be deadly, too. Inflammation may be totally invisible to our own eyes, and often only specific blood tests can uncover high inflammation levels.
Why? Because many of the foods, additives and chemicals in our daily environment are substances that turn on our body’s defenses.
It used to be thought that aging came with chronic inflammation, which then progressed to chronic disease. Over time, chronic inflammation can lead to breakdown of collagen, destruction of the joints, blood vessels, digestive system, brain and nerve tissue and other organ systems, and premature aging, disease and ultimately, death.
The idea of chronic inflammation and its connection to aging and disease has been around for many years, but it has only begun to be studied intensely in recent years.
Gerontologists have known for years that inflammation seems to increase with age, but no one really was sure which came first—aging or inflammation. Inflammation also has a very strong connection to disease, especially chronic disease, so it was always thought that with aging came inflammation and, disease.
What we now know, though, is that aging does not have be accompanied by inflammation, meaning that many of us can live to a ripe old age without chronic disease. Reducing inflammation in the first place, before it ages you faster and causes disease, can be largely controlled with the right diet.
According to Russell Tracy, professor of pathology and biochemistry at University of Vermont College of Medicine, and a pioneer in research that demonstrated the role of inflammation in heart disease:
“Inflammatory factors predict virtually all bad outcomes in humans. It predicts heart attacks, heart failure, diabetes, becoming fragile in old age, cognitive function decline, and even cancer...”
Primitive man needed a strong immune system to fight off dangerous and deadly diseases and infections. Today we live in a more “sterilized” world where our immune systems are exposed to much less bacteria and other microorganisms on a daily basis than was natural in our ancestors. In some cases, this is good (in terms of dangerous infections), but in a general sense for overall immune system strength, this is bad. While the ability to thrive and survive as humans had a lot to do with the strength of our immune systems, it seems in our new overly sterile world, our immune systems and inflammation have turned on ourselves.
Elderly patients with Alzheimer’s disease (a chronic, progressive, degenerative disease of the brain), show areas of the human brain clogged up with neurofibrillary tangles and plaques. These same patients show many inflammatory cells and cytokines (a product of the immune system response). Clearly Alzheimer’s disease has a strong association to inflammation.
In diabetes, inflammation and insulin resistance work their destruction together. High blood sugar raises the body’s inflammatory markers. The drugs that seem to restore insulin sensitivity are also effective at reducing the body’s inflammatory markers like IL-6 and CRP.
Even osteoporosis and depression may have inflammatory roots, along with age-associated weakness. Scientists have even found that inflammatory activity breaks down skeletal muscle, leading to the loss of lean muscle mass. And on top of that, extra body fat tends to make these diseases strike earlier, because fat cells increase inflammation, and bring on accelerated aging.
Inflammation can be a very subtle process—one that you may not even be aware of.
Often low-level inflammation in our bodies is nothing like the raging infection, high fever or allergic reaction that you can’t help but notice. Most chronic inflammation goes on at a much lower level. As inflammation in various parts of the body simmers in the background, over the years, damage begins to accumulate--in the heart, the brain, your nerves, your digestive system, your bones and joints and more.
So the question is:
Is inflammation a part of the aging process or does inflammation accelerate aging?
The answer is—you can control HOW you age and HOW FAST you age by controlling—and limiting—the inflammation in your body.
What you eat, and how much you eat has a definite effect on the level of inflammation in your body. Many of the processed foods, additives, chemicals, and pesticides in our food supply are known to increase inflammation. In addition, food sensitivities, eating the wrong types of fats, allergies, and gluten issues also increase inflammatory reactions.
And of course, limiting and controlling your blood sugar strongly affects inflammation and aging as well.
The typical high-carb/high grain, low fat diet that many people eat, is extremely inflammatory. Refined sugar and other high glycemic foods make blood sugar and insulin levels rise, and put the immune system on high alert. High insulin levels also activate enzymes that raise levels of inflammatory arachidonic acid in your blood.
Much of the inflammation in our bodies begins in our digestive systems with sensitivities to common foods eaten every day like pasteurized dairy, corn and wheat. These foods contain proteins that easily spark the inflammatory cascade. You can be allergic or sensitive to any of these foods and not even know it—but they can be at work creating inflammation in your body.
We often become our own worst enemies when our overly active immune systems and the inflammatory response end up damaging our own bodies. And, unfortunately, once started, inflammation becomes difficult to turn off. Often inflammation is sneaky and silent, but can be deadly, too. Inflammation may be totally invisible to our own eyes, and often only specific blood tests can uncover high inflammation levels.
Why? Because many of the foods, additives and chemicals in our daily environment are substances that turn on our body’s defenses.
It used to be thought that aging came with chronic inflammation, which then progressed to chronic disease. Over time, chronic inflammation can lead to breakdown of collagen, destruction of the joints, blood vessels, digestive system, brain and nerve tissue and other organ systems, and premature aging, disease and ultimately, death.
The idea of chronic inflammation and its connection to aging and disease has been around for many years, but it has only begun to be studied intensely in recent years.
Gerontologists have known for years that inflammation seems to increase with age, but no one really was sure which came first—aging or inflammation. Inflammation also has a very strong connection to disease, especially chronic disease, so it was always thought that with aging came inflammation and, disease.
What we now know, though, is that aging does not have be accompanied by inflammation, meaning that many of us can live to a ripe old age without chronic disease. Reducing inflammation in the first place, before it ages you faster and causes disease, can be largely controlled with the right diet.
According to Russell Tracy, professor of pathology and biochemistry at University of Vermont College of Medicine, and a pioneer in research that demonstrated the role of inflammation in heart disease:
“Inflammatory factors predict virtually all bad outcomes in humans. It predicts heart attacks, heart failure, diabetes, becoming fragile in old age, cognitive function decline, and even cancer...”
Primitive man needed a strong immune system to fight off dangerous and deadly diseases and infections. Today we live in a more “sterilized” world where our immune systems are exposed to much less bacteria and other microorganisms on a daily basis than was natural in our ancestors. In some cases, this is good (in terms of dangerous infections), but in a general sense for overall immune system strength, this is bad. While the ability to thrive and survive as humans had a lot to do with the strength of our immune systems, it seems in our new overly sterile world, our immune systems and inflammation have turned on ourselves.
Elderly patients with Alzheimer’s disease (a chronic, progressive, degenerative disease of the brain), show areas of the human brain clogged up with neurofibrillary tangles and plaques. These same patients show many inflammatory cells and cytokines (a product of the immune system response). Clearly Alzheimer’s disease has a strong association to inflammation.
In diabetes, inflammation and insulin resistance work their destruction together. High blood sugar raises the body’s inflammatory markers. The drugs that seem to restore insulin sensitivity are also effective at reducing the body’s inflammatory markers like IL-6 and CRP.
Even osteoporosis and depression may have inflammatory roots, along with age-associated weakness. Scientists have even found that inflammatory activity breaks down skeletal muscle, leading to the loss of lean muscle mass. And on top of that, extra body fat tends to make these diseases strike earlier, because fat cells increase inflammation, and bring on accelerated aging.
Inflammation can be a very subtle process—one that you may not even be aware of.
Often low-level inflammation in our bodies is nothing like the raging infection, high fever or allergic reaction that you can’t help but notice. Most chronic inflammation goes on at a much lower level. As inflammation in various parts of the body simmers in the background, over the years, damage begins to accumulate--in the heart, the brain, your nerves, your digestive system, your bones and joints and more.
So the question is:
Is inflammation a part of the aging process or does inflammation accelerate aging?
The answer is—you can control HOW you age and HOW FAST you age by controlling—and limiting—the inflammation in your body.
What you eat, and how much you eat has a definite effect on the level of inflammation in your body. Many of the processed foods, additives, chemicals, and pesticides in our food supply are known to increase inflammation. In addition, food sensitivities, eating the wrong types of fats, allergies, and gluten issues also increase inflammatory reactions.
And of course, limiting and controlling your blood sugar strongly affects inflammation and aging as well.
The typical high-carb/high grain, low fat diet that many people eat, is extremely inflammatory. Refined sugar and other high glycemic foods make blood sugar and insulin levels rise, and put the immune system on high alert. High insulin levels also activate enzymes that raise levels of inflammatory arachidonic acid in your blood.
Much of the inflammation in our bodies begins in our digestive systems with sensitivities to common foods eaten every day like pasteurized dairy, corn and wheat. These foods contain proteins that easily spark the inflammatory cascade. You can be allergic or sensitive to any of these foods and not even know it—but they can be at work creating inflammation in your body.
No comments:
Post a Comment