Chronic Inflammation
Inflammation is the body’s reaction to signal to the immune system that there is an injury or an infection. This natural reaction is called acute inflammation and it helps us recover from small injuries, damaged tissue and viruses.
However, inflammation can linger or return in a designated spot on your body. When inflammation is constant, in the cellular level, that is referred to as Chronic inflammation. Even though it may seem to be limited to one specific part of the body it can actually have a negative impact on the entire body.
Chronic inflammation is linked to rheumatoid arthritis, heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular disease. It also has a damaging effect on your DNA, which can cause cancer. One way to know is having your doctor measure your C-reactive protein. You can also look for some signs and diagnose yourself.
One major sign of inflammation is a substantial amount of visceral fat. Fat around your abdomen makes you more susceptible to developing constant inflammation. High blood sugar can be a major contributor. Also if you have consistent digestive problems you may have a “leaky gut” which is basically an inflamed gut. Even if you just consistently do not feel good, it could be because of inflammation. More research is being done on the subject of microbiome and how chronic inflammation of the gut can negatively affect people in multiple ways. In fact our gastrointestinal tract can be a major factor of chronic inflammation.
If you recognize any of these symptoms or have a high level of C-reactive protein, then you may want to make certain changes in your lifestyle.
What are some of the solutions to fix chronic inflammation?
Your diet is a bigger contributor to inflammation than you may realize. Over consumption of sugar, processed foods and grains can lead to chronic inflammation. A way to combat this is to try to eliminate sugar, limit grains and choose organic unprocessed foods. Try to incorporate more anti-inflammatory foods in your diet such as foods high in omega-3s. Salmon is properly the best anti-inflammatory food source.
Excess body fat increases an inflammatory hormone called Wnt5. This will trigger inflammation to fat cells. When this is combined with insulin resistance it will lead to damage within your cells. Stress factors in greatly when it comes to chronic inflammation. This is due to consistency high levels of a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is considered the “fight or flight” hormone. When it is constantly elevated your body stops other functions and directs its focus on your high level of cortisol. In other words, your body is consistently in the “running away from a tiger” mode. A diet that incorporated pre and probiotics can help prevent a “leaky gut” and protect your GI tract.
Therefore, diet, exercise and stress levels all play a vital role in decreasing chronic inflammation.