Managing Chronic Inflammation

 

Cellular inflammation comes in two versions - acute and chronic. Inflammation is an important aspect of your immune system. The inflammation response that attends an injury, infection or virus is your immune system's first line of defense. This sort of inflammation is called acute and is short-lived and temporary. Common signs of acute inflammation include fever, pain, redness and swelling.

Chronic inflammation is much more severe and can last for months, or even years. With chronic inflammation, the body’s immune response is overcompensating for  stress, illness or lifestyle factors like smoking or obesity. Over time, chronic inflammation can damage healthy tissue, organs and cells and lead to a number of serious chronic diseases including Alzheimer's, cancer and heart disease. If you suffer from a condition with a name ending in -itis (arthritis, tendonitis, gingivitis, colitis, etc.) then chronic inflammation is likely at the root of it. Because chronic inflammation initially produces few noticeable symptoms, it often goes undiagnosed until it reaches a more severe stage.

"The only way to detect chronic inflammation is to have an evaluation by your doctor. He or she will review your symptoms, perform a physical exam, and perhaps check your blood for signs of inflammation," says Dr. Robert H. Shmerling, medical editor of Understanding Inflammation from Harvard Health Publishing and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Otherwise, the best approach is to prevent the conditions related to chronic inflammation. It goes back to the basics: maintaining a healthy weight, choosing a good diet, getting plenty of sleep, and exercising regularly."

Fortunately, there is a great deal you can do to prevent, control or even reverse chronic inflammation and much of it will sound familiar. Diet and exercise have an especially strong impact on managing chronic inflammation since they both also can help control weight and improve sleep. The evidence for a specific type of diet to prevent chronic inflammation is unclear.

However, certain foods are associated with either promoting or inhibiting the inflammatory response. For instance, cut back or eliminate foods high in simple sugars like soda, fruit juices with added sugars, sports drinks, processed meat, and refined carbs like white bread and pasta. Eat more foods high in the antioxidants, which can lower inflammation. Examples include all types of berries, cherries, plums, red grapes, onions, turmeric, green tea, and dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale.

Regular exercise can help protect against conditions linked with chronic inflammation, especially heart disease and obesity. A 2017 study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity found that just 20 minutes of moderate-intensity walking  each day can have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Finally, make sure that you are getting 7 - 8 hours of restful sleep every night and that you are actively managing the inevitable stress in your life. 

If all this sounds amazingly similar to the advice you get for many other health issues, that's because it is. Managing chronic inflammation is just one more good reason to take it.