By Henrylito D. Tacio
When your body encounters an offending agent or suffers an injury (from an accident or being hit by a softball bat), the immune system is being activated. The immune system sends out its first responders: inflammatory cells and cytokines (substances that stimulate more inflammatory cells).
“Inflammation is an activation of cells and cell-derived components that have the job of fighting invasions, and in some cases just sponging up or clearing out damaged cells,” Dr. Valter Longo, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Southern California, told Time magazine.
More often than not, when people talk of “inflammation,” they conjure up images of a swollen foot after stepping on a broken bottle in the garden. But inflammation has also emerged as a key factor in serious diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (like high blood pressure and heart disease), lung diseases (such as asthma), gastrointestinal disorders (inflammatory bowel disease, for example), neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease), mental illness (depression, for one), cancer, diabetes, and a variety of infectious diseases.
Many different things can cause inflammation. The most common causes are pathogens like bacteria, viruses or fungi; external injuries like scrapes, insect stings or damage through foreign objects (a thorn in your finger, for instance), and effects of chemicals or radiation.
Among the diseases or medical conditions that cause inflammation oftentimes have a name ending in “-itis.” To name a few: bronchitis, cystitis, dermatitis, hepatitis, otitis media, periodontitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and sinusitis.
Most people think inflammation is a bad thing. But that should not be the situation in most cases. “It’s a normal part of physiology and your body’s response to anything dangerous,” explains Dr. Robert Shmerling, a rheumatologist at Harvard Medical School.
Once the immune system sends out inflammatory cells, they immediately work. “These cells begin an inflammatory response to trap bacteria and other offending agents or start healing injured tissue,” explains the Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic in its website.
Only acute inflammation is being healed through this process though. But once the body sends out inflammatory cells when you are not sick or injured, that’s another story. Doctors claim you may be suffering from chronic inflammation.
“In disease states, the good inflammation becomes chronic, or at least dysfunctional,” Dr. Longo said. Inflammation either sticks around when it should dissipate, or the immune system directs inflammation at something that’s not really a threat. (The latter refers to autoimmune disorders, such as lupus, where the body attacks healthy tissue.)
The Cleveland Clinic cites rheumatoid arthritis as an example. In a person with such disease, the “inflammatory cells and substances attack joint tissues leading to an inflammation that comes and goes and can cause severe damage to joints with pain and deformities.”
Symptoms of chronic inflammation may be harder to spot than acute inflammation symptoms. Signs of chronic inflammation can include: abdominal pain, chest pain, fatigue (lupus, for instance), fever (tuberculosis), joint pain or stiffness (rheumatoid arthritis), mouth sores (HIV infection), and skin rash (psoriasis).
Among the factors that may increase the risk of chronic inflammation, according to Medical News Today’s Adam Felman, include: older age, obesity, a diet rich in unhealthful fats and added sugar, smoking, low sex hormones, stress, and sleep problems.
Are there ways to reduce the risk of chronic inflammation? There are, and health experts share the following:
Gobble up on anti-inflammatory foods
Doctors are learning that one of the best ways to reduce inflammation lies not in the medicine cabinet, but in the refrigerator. “Many experimental studies have shown that components of foods or beverages may have anti-inflammatory effects,” says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.
An anti-inflammatory diet should include these foods: tomatoes, olive oil, green leafy vegetables (such as pechay, kangkong, and malunggay), nuts (almonds and walnuts), fatty fish (salmon, tuna, and sardines), fruits (strawberries, cherries, oranges). Coffee, which contains polyphenols and other anti-inflammatory compounds, may protect against inflammation, as well; be sure not to put sugar in your drink.
Cut back on inflammatory foods
On the other side of the coin, limit taking foods that kindle inflammation, urges Dr. James Gray, a cardiologist at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine. Eating inflammatory foods could accelerate the inflammatory disease process.
Among the inflammatory foods that should be avoided are refined carbohydrates (white bread and pastries), French fries and other fried foods, soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages, red meat (burgers, steaks) and processed meat (hot dogs, sausage), and margarine, shortening, and lard.
Control blood sugar
To do this, control or avoid simple carbohydrates, such as white flour, white rice, refined sugar, and anything with high fructose corn syrup. Instead, prepare meals around lean proteins and whole foods high in fiber, such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains (brown rice and whole wheat bread).
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says your blood sugar levels can be managed by eating at regular times and not skipping meals. Instead of drinking juice or soda, water is the best way to quench your thirst.
Be physically active
“Regular exercise is an excellent way to prevent inflammation,” Dr. Gray states. Make time for 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic exercise and 10 to 25 minutes of weight or resistance training at least four to five times a week.
Examples of aerobic exercise are swimming, cycling, using an elliptical trainer, walking, rowing, and using an upper body ergometer (a piece of equipment that provides a cardiovascular workout that targets the upper body only).
Shed off those extra kilograms
“There is an association between increased weight gain and increased inflammation,” wrote Jennifer Lutz for endocrineweb.com. “More weight can mean more inflammation. However, reducing excess weight also tends to mean less inflammation.”
Manage stress
Chronic stress contributes to inflammation, they claim. But that’s debatable. “There’s no one simple answer,” stresses Dr. Alka Gupta, co-director of integrative health at the Brain and Spine Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. “We do know, though, that when we teach people how to reduce stress in whatever form – stress management tips, classes, individual yoga, deep breathing – we see decreases in some of the inflammatory side effects.”
As such, manage your stress well. “We may not be able to change many of the stressful situations we encounter in life, but we can change our response and perception by learning to manage stress better,” Dr. Gray said.
Get a good sleep
It has been said that we spend one-third of our lives sleeping. So, how much sleep do we need each night? “The amount of sleep you need depends on various factors – especially your age,” explains Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Eric J. Olson.
The recommended amount of sleep for adults is 7 or more hours a night. “Routinely not getting enough sleep (6 hours or less) triggers inflammation – even in healthy individuals – which research suggests increases risk for metabolic issues that can lead to obesity,” writes Dr. Carolyn Williams for Cooking Light. – ###
Graphs credit: Harvard Medical School
