Oct 04 , 2024
Inflammation
Inflammation is your body's way of protecting itself from infection, illness and injury. There are two types – good and bad.
Acute inflammation is the ‘good’ type and is the body’s normal response to microbes, tissue damage or metabolic stress. It happens when something harmful or irritating affects our body (e.g. you get a cut, burn or bruise). When the inflammatory response is short-term, it serves a useful purpose by kick-starting our body’s defence system, protecting against further damage and helping us to recover.
There are five key signs of acute inflammation:
Pain: This may occur continuously or only when a person touches the affected area.
Redness: This happens because of an increase in the blood supply to the capillaries in the area.
Loss of function: There may be difficulty moving a joint, breathing, sensing smell, and so on.
Swelling: A condition called edema can develop if fluid builds up.
Heat: Increased blood flow may leave the affected area warm to the touch.
These signs are not always present. Sometimes inflammation is “silent,” without symptoms. A person may also feel tired, generally unwell, and have a fever. Symptoms of acute inflammation last a few days. Subacute inflammation lasts 2–6 weeks
Chronic inflammation is the ‘bad’ type and happens when the inflammation process goes on for too long, or if there is too much of it.
Chronic inflammation can continue for months or years. Increased levels of chronic inflammation are also associated with an unhealthy lifestyle, including a poor diet, weight around your stomach, weight gain, smoking status, alcohol consumption, sedentary behavior, stress and amount of sleep can affect your overall health and risk of developing chronic disease.
Chronic inflammation can attack the entire body and, in the process, raise the risk for certain types of diseases and disorders in specific areas like the heart, brain, joints, and gastrointestinal tract.
Heart: Inflammation can raise the risk of heart attacks, and the link is believed to be related to cholesterol. Cholesterol can cause plaque build-up in the arteries, potentially blocking blood flow and leading to a heart attack. As cholesterol invades the wall of an artery, the immune system treats it like any other invader and releases inflammation-producing chemicals to help remove it. A fibrous cap is formed over the plaque. Inflammation inside the plaque can eventually eat away at the cap, and if it ruptures, the cholesterol, inflammatory cells, and chemicals in the plaque spill into the artery causing a blood clot to form which blocks blood flow.
Brain: Research has found that high amounts of inflammation in the body are associated with brain aging, increased cognitive decline, and “brain fog,” which can impair thinking and cause memory lapses and confusion. Inflammation also may play a role in the production of an abnormal protein called tau, which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Joints: Chronic inflammation can lead to pain, swelling, stiffness, and joint damage, known as inflammatory arthritis. This can damage cartilage, bones, tendons (which attach muscle to bones), or ligaments (which hold joints together) and irritate nerves. Common types of inflammatory arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and psoriatic arthritis.
Gastrointestinal tract: Inflammation is a driver of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, including the stomach, gallbladder, and small and large intestines. Two types of IBD are ulcerative colitis, marked by continuous inflammation of the large intestine, and Crohn’s disease, which causes inflammation anywhere in the GI tract. People with IBD can experience various symptoms, such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, blood in their stool, bloating, and weight loss.
Liver inflammation: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is fatty liver not caused by alcohol intake. There are two types: simple fatty liver and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Simple fatty liver doesn’t cause inflammation. However, NASH is more severe and occurs when fattened cells become inflamed. This inflammation can damage liver cells, resulting in cirrhosis (permanent scarring of the liver), and increase the risk of liver cancer. Chronic liver inflammation can also be caused by a hepatitis C infection and lead to cirrhosis.
Foods that cause inflammation
There are certain foods which, if eaten in abundance may, 'switch on' inflammatory processes within the body. Some of these foods have already been associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. This isn’t surprising given that inflammation underlies the development of these diseases.
Foods that contribute to inflammation tend to be highly processed nutrient-poor foods:
Low-fibre, refined carbohydrates like white bread, crackers, donuts, cakes and pastries.
Sugary drinks like soft drinks, energy drinks, iced teas and fruit juices.
Processed convenience and junk foods like confectionary, snack bars, potato chips, ice cream, microwave popcorn, biscuits and other sugary/salty snacks.
Other foods high in saturated fat and/or trans fats like takeaways and deep-fried foods.
Natural ways to reduce inflammation
Source have shown that eating less sugar can reduce inflammation, so people should aim to limit their sugar intake. The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly recommend a maximum sugar intake of less than 10% of daily energy intake. Eating only 5% of daily calories from sugar may have added health benefits, the WHO say. For someone eating 2,000 calories per day, the maximum from sugar would be 100 to 200.
Ways to reduce inflammation in the body include:
Getting enough sleep - Improving sleep hygiene and getting better sleep may decrease the risk of developing chronic inflammation.
Quitting smoking - Smoking is a risk factor for many chronic diseases, including chronic inflammation.
Maintaining a healthful weight - Obesity is another risk factor for chronic inflammation. Excess fat tissue may increase inflammatory factors. The most effective strategy for reducing chronic inflammation is weight loss.
Regular exercise - Moderate-intensity exercise can help prevent excess weight gain and manage cytokine levels. Cytokines are small proteins that play an essential role in normal immune responses, but large amounts can lead to inflammation. Burning calories through exercise lowers inflammatory factors even if people do not lose weight.
Trying supplements - Chat to us in store about which supplements might be best for you. Magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc, and selenium all have anti-inflammatory effects and may lower inflammation factors in the blood.
Sex hormones - such as estrogen and testosterone, can slow down the production of inflammatory factors. For some people, testing and correcting hormonal imbalances could reduce chronic inflammation.
Manage stress - Repeated bouts of stress can expose the body to high levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) and lead to chronic inflammation. Yoga, deep breathing, meditation, and other forms of relaxation can help calm your nervous system.
Following an anti-inflammatory diet - Anti-inflammatory diets are typically not specific regimens but rather eating styles. The Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet are examples of anti-inflammatory diets. An anti-inflammatory diet should combine a variety of foods that are rich in nutrients, provide a range of antioxidants and contain healthful fats. Foods that may help manage inflammation include: oily fish - such as tuna and salmon, fruits - such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and cherries, vegetables, including kale, spinach, and broccoli, beans, nuts and seeds, olives and olive oil and fibre.
The authors of a 2017 article also recommended the following: raw or moderately cooked vegetables, legumes, such as lentils, spices, such as ginger and turmeric, probiotics and prebiotics, tea, and some herbs.
It is worth remembering that no single food will boost a person’s health. It is important to include a variety of healthful ingredients in the diet.
Research continues to emerge in this space, if you base your diet around anti-inflammatory foods, keep active and manage your stress, you are making great progress towards reducing your risk of chronic inflammation and subsequent illness.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248423#types-and-symptoms
https://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/about-us/news/blogs/food-and-inflammation