INTERESTING
What is inflammation? The word comes from the Latin verb inflammare, which means “to set on fire”. This makes sense, since two of the main signs are redness and heat. It is the body’s built-in defense system. A complex army of infection-fighting cells and proteins that warn other cells of invaders, fight them off when they arrive, and heal any damage the resulting conflict produces. It comes in two forms-acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term).
Acute inflammation is the body’s immediate response to an injury or infection. It comes on quickly-usually within minutes-and disappears within days. The five telltale signs are: redness, increased heat, swelling, pain, and loss of function. When you’ve had trauma to an area, say from surgery, specialized cells in nearby tissue, called mast cells, release the chemical histamine. Close to the area of damage, capillary walls shrink to minimize blood loss, but soon after, they dilate to bring more blood to the area. This blood contains clotting factors and white blood cells to fight off infection. This surge of blood makes the injured part of your body swell up and turn red. As fluid builds up inside the tissues, the body’s drainage system kicks in, and excess fluid from the tissues drains away via the body’s lymphatic system. Along with this fluid, germs, toxins, and other harmful substances wash away. As the immune system goes back to normal, the redness fades, the swelling goes down, and the pain recedes.
Chronic inflammation is a slower but more insidious process than acute inflammation, and it has been linked to a number of serious diseases, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and arthritis. In chronic inflammation, what may have started as the solution-ridding the body of a dangerous invader-instead becomes the problem. Chronically inflamed tissues continue to send out alarm signals that trigger the immune response, long after the threat has cleared. When white blood cells arrive at the scene, they attack healthy tissues, further amplifying the response and setting up a persistent inflammatory state. As a result, rather than healing the tissues, the body breaks them down further.
Chronic inflammation can develop in any of several ways. One possibility is that the threat remains because the body can’t rid itself from the offending substance, be it an infectious organism, an irritant, or a chemical toxin. Another possible scenario is that the immune system goes into “threat mode” when no true threat exists, which is the case with autoimmune disorders. Lifestyle choices, too, can cause ongoing inflammation. Poor habits like smoking, failing to exercise regularly, or eating a diet high in refined carbohydrates can contribute to inflammation over time.
So, how can we battle against chronic inflammation? Diet and exercise, of course!
A diet focused on low-nutrient, refined foods not only helps trigger chronic inflammation, it may stimulate weight gain that in itself can induce inflammation. A diet rich in unrefined whole or minimally processed plant foods provides the body with plenty of potentially inflammation-fighting compounds. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains contain anti-inflammatory properties.
Research shows that regular exercise (150 minutes of aerobic activity and 2-3 strength training sessions/week) helps to protect the heart and brain, strengthen the bones, and prevent diseases like dementia, type-2 diabetes, heart disease, and depression. But one important factor that is often underappreciated is that it helps fight low-grade chronic inflammation. By helping to prevent excess weight gain, it indirectly heads off the proliferation of inflammation-promoting microphages in fat tissue.
Inflammation: one type keeps you healthy, one type wreaks havoc. But healthy choices, even small ones, can lessen, stop, or even prevent the havoc.
Source: “Beating Inflammation”, Harvard Health Publishing.
