What is Inflammation?
Inflammation is a crucial protective response in our body that is triggered in order to “clean up” and “restore” function to an area in or on our body that has experienced some sort of damage or trauma. Simply put, the body sends white blood cells in to heal a damaged area to. accelerate the healing process and/or fight off a potential infection. . It is well known that physical trauma is mostly the cause of acute inflammation in our bodies. Sometimes however, this immune response is triggered by other factors such as environmental toxins, allergies to foods, chronic stress and auto immune disorders. However, in these instances, (rather than the immune response “cleaning up”, “restoring itself” and then returning back to normal), the inflammation response can lead to severe chronic inflammation that persists over a period of time. This is a way that the body actually fights its own healing process. This response can lead to potentially detrimental consequences some including depression, osteoarthritis, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, diabetes and even some cancers.
Can you detect and prevent chronic inflammation?
Unfortunately, there is no effective test to detect or measure chronic inflammation. Many people do not even realize when their body is experiencing chronic inflammation because it is a response that happens internally.
Common signs and symptoms:
- Chronic fatigue & insomnia
Depression, anxiety & mood disorders
Frequent infections
Weight loss or weight gain
Body pain
GI complications [ diarrhea, acid reflux and conception ]
One common denominator associated with chronic inflammation, is poor health habits and a sedentary lifestyle. People with poor health habits tend to have higher rates and levels of chronic inflammation in their bodies.
Risk factors:
-Diet [sugar, preservatives, refined carbs, high-fat meats, fried food, Omega-6 fatty acids, dairy products, cured meats, excess alcohol consumption and artificial food additives,
-Chronic stress and sleep disorders
-Increasing age
-Cigarette smoking
-Obesity
- Low sex hormones
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