Overcoming Chronic Inflammation I

Inflammation is something everybody has experienced. It is a result of the immune system's response to an injury of some sort, and it plays an important role in your body. It protects you when you are injured, so it's not something you can do without. Strangely, though, it can also cause serious problems if it gets out of control. We refer to out-of-control inflammation as chronic inflammation, and as you will see, it is something you definitely don't want. It occurs when the inflammation response is triggered again and again, and you end up with  inflammation that is never cleared away properly -- in other words, too much inflammation.

Chronic inflammation has attracted a lot of attention recently because scientists have shown that it plays a role in relation of the initiation of  both heart disease and cancer, and several other diseases. The role that it plays in relation to heart disease has been well-documented. It's well known that in many cases it is responsible for the coronary blockage that causes a heart attack. Things are not quite as clear in the case of cancer, but it has been shown that various cells and chemicals involved in inflammation can create mutations within DNA that can eventually lead to cancer. Inflammation also plays a role in several other diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, MS, lupus and emphysema. Indeed, any disease that ends with "itis" is an inflammation disease. Examples are: bursitis, tendinitis, arthritis, hepatitis, colitis, and myocarditis.

One of the most serious problems in relation to inflammation is that it is a whole body disease. This means that it is not always located in only one area of the body; if you have it in one place, there's a good chance you'll find it elsewhere. An example is gum disease and atherosclerosis. If you have serious periodontal disease (inflamed gums), there's a good chance that you also have inflammation in your arteries, where it can be deadly. Inflammation can, in fact, spread through your body, and one place where it develops relatively easily is in your teeth. So it's a good idea to take care of your teeth; floss and brush them daily, and use a good mouthwash.

It's important to point out that chronic inflammation can occur at any age, but it is more common in older people. Let's begin, then, by looking at what causes chronic inflammation. It is, as I mentioned earlier, the immune system's response to any injury that results from bacteria, chemicals, heat, physical injury and several other things. With this in mind, we can easily make up a list of several of the major causes. It is as follows:,

1)  Our genes
2)  Polluted air and water
3)  Smoking
4)  High cholesterol
5)  The food we eat
6)  Lack of exercise and proper sleep

We can't do much about our genes, but we can so something about the other things on the list. I'll talk about what you can do in detail in a second article, but for now I'll give a brief list. You can, of course, avoid polluted water and air, stop smoking (if you smoke), keep your cholesterol in check, and eat the proper food. One of the best anti-inflammation agents, in fact, is omega-3, and one of the best sources of it is fish -- particularly, salmon and sardines. Aside from fish, make sure you eat as many vegetables and fruit as possible, and eat whole grains and nuts. Finally, exercise, maintain your proper weight and get sufficient sleep.

Barry Parker, Ph. D. is a professor emeritus at ISU. His most recent book is "Learn from Yesterday, Live for Today, Hope for Tomorrow," and his website is Barryparkerbooks.com/