Is this why you feel so bad?

As a result of our environment and our lifestyle we now live with low levels of internal inflammation. This silent menace can trigger a range of health issues. What can you do? These answers will help keep you strong.

1 WHAT IS INFLAMMATION – IS IT GOOD OR BAD?

Inflammation can be your best friend – or your worst enemy. Let’s say you sprain your wrist: the swelling and tenderness signal that your immune system is doing its job, and remind you to stay away from playing tennis with your friends ’til your injury heals. Same when you slice your finger instead of the bagel, or when your appendix becomes infected.

What’s happening is that your immune cells travel to the injury and summon chemicals and proteins called cytokines to attack the problem. Blood flow increases and white blood cells swarm the injured or infected area to begin the healing process; because fluid comes along with those cells, the area becomes swollen. This is an acute inflammatory response, and it’s needed for good health.

But sometimes your body doesn’t fully recover from these injuries and you end up with less intense, but chronic, body-wide inflammation.

An unhealthy lifestyle can also bring on chronic inflammation, as can exposure to toxins such as cigarettes. Unlike acute inflammation, which is an important part of the healing process, the chronic variety can actually contribute to illness, such as heart disease, and make existing conditions even worse.

2 CAN DOCTORS TEST FOR CHRONIC INFLAMMATION?

They can, but not enough do so regularly, says cardiologist Dr Holly Andersen. The test, which measures C-reactive protein (CRP), is a simple blood draw and can be done at the same time as other tests. (For heart disease risk, there’s a high sensitivity test.) Levels of CRP in the blood rise in response to inflammation. It’s not a perfect measure, but Dr Andersen feels it should be part of gauging your overall risk of heart problems. Ask for it!

3 IS THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET FOR REAL? THERE’S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT IT.

While hard science has yet to produce the menu of “magic foods” you might hear about, what you eat has a big impact on inflammation, says Dr Dayong Wu, an expert in nutritional immunology. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fatty fish such as salmon or fish oil all help.“Basically, if you follow the Mediterranean diet, you’re following an anti-inflammatory plan,” says Dr Andersen. And compounds in green tea, turmeric and citrus fruits can suppress inflammation and improve immune function, according to lab studies. Certain spices have been found to help as well: ginger, cayenne and cinnamon.

4 WHAT DISEASES ARE LINKED TO CHRONIC INFLAMMATION?

From A (allergies) to U (ulcerative colitis), the list is long, including stops at some biggies. It’s connected to heart disease and diabetes as well as autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Inflammation doesn’t necessarily cause these, but it may be a significant player. With your heart, for example, it’s thought that plaque build-up in the arteries is an inflammatory process, says Dr Andersen. “Inflammation helps to explain why some people with high cholesterol don’t get heart disease while some people with low cholesterol do,” says Dr Andersen. It also explains why there’s a higher rate of heart attacks after the flu. If you’ve ever suffered a bout of that illness, you know it makes you hurt all over. The virus causes body-wide inflammation, increasing chances of a heart problem.

5 WHAT’S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN WEIGHT AND INFLAMMATION?

Among its other evil acts, inflammation causes weight gain and makes it harder to shed kilos. But it’s worth the

effort to try. In one review of 13 studies, all showed that weight loss led to a drop in the

inflammation-marker CRP. Obesity is the villain in insulin resistance and inflammation; the enlarged fat cells promote production of a bunch of different proinflammatory molecules, explains Dr Wu. So shedding extra kilos can be helpful. But you need to exercise as well; other research shows you get the most payoff from the combo.