What Causes Inflammation?

What is Inflammation?

Inflammation is a perfectly natural and healthy physiological response to trauma. The inflammatory response occurs when tissues (either external – like a sprained ankle – or internal – like damaged intestinal lining) are injured by bacteria, toxins, heat, or any other cause. The damaged cells then release inflammatory chemicals like histamine, prostaglandins, and others, which cause blood vessels to leak fluid and cause swelling in the area.

Without going too in depth into the science of it, essentially inflammation is our body’s way of trying to protect us, by sending as many healing fluids and chemical compounds as possible to an injury. In the case of a burn or a broken arm for example, the inflammatory response is a good thing. It’s this rush of tonic fluids and germ-eating white blood cells that helps to isolate the damaged tissue, prevent infection, and stimulate healing. So it’s important that we do not see inflammation as the bad guy, and remember that our bodies are always working to protect us.

Silent Inflammation

It’s when inflammation becomes a chronic, systemic condition that it can become more of a concern. Like any type of stress, our bodies are not built to manage this chemical response for any prolonged period of time. Inflammation is designed by nature as a short-term solution to a short-term problem. When it persists for an extended period of time, it’s often referred to as “silent inflammation”, a term which reflects underlying, low-grade stimulation of the inflammatory response with no outward signs of inflammation. It’s this type of inflammation which can be quite dangerous. A lot of the time, silent inflammation doesn’t become apparent until the blood is tested for inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein.

It’s this type of inflammation which is a major factor is the development of virtually every major chronic degenerative disease, including:

• Cardiovascular Disease
• Allergies
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Cancer
• Alzheimer’s

This is because the inflammatory response produces free radicals in the body, which cause oxidative damage to our cells and cause them to mutate and misbehave, preventing them from functioning optimally.

What Causes Silent Inflammation?

There are many factors that can trigger silent inflammation, but some of the biggest ones are:

• Insulin resistance
• Obesity
• Emotional stress
• Environmental toxins
• Antioxidant deficiency (think Vitamin C)
• Exposure to free radicals (from radiation or smoking, for example)
• Chronic infections
• Imbalances of dietary fats
• Intestinal permeability

Although not all of these factors may be within our control, you might have noticed that one of the major common denominators is – which is diet. So let’s talk about diet and insulin resistance first.

Sugar

A decreased response from body tissues to insulin leads to elevations in blood sugar and increased oxidative (or free radical) stress. An interesting fact is that C-Reactive Protein levels generally tend to parallel insulin resistance, and insulin resistance is largely the result of increased abdominal obesity and excessive caloric intake, particularly of carbohydrates and sugars. In fact, abdominal obesity is the strongest independent predictor of silent inflammation and CRP levels.

In a study of more than 200 healthy women, glycemic load was found to be significantly and positively associated with CRP levels. So it goes without saying that a low-glycemic diet (or a diet that is low in refined carbohydrates and sugars) is critical in reducing silent inflammation.

In terms of inflammatory foods, refined white sugar is the top offender.

By contrast, a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, like beans, legumes, and fibre-rich fruits and vegetables like sweet potatoes, may help to stabilize blood sugar, boost antioxidant intake, and decrease inflammatory markers.

Dietary Fats

The next dietary factor I want to talk about is the right balance of dietary fats – specifically our ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids, which is another major predictor of CRP levels.

One of the main characteristics of The Standard American Diet (or “SAD” diet as its more affectionately known) is that it is particularly high in Omega-6 fatty acids and low in sources of both short- and long-chain Omega 3 fatty acids like EPA and DHA. The last 150 years have seen the mass industrialization of our food system in North America, and with it the rise of more processed convenience foods. As a result, the ratio of Omega-6’s to Omega-3’s in the Western Diet ranges between 15:1 and 20:1. Research shows that up until the Industrial Revolution, humans evolved to consume a nearly 1:1 ratio of these two important fatty acids. So we can see that this is very different from what our bodies are designed to thrive on.

Why is this important? Both Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids are utilized body the body as building blocks for mediators of inflammation. Most mediators formed from Omega-3’s are anti-inflammatory, while those derived from Omega 6’s are pro-inflammatory. Particularly pro-inflammatory is the Omega-6 fatty acid arachindonic acid, which is found in conventionally-raised animal foods.

To put it very simply, the bottom line is that to reduce inflammation, we have to reduce our intake of Omega-6 fatty acids and increase our consumption of Omega-3’s.

Some good dietary guidelines to follow to help accomplish this are to avoid using margarine or other sources of trans-fatty acids and hydrogenated oils, use olive or flaxseed oil in raw dishes and salad dressings, and reduce our intake of meat and dairy products (particularly from corn-fed animals – corn is high linoleic acid, a precursor to the very inflammatory arachidonic acid), while increasing our fish consumption. As I’m sure most of you already know, responsibly-sourced fish can be an excellent source of Omega-3’s. You want to look for cold-water fish such as wild salmon, mackerel, herring, and halibut.

Gastrointestinal Permeability

I am not going to touch on all of the factors that contribute to inflammation, but a final, really important dietary one that I want to talk about is gastrointestinal permeability. We can experience this as a result of a variety of things from food intolerances to microbial toxins, food or environmental toxins, certain medications, and inflammatory bowel conditions like Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis.

Another term that is often used is “Leaky Gut Syndrome”. Just like the name sounds, this is essentially a condition in which recurrent irritation of the GI tract creates tiny micro-tears in the gastrointestinal lining, which then allows bacteria, toxins and food particles to “leak” through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream. This then results in an autoimmune reaction – the body essentially mobilizes all of the defenses we talked about earlier to try and fight off this invader that it knows is not supposed to be there, and this is one of the biggest contributors to chronic inflammation. Studies show that it can be the cause of a wide variety of conditions, including but not limited to:

• Allergies
• Asthma
• Skin disorders like acne and eczema
• Chronic inflammatory conditions like arthritis
• Mental illness
• Lupus
• Multiple Sclerosis

In terms of treating Leaky Gut, it’s really important to rule out any food allergies or sensitivities that might be irritating the GI tract, avoid drugs and medications which irritate digestion, and maintain a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet that is low in allergens.

Anti-Inflammatory Supplements

The following are some supplemental recommendations for treating chronic inflammation:

• Tumeric (look for a standardized curcumin extract that is combined with black pepper)
• High-quality Omega-3 or fish oil
• High-potency antioxidants
• Bone broth (organic, grass-fed, hormone- and antibiotic-free is best – excellent for Leaky Gut)