Forum
If there's one health topic that's captured our attention this year, it's inflammation. It's nearly impossible to scan health headlines without seeing this buzzword—but what does it actually mean? We know that it's startlingly common, can be sparked by eating certain foods, and has been linked to a myriad of concerning health conditions, yet for many, it's still a frustratingly vague term.
"There are two different types of inflammation: acute inflammation, which is a necessary part of our immune system—without it, we would not heal—and chronic or low-level inflammation," explains Lori Shemek, PhD, author of How to Fight FATflammation. The second is "silent," she says. "You do not know it's there until symptoms occur. It's like having a sore on the inside of your body that never heals; 75% of the population has silent inflammation and does not realize it."
So beyond the definition, what does this actually mean for your diet, lifestyle, and future? We tapped two inflammation experts, Shemek and Abby Sauer, MPH, RD, a registered dietitian at Abbott, with all your burning questions. Consider this your simple cheat sheet to inflammation in the body.
Inflammation is a real, pressing health concern, but it has been somewhat overhyped. "Once the media gets a hold of a word, they can turn it into a buzzword, like gluten, for example," says Shemek. "Low-level inflammation, however, is very real, dangerous, and important to prevent, reduce, or reverse."
Cortisol is a strong anti-inflammatory hormone. It is produced from cholesterol in our adrenal glands. It plays a big part in our bodies to carry out functions and maintain balance. Cortisol is also has an important role in nutrition.Cortisol disrupts insulin levels as well
I think there's evidence that inflammation exhists, and I think it is overhyped as well. Its hard to avoid stress altogether, life can be stressful. But the preoccupation or constant worrying about every little thing we do can be even more stressful. So this very topic made me think about something I find very interesting, the blue zones. Areas in the world where people live the longest. How come they have such longevity when most of these places arent very wealthy or advanced. Heres what I found out. Most of these people get natural exercise, they walk, work in the yard or garden, no gyms usually. They have a purpose or a job to do on a daily basis. Each day there is time devoted to chilling out for a while. Napping , praying, meditating etc. They eat smaller meals and usually their last meal of the day is the smallest. And they eat mostly plant based diets where the smallest portion of the meal is the meat portion. They drink wine lol. ANd usually they belong to a community , club or faith based group, and they have a close bond with members of their families and good friends. Most of these things are basic and simple, they arent' flashy or expensive things either. So maybe all the hype about inflammation is just to sell books and scare people. The people in the blue zones probably think its all ridculous
I could say alot on this topic because as a yoga teacher, learning about stress and its affects on the body, including raising our cortisol levels to where we can actually get addicted to it which causes us to obsess and ruminate over the stressful feelings and thought patterns which engages our sympathetic nervous system to where even if we aren't in a stressful situation our body can still be reacting and engaged as if we were. This can cause our bodies burn out and develop health problems because we are constantly in that state of fight or flight and sympathetic response which is coming from your nervous system which is connected to all of your organs and organ systems so its no wonder people develop health problems and problems in the skin from stressors in their lives because it makes us more susceptible to disease in the body by lowering our immune systems response. Yoga and meditation however, was designed to take us out of our sympathetic nervous system and stumulate the parasympathetic nervous system aka the relaxation response. Dr. Alan Watkins made a really great video about how when you are in a stressful situation that its not actually your mind that responds first: its actually your heart because your heartrate goes up before your brain even responds and a way to actually counter your brain from shutting down to stress is to breathe because that's how you can influence your heartrate. This is why yoga focuses on breathwork, because when you are doing it right you can actually hack into your nervous system which sounds simple but theres alot more that goes into it and it can be more or less difficult depending on your situation. I would definitely back up Lee's response by saying that relaxing is just as important as doing and that yoga and meditation was designed to help with stress and keep your nervous system from getting fried from doing too much.
The theory that long term chronic stress that produces cortisol (a steroid used to control the body's inflammatory response) will no long work effectively and begin to causes sleep disruption, insulin dysregulation, elevated hart rate and increased blood pressure and the diseases that are a result like diabetes, high blood pressure, insomnia/depression are grouped under the term adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue is not recognized by medical doctors as a health condition. They would treat each symptom separately. Adrenal fatigue is recognized in the fields of alternative medicine (homeopaths, chiropractors). They usually prescribe lifestyle changes like a more plant based diet, moderate exercise and reducing caffeine consumption. Whether adrenal fatigue is real or not the lifestyle changes that would address it couldn't hurt.
Inflammation in the body can lead to some cancers. Acute inflammation can produce pain, redness, swelling, and heat. Some parts of the body internal organs for example do not have the sensory nerve endings so there is no pain. This happens with some lung inflammation.
Chronic inflammation can cause joint pain, mouth sores, rashes on the skin, and tiredness
Inflammation can lead to many diseases. Chronic inflammatory diseases are the most significant cause of death in the world. 5 of the most common signs of inflammation are swelling, redness, heat, pain, loss of function.
Inflammation has a role in anxiety disorders. Sugars, chemicals like pesticides and makeup additives, pathogens, and stress. When you're stressed, your body releases cortisol to mobilize blood sugar. It is also an immune suppressant and lowers secretory IgA, which is an important "body guard" for the mucus membrane.
I find it very interesting how Carlie says you can actually become addicted to the stressful feeling though hormones being released. I agree with that from seeing it in my life.
Yes I have seen people that thrive under stress all the time. I do believe it will be harmful if it is left uncontrolled. People are not meant to be under constant stress. All kinds of health diseases come along with it