Inflammation imbalance
Acute and chronic inflammation have different implications for your body. The first represents a useful response against threats like sudden illness or injury. The latter poses a health hazard.
“Acute inflammation is something people understand,” says Dr. Moise Desvarieux, an associate professor of epidemiology and co-director of the Mailman-INSERM/University of Paris International Associated Laboratory on Chronic Disease within the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. “If you have a fever, you have an infection — that’s acute inflammation.”
Chronic inflammation is more subtle. Although no outside threat exists, your immune system continually sends out inflammatory cells that can damage your organs, joints and blood vessels.
“While (acute) inflammation is a natural and necessary bodily response, chronic inflammation can have dangerous side effects,” says Dr. Uma Naidoo, a nutritional psychiatrist, professional chef and nutrition specialist based in Boston.
Chronic inflammation doesn’t impact daily function, but can make people more vulnerable to negative outcomes such as cancer, arthritis, asthma, gastrointestinal disorders, Crohn’s disease, sinusitis and < href=”https://health.usnews.com/conditions/heart-disease”>pericarditis, Naidoo says. “Interestingly, inflammation, specifically neuroinflammation, is also tied to most mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety and neurodegenerative diseases,” she adds.
Here’s how you can reduce your risk of chronic inflammation.
Keep your gums healthy.
Brush your teeth, floss your gums and see your dentist regularly to mind your oral health. That helps prevent periodontal disease from cropping up and potentially causing problems that go beyond your mouth.
“You basically have (germs) in your gums, you’re bleeding and you have low-grade inflammation,” Desvarieux says. “So we don’t want to have that source of inflammation.”
Research shows a connection between oral infections and systemic inflammation. Desvarieux is a co-author of a study that found associations between harmful bacteria contained in participants’ gum plaque and insulin resistance, which can be a precursor to diabetes.
“Oral health is part of overall health,” says Desvarieux, noting that when periodontal or gum disease is treated, inflammation markers like C-reactive protein levels in the body go down.
Respect the gut-brain connection.
When the parts of your central nervous system — the brain and spinal cord — are affected by inflammation, that’s known as neuroinflammation. “The relationship between neuroinflammation and mental health is largely influenced by gut health, and the foods we eat through the gut-brain connection,” says Naidoo, author of “This Is Your Brain on Food.”
“The gut is full of nerve endings which together make up the enteric nervous system,” she explains. “The central nervous system, controlled by our brains, is connected to the enteric nervous system through the vagus nerve, which runs from the medulla of the brainstem to the gut. Therefore, information collected by the nerves in your gut is communicated directly to the brain.”
When you expose your gut to highly processed foods, added sugars and chemical preservatives, it becomes inflamed, Naidoo says. “Chronic inflammation of the gut leads to neuroinflammation through this gut-brain superhighway.”
Steer your diet away from these gut-unhealthy ingredients to improve your mood, focus and resilience, promote long-term brain health and lower your risk of developing serious neurological diseases.
Let your body rest.
Nighttime sleep and daytime downtime give your brain and body respite from inflammatory activity caused by triggers like stress.
“One of the easiest things we can do to reduce inflammation is get a good night’s sleep,” Naidoo says. “Sleep is the brain’s time to detox, and getting an adequate amount of sleep — about six to eight hours for adults — is crucial for a healthy body and mind.”
Resting is important for staving off chronic inflammation, as well, Desvarieux says: “Not only sleeping, but also giving our body time to be able to rest and to maintain equilibrium.”
Snack less.
Snacking may promote inflammation in two ways. Firstly, if you’re continually eating between meals, your digestive system doesn’t get enough downtime, so hormone production and other functions can be disrupted. And if those snacks tend to be unhealthy — like candy or a bag of chips — that introduces unneeded sugar or fats to your body, creating more imbalance.
“Sometimes we go to the subway, and you’re not even thinking of it, but you’re waiting for the train and there’s a vending machine there,” Desvarieux says. “It’s looking at you, and you’re looking at it, you’re having some sort of rapport — and all of a sudden, you’re having a candy bar. There was no reason to have it.”
It’s all too easy to give in to temptation, he says, but instead of that constant stimulation, “We need to allow our body time to rest.”
Eat anti-inflammatory foods.
Stock your pantry and fridge with foods with specific anti-inflammatory actions, such as:
— “Inflammation is, in part, caused by free radicals, which are produced when the body is ‘fighting off’ injury or toxins from food or the environment,” Naidoo says. “Foods that are rich in antioxidants, like blueberries, extra-dark natural chocolate and green tea help the body resist the damaging effects of free radicals, and in turn, reduce inflammation.”
— Certain types of seafood and nuts have inflammation-fighting properties. “Foods like wild-caught salmon, chia seeds, seaweed and walnuts all contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are powerful anti-inflammatory foods that have been shown to help reduce symptoms of depression and resist the effects of cognitive aging,” Naidoo says.
— Fermented foods such as plain yogurt or kimchi also lower inflammation. “All these foods contain naturally occurring live bacteria that help to replenish the healthy bacteria in the gut,” Naidoo explains.
— Fiber-rich foods such as berries, avocados and leafy greens and prebiotic foods such as jicama, onions, leeks and garlic also help feed the healthy bacteria in the gut, Naidoo says, therefore maintaining a healthy balance for decreased inflammation.
Beware of bad fats.
There are two types of dietary fats you want to avoid in particular. They’re bad for your heart and they play a role in chronic inflammation.
Trans fats, used to add texture and taste to foods, are manufactured from oil through the process of partial hydrogenation. Although trans fats in processed foods have been significantly limited by the Food and Drug Administration guidelines, they’re not completely eliminated. Check labels for partially hydrogenated fats, Desvarieux advises.
Saturated fat is mostly found in animal foods, like red meat and full-fat dairy. It raises your blood levels for total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein, also known as ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.
Exercise.
By easing stress and helping you lose excess weight, exercise brings an inflammation-controlling bonus. Rising awareness of the damaging properties of fat cells helps to explain why.
“Some years back, we used to think of fat cells as being just storage cells,” Desvarieux says. “But now, we realized that inflammatory markers such as IL-6 (proteins) can be produced by fat cells, which is not something we knew. So, clearly, exercise and reducing obesity is a good thing in terms of reducing inflammation.”
Seek stress relief.
Taking quiet time gives you a break from toxic, stressful environments.
When it comes to chronic inflammation, “I like to think of it a little bit like rust,” Desvarieux says. Imagine a long winter exposing a vehicle to cold and other harsh elements. “You have a little salt, a little more salt on your car,” he says. “Slowly, slowly, it’s keeping the machine revved up and kind of eating at the system.” Paint erodes on the outside and internal engine wear builds.
In your body, chronic inflammation causes similar, gradual damage. Stress is one of the ongoing elements contributing to insidious inflammation and chipping away at your well-being.
Yoga, mindfulness, meditation, exercise, deep breathing and nature walks help relieve stress for many people. Explore relaxing self-care practices to find out which work for you.
Watch your blood sugar.
Minimizing blood sugar spikes may also help keep inflammation in balance. “We want to avoid having highly processed food or food with high sugar content,” Desvarieux says. Researchers are looking at connections among high blood sugar levels, insulin resistance and inflammation.
Substitute water for soda when possible, and save treats such as cakes, cookies and brownies for special occasions. Check the ingredients on the back of cereal boxes, too, to make sure your daily breakfast isn’t loaded with sugar.
Try a new eating plan.
Balanced approaches to eating also encourage better inflammation control. Among others, experts praise the Mediterranean, DASH and Nordic diets for their emphasis on healthy whole foods, wide-ranging meal choices and anti-inflammatory properties.
Some anti-inflammatory diet plans — like AIP (autoimmune protocol) and Dr. Weil’s anti-inflammatory diet — are specifically designed to reduce inflammation by restricting certain foods or food groups. However, they can be difficult to follow and not necessarily right for everyone.
How you eat in terms of meal timing might also matter. Intermittent fasting uses either daily feeding windows or twice-weekly fasting days to take advantage of changes in metabolism in times of normal eating versus fasting. Emerging research, like a September 2021 study in European Heart Journal Open in which participants fasted one or two days a week, suggests that intermittent fasting might help control inflammation.
Avoid inflammatory habits.
If you’re looking for stress relief, one thing not to do is habitually turn to alcohol. Unfortunately, Desvarieux says, overstressed people may seek alcohol as a diversion. However, “Alcohol has a big inflammatory component,” he says. “So does cigarette smoking.”
Similarly, vaping can lead to inflammation within the lungs. E-cigarette vapor appears to increase the inflammatory effect of the nicotine itself, according to a study published in the May 2018 issue of the journal Thorax.
Reducing your inflammation risk
These healthy practices can help stave off chronic inflammation and related health hazards:
Keep your gums healthy.
Respect the brain-gut connection.
Let your body rest.
Snack less.
Eat anti-inflammatory foods.
Beware of bad fats.
Exercise.
Seek stress relief.
Watch your blood sugar.
Try a new eating plan.
Avoid drinking, smoking and vaping.
More from U.S. News
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11 Ways to Reduce Inflammation originally appeared on usnews.com
