Acute inflammation
• Part of the body’s natural defense system
• Pro-inflammatories are released to aid infection or injury
Chronic inflammation
• Systemic
• A factor in all chronic, degenerative disease
• Damages healthy tissue
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• blood vessel linings (as in atherosclerosis)
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• pancreatic tissue (in diabetes)
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• joint tissue (in arthritis)
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• digestive tract mucosa (in lactose and gluten intolerance)
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• Results in
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• increased body temperature
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Conditions causing and/or caused by inflammation
• Hypothyroidism
• Diabetes
• Insulin resistance
• Heart disease
• Digestive conditions
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• irritable bowel syndrome
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• Periodontal disease
• Depression
• Sleep apnea
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Insomnia
• Injury
• Cancer
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Arthritis
• Autoimmune disease
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• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
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Sources of chronic inflammation
• Obesity
• High circulating insulin
• High circulating glucose
• Smoking
• Infection with pathogens
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• spirochetes such as Borrelia that causes Lyme
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• Dysbiosis or "bad bacteria" intestinal overgrowth
• Chronic food allergies, most often to milk, wheat, corn or soy
• Toxins such as heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs
• Radiation exposure
• Emotional stress
• Some drugs
Contributing factors
• Low free T3
• Low vitamin B12
• Low vitamin B6
• Low vitamin D
Indicators of inflammation
• High ferritin
• Elevated homocysteine
• Elevated galectin-3
• High inflammatory cytokines
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• C reactive protein (CRP)
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Homocysteine
• Non-protein amino acid synthesized from nutrients in the diet
• Elevated levels increase risk of heart disease, fractures in the elderly,
and Alzheimer’s disease
• Opimal level under 8
• Treat with large doses of methylation-enhancing supplements
C-reactive protein
• Produced by the liver
• Participates in the clearance of foreign and damaged cells
• Believed to play a role in defense against infections
• Normally only very small amounts in the blood
• Increases after acute occurrences such as injury, infection or
inflammation and then disappears when the cause is resolved
• Release of cytokines triggers production
• Rises rapidly and then declines (half-life 18 hours)
• Continually elevated in chronic inflammatory conditions
• Ongoing elevated levels increase risk for
Anti-inflammatory eating
• Limit starch and simple sugars
• Favor omega-3 fats over omega-6 fats (corn, safflower, sunflower)
• Eat foods high in omega-3 fats
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• salmon, sardines, mackeral, halibut, tuna, shrimp, scallops
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• flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts
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• kale, collard greens, spinach, winter squash, romaine lettuce,
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• raspberries, strawberries
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• Avoid trans fats
• Avoid glycotoxins (formed from the reaction of sugars and oxidized
fats with protein in foods cooked at very high temperatures)
• Emphasize organic, unprocessed food to reduce chemicals
• Eat meat raised without antibiotics or hormones
• Enjoy dark chocolate
Anti-inflammatory supplements
A number of supplements are known to improve inflammation.