Other factors contributing to chronic inflammation

The body must constantly balance inflammation and anti-inflammation. Too much inflammation can result in disease, but too little inflammation means a lowered immune function, which can result in disease as well. The body can overreact to normal cells, mistaking them for foreign invaders, and develop an inflammatory autoimmune disorder. But the body can also underreact to invaders and dangerous cellular changes and allow them to take hold.

So what determines how well the body keeps the inflammation in balance? To a great extent, inflammation is influenced by our life style. What we eat, how much we exercise, the level of pollutants in the air we breathe, the toxins in the cleaning products we use and the pesticides in the food, the amount of sleep we get, how much stress we experience, the intensity of our emotions, and the quality of our social relationships, all this influences the inflammatory process. These factors are all accumulative and as the levels increase the risk for inflammation coming out of control increases as well

It makes sense, then, to consider inflammation control as part of our overall personal health strategy. Here is an overview of some factors that can contribute to development of chronic inflammation:

DIET - Eating a lot of junk foods, high-fat meats, sugar and fast foods will also increase inflammation in the body. It has also been recognised that in many people specific foods cause activation of immune system and white blood cells. Continuous consumption of the particular offending foodstuff creates a vicious circle, ultimately leading to tissue and organ damage. Common problem foods associated with inflammation include citrus, corn and corn products, dairy products, gluten grains (wheat, barley, oats, rye, spelt, kamut), yeast, and eggs, as well as members of the nightshade family — tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant.

Figuring out what you’re sensitive to may just make all the difference with your efforts to reduce inflammation. It is not always easy, but our blood test can be of a great help here.

LACK OF ANTIOXIDANTS - The body is constantly utilizing oxygen for a number of vital functions. A by-product of oxygen uptake by the body is the creation of chemicals known as free radicals. During inflammation even more free radicals are produced. The normal inflammatory response is, in part, a burst of free radicals produced by the immune system in response to an injury. This natural production of free radicals occurs to prevent infection and to promote healing at a site of injury. 

Free radical is an electrically charged particle, so-called unstable particle. This electrical charge occurs because the free radical is missing an electron. To become stabilized, a free radical must “steal” its missing electron from another molecule. When the electron is stolen from an invader, for example bacteria, the invader’s molecular structure is damaged, which leads to its death, as intended by the immune system. When there are no invaders left to destroy and when there is a lack of electrons available from antioxidants to stabilize excess free radicals, free radicals then turn to the only other source from which they can steal electrons – healthy cells. The resulting damage to and death of healthy cells, from loss of electrons to free radicals, further signals the immune system for additional help. This sets up a continuous autoimmune response, creating more free radicals, which promotes chronic inflammation and tissue damage, commonly referred to as oxidative stress.

A classic example of the damage caused by excess free radical production is the chronic swelling and joint degeneration of arthritis. A chronic inflammatory condition can only stop when the excess of electrically charged free radicals in the area of inflammation is stabilized and the attack on healthy cells ends.
Antioxidants are vitamins and other substances that supply missing electrons for unstable molecules in order to prevent free radical damage. Antioxidants include vitamins A, C and E, hydrogen, pycogenol, alpha-lipoic acid and others. The body also manufactures its own antioxidants. Some of them are in the form of enzymes, all of which require selenium and zinc to do their job.
Good sources of antioxidants are vegetables, fruits, tea and wine. It is a good idea to get your antioxidants from a variety of sources. The more colourful the natural foods are, the better - yellow, orange, green, red, brown and blue-purple plant foods provide a variety of antioxidants. In certain cases antioxidants from food might not be sufficient. If you think that it might be your case, a qualified practitioner of natural medicine can help you to find the right nutritional supplements for you.

POOR DIGESTION – Poor digestion, dysbiosis or leaky gut issues can lead to systemic inflammation. We have already mentioned that food is recognised as ‚foreign‘ by the immune system and has to be thoroughly digested into amino acid components. Problems with digestion can disturb this process and cause systemic inflammation.

AGING - Advancing age is associated with a paradox of immunodeficiency and inflammation. This relationship between aging and inflammation works in both ways, not only risk of inflammation increases with age, but also aging process can be speeded up by inflammation. Inflammation is a potent source of age-related cellular damage, because it floods tissues with free radicals and promotes the destruction of normal cells. Like most mechanisms of aging, chronic inflammation creates a vicious cycle.

HORMONES – Many women start having problems connected with chronic inflammation during perimenopause and menopause. Studies have shown that lower estrogen levels during menopause are frequently associated with inflammation and inflammatory pain. This is because estrogen has an anti-inflammatory effect in the body. Reserach data also suggest that estrogen regulates the brain’s natural ability to supress pain. As hormone levels initiate their natural shift during perimenopause, any imbalances that estrogen has quietly been covering begin to rise to the surface.

TOXINS – This category includes drugs and tobacco. Whenever toxic compounds are allowed to build up in the body, inflammation can also increase. The toxic chemicals, including everything from alcohol and prescription drugs to the chemicals we use to clean our homes, can accumulate in our organs over time. Heavy metals like iron, lead, and mercury are all also linked to chronic inflammation. Common source of inflammation are mercury fillings, which leak mercury vapour into the body on a daily basis.

STRESS AND EMOTIONS – Research has shown a direct correlation between negative emotions such as anger, lack of forgiveness, shame, guilt, fear, and loneliness and an increase in inflammatory conditions. Habitually negative people release higher levels of inflammatory markers than happier, calmer individuals.

Studies have also shown that chronic stress impairs the immune system’s ability to shut itself off after the infection or injury is fixed. This is because stress involves the release of the hormone cortisol, which acts as fuel for the pro-inflammatory fire. Additionally, the normal hormonal signals that tell the brain that the danger is ward off and we can relax now, never make it to their destination. So, the stressed-out body lives in a constant state of emergency, or chronic inflammation.

SLEEP DEPRIVATION – Studies indicate that maintaining adequate sleep duration and quality through good sleep habits may reduce inflammatory processes. Immune system produces significantly greater amounts of two disease-fighting proteins after a night of sleep loss, compared with amounts found after a night of uninterrupted sleep.

LACK OF EXERCISE – It has been found that regular exercise induces anti-inflammatory actions by inhibiting the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine. Therefore exercise can reduce the exaggerated inflammatory response. Also, during exercise more oxygen is brought into the tissues. Highly oxygenated environment inhibits inflammatory process and speeds healing.

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