What is Inflammation?

Inflammation is not a disease but a natural phenomenon in the body. Acute inflammation initiates a repair response in the body. If you stub your toe it gets red and swollen. This is an example of inflammation in action.

The silent Killer
There is another type of inflammation that is silent and chronic. This is the body’s reaction to other types of assault that the body may be exposed to daily. It’s this type of low grade chronic inflammation that becomes the bed rock of many of the diseases of modern man. These diseases include Arthritis, Diabetes, Heart disease, Alzheimer’s , Pain, Obesity, Food sensitivities, Acne, Irritable bowel disease, Hashimotos Thyroiditis, Fibromyalgia, Lupus and even Cancer.

The Chemistry of Inflammation
Inflammation is mediated by compounds known as cytokines. Cytokines are basically cell signallers or communicators between cells. There are many different varieties of cytokines and they are very involved in all immune response, inflammatory reactions and trauma response.

Inflammation Triggers
In a healthy person inflammation is a natural and temporary reaction to a perceived threat on the body or an injury. That threat could come in the form of a food the body thinks is an invader, a pathogen in the form of a bacterium or virus or other disease causing agent, a toxin, a stressor in the form of a mental or emotional trauma. Inflammation in theory then brings the body back to homeostasis or balance again.

The Runaway Fire
The problem with modern living, especially Western Living, is that there is more or less always something to defend against. That processed breakfast cereal you ate for breakfast, the traffic fumes you inhaled on your way to work, the stress coursing through your veins as you try to meet the next deadline, the emotional toxicity as you try to deal with the work place bully, the pathogen you unwittingly picked up at the work canteen buffet all keep you in a perpetual state of inflammation. When that inflammation is let run relentlessly the bedrock for the killer diseases of our time are sown.

Are You Inflamed?

So how do you know if you have high levels of inflammation? Well for starters if you have any of the diseases listed above then you are highly inflamed. If you are packing fat around your waistline you are highly inflamed. If you have elevated cholesterol (especially the LDL and VLDL) you are highly inflamed. If you have a high body fat percentage even if you are a normal weight you are highly inflamed. If you suffer with food sensitivities you are highly inflamed. If you suffer with stiff aching joints you are highly inflamed. If you over-train your body you are highly inflamed. If you get a lot of fluid retention you are highly inflamed.

Tune in to Part (II) to find strategies to beat the silent killer……….