INFLAMMATION: The root of disease as well as the reason we're all still alive.

We often hear the word "inflammation" thrown around as the cause of myriad diseases. Arthritis in your joints? Inflammation. Peptic ulcers? Inflammation. The redness surrounding a fresh cut? Inflammation. 

But what exactly is inflammation? Our bodies are designed to heal themselves. When the body senses an injury to your tissues, it initiates what is known as an inflammatory response in order to heal the damaged tissue. The inflammatory response involves the vascular system, immune system, and cells of the injured tissue. Basically, your body releases hormones which signal other hormones which signal cells that destroy the intruders and repair the tissue. Tissues can be "injured" in many ways. The most obvious instance of inflammation is when you cut the skin. You can see the signs of inflammation such as redness and swelling. You probably know enough about the immune system to understand that the body sends bacteria-fighting cells to ward off infection. 

Our internal tissues can become damaged too, and not just by a physical cut. Foreign cells such as bacteria and carcinogens can disrupt the tissue enough to trigger an inflammatory response. These intruder cells are able to penetrate our initial defenses when there is a disruption in the overall system, that is, when we are not taking care of ourselves properly via diet, rest, and exercise. 

When you hear that something is "pro-inflammatory", it means that the presence of it in the body triggers an inflammatory response. Stored adipose tissue, especially in the midsection, is pro-inflammatory, as is an abundance of LDL cholesterol and saturated fatty acids in the bloodstream. By nature, insulin is also pro-inflammatory: there are molecules called eicosanoids that sit on the outside of your cells and the presence of insulin changes their signaling to a pro-inflammatory response. So, what happens when we constantly ingest carbohydrates and fatty foods? We are constantly in a state of internal inflammation. This is what is called chronic, systemic inflammation and this is how chronic diseases usually develop. 

Diet and exercise impact the level of inflammation in the body. I'm sure you've heard that consuming refined sugars and processed foods isn't good for your health. As you  begin to understand the process of inflammation, you can see that this is because they are full of pro-inflammatory molecules. Pro-inflammatory molecules include omega-6 fatty acids, saturated fats, and simple carbohydrates. Most of the cooking oil that we use has a high percentage of omega-6 fatty acids. You may be thinking "wait...I thought unsaturated fats were healthy?" They are healthier than saturated fats. However, the "typical" Western diet has a much higher ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids than what we need. Omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in freshwater fish, flaxseed, and walnuts are anti-inflammatory. An interesting side note: grass-fed beef, that is, cows that are raised ENTIRELY on grass and not on grain, are also good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. The typical beef you buy for cheap in the grocery store is grain-fed, which is popular because it is cheaper and quicker for bulk sale. 

As for carbohydrates, the inflammatory response is based on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a scale that indicates how easily the body can break down and utilize simple sugars from the foodstuff itself. The higher the number, the faster the body can metabolize the food. For example, Corn Flakes have a higher glycemic index than All Bran, because the fiber in All Bran slows the digestion and metabolism of the carbohydrate. 

You guessed it: Exercise reduces inflammation. How? Go back to the concept of chronic, systemic inflammation. The inflammatory response includes the release of cytokines, which are small proteins that serve as messengers between cells. Cytokines down regulate the production of growth signaling factors in the brain, further exacerbating systemic inflammation (and reduce cognitive function, interestingly...). When you produce movement to a point where there is positive stress on the body, i.e, exercise, your body increases the production of growth signaling factors in your brain. Thus, regular exercise counteracts the degeneration and decreases the negative change in growth signaling factors. To boot, cardiovascular training improves cardiac function and strengthens the vascular system, and an increase in muscle mass has been shown to reduce cytokine levels and improve insulin sensitivity. 

BOTTOM LINE: I like to look at things as logically as possible. Acute inflammation, such as a cut on your leg, a burn, or a bacterial/fungal/viral infection that happens to get past your initial defenses is a beautiful thing. The inflammatory response is necessary so things like that don't kill us. However, your body becomes confused when you don't take care of it over and over and over and over. Your hormones are out of whack, and instead of treating the cause - i.e, eating healthy, exercising, and not getting worked up over every little thing - we depend on medication that just causes more side effects. In order to truly be well, it's important to eat nutritious food in the correct quantities and to treat your body to exercise and rest.