6 Surprising Inflammation Causes.

The last time you were bitten by a mosquito or stubbed your toe, you likely noticed some redness and swelling, plus maybe a little heat and itchiness. Those are all classic signs of inflammation, a part of your body's natural response to infections and injuries. Thankfully, acute inflammation like this usually only lasts a few hours or a couple days.

But lower-grade inflammation can be lurking in your body—without any of the telltale symptoms of that itchy bite or throbbing toe—for months or even years. "This is the inflammatory response gone awry," says Joel Linden, PhD, a professor in the division of inflammation biology at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology in California.



 It's what's called chronic inflammation, and when the inflammatory response does go awry, your risk increases for a troubling number of today's most common illnesses, from heart disease and diabetes to arthritis and Alzheimer's.

Which is why doctors and patients alike want to know where chronic inflammation comes from. Of course, ongoing infections or injuries are causes, and we now know that certain inflammatory foods are no help, either. Plus, diseases that are both caused by and cause more inflammation, like inflammatory arthritis, trap patients in an unending cycle.

But there are some lesser-known contributors to chronic inflammation, too—and you can do something about them. Below, 6 surprising causes, and how to reverse the effects.

1.Your extra pounds

Simply carrying excess weight can cause an inflammatory response within fat cells. "As we get older, some of the cells in our fat tissue age, and when they do, they promote inflammation," says Raymond Yung, a professor in the department of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, whose research focuses on immune and inflammatory diseases. In younger people, obesity itself seems to provoke distress signals from fat cells, signaling to the immune system to fight off a threat that simply doesn't exist, according to a 2013 study published in Cell Metabolism.

2. Your tyrant of a boss

Like inflammation, there's acute and chronic stress, Yung says. "Acute stress is when we got chased by a sabertooth tiger. Chronic stress is a bad marriage or work anxiety, which we know has an effect on inflammation as well," he says. The famed stress hormone cortisol plays a role in regulating your inflammatory response, but chronic stress can dampen the hormone's ability to do so, leaving inflammation unchecked, according to a 2012 study from Rockefeller University. Chronic stress also seems to increase the production of certain inflammatory white blood cells, increasing risk of inflammation-related diseases, another Rockefeller University study found.

3. Your secret smoking habit

Each puff of a cigarette irritates your lungs, leading to a small degree of inflammation that can worsen existing lung problems—like COPD or allergies—and compound over time, Linden says. In fact, some experts believe the chronic injury and inflammation in the lungs from smoking may be one reason why cells begin to mutate, leading to lung cancer, he says. Smoking has been shown to increase certain markers of inflammation, including an elevated white blood cell count and high levels of C-reactive protein, a substance produced by the liver. Luckily, just weeks after kicking the habit, various inflammation markers drop dramatically, according to a 2009 study published in Chest.

Before you think you're totally risk-free since you've never picked up a cigarette, know that non-smokers aren't entirely in the clear: Air pollution can have a similar effect, Yung says. But in many cases, he says, you can control some of your air pollution exposure, by, say, keeping outdoor exercise to the a.m. hours and avoiding sitting in heavy traffic whenever possible.

4. Your gut bacteria

A whopping 70% of your immune cells reside in your intestines, Yung says, so your gut bacteria can affect your immune system in various ways. "The bacteria that are inside your GI tract can either suppress inflammation or activate inflammation, depending on what they are," Linden says. "That's why there's so much interest in using probiotics to try to influence the gut inflammatory response."

Researchers don't fully understand this interaction yet, he says, but they're exploring environmental and dietary changes that affect the way our microbiomes determine inflammation. Studies have identified specific microbes that seem to be related to developing rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's, both of which are inflammatory diseases. Inflammation sparked by microbiota is thought to worsen other diseases as well, including HIV.

5. Your evening nightcap

As alcohol is broken down inside your body, it produces toxic by-products that promote inflammation, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Because the liver is so prominently involved in the process, it may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of excessive drinking. One problematic consequence of heavy drinking is steatosis, or fatty liver, Linden says. That accumulation of fat can result in chronic liver inflammation, in turn leading to hepatitis or cirrhosis, he says.

6. Your go-to birth control

Pre-menopausal women who take oral contraceptives seem to be more likely than their pill-forgoing peers to suffer from low-grade inflammation. Preliminary research, published in 2014 in PLOS ONE, found that 30% of pre-menopausal women taking the pill had high levels of the inflammation marker C-reactive protein, while just 7% of pre-menopausal women not using the pill had the same. While the pill is still a safe option for healthy women, the study authors write that this link could be something to consider when discussing contraception options with your doctor.

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