Scan the
obits and you’ll see the usual suspects listed as causes of death—heart
disease, cancer, stroke, and complications from diabetes and Alzheimer’s
disease.
What you won’t read about is chronic
inflammation, a deep-body immune response that medical researchers are
beginning to recognize as the underlying reason we develop these deadly
conditions.
“Most major diseases seem to have a chronic inflammatory component,”
says integrative medicine expert James Dillard, M.D.
“Evidence shows that arthritis, certain allergies, and asthma are
increasing at alarming rates,” says Ski Chilton, Ph.D., a professor of physiology
and pharmacology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the author of Inflammation
Nation.
The dramatic upswing in these milder conditions suggests that chronic
inflammation is also on the rise and that it will increasingly fuel serious
diseases as well.
While the medical establishment is still trying to better understand
chronic inflammation, a growing body of research is casting light on the poorly
understood process and pointing us toward ways to fight it.
What the Heck Is Inflammation?
Chances are you’re already familiar with acute inflammation. This is the
redness, heat, and swelling of a gum infection or a hammer-meets-thumb
injury.
These reactions are triggered by the flood of white blood cells summoned
by your body to surround and protect the wound.
Acute inflammation also occurs internally when you get an infection,
such as pneumonia. In that event, those same white blood cells take aim at the
bacteria in your tissues and bloodstream.
In both cases, the heat and swelling of acute inflammation are all part
of your body’s battle against the invaders that cause infection—they help speed
the healing process.
Related: 6 Surprising Inflammation Causes
