Chronic Inflammation: The Primary Cause of Disease and Death

Healthforus

Inflammation is inflammation, right? Wrong! Inflammation comes in two varieties- acute inflammation and chronic inflammation. The one that we most commonly associate with the term “inflammation” is the acute type – which is easily identifiable given its common symptoms (redness, swelling, pain, and heat) and which is a sign that our body is doing its best to keep us healthy. The second type- chronic inflammation- is marked by prolonged suffering of inflammatory symptoms and is more detrimental to one’s health than good. Without proper treatment, chronic inflammation can lead to chronic inflammation diseases or even death.

The Process of Inflammation

Probably the best way to describe the process of inflammation is through example. I’m sure we are all familiar with how a paper cut on the finger feels- it causes a slight burning sensation, begins to bleed and the affected area reddens and may swell a bit. This is acute inflammation in action- the body’s systemic system senses that stress to the system has occurred and responds to help.  It first sends out “inflammatory mediators” which signal extra blood flow (leukocytes) to the affected area, in turn causing the redness associated with inflammation. Next, the lining of the blood vessels become weakened and begin to “leak” plasma to the area causing swelling, or edema, which enables the leukocytes more freedom to move about in the area. Last, the leukocytes are brought in to begin work to repair the damage.

Typically, the end result would be full healing in a matter of days. A problem only arises when the body has trouble turning off the inflammatory response. This is how chronic inflammation occurs. Going back to the paper cut example, let’s say the body continued to signal leukocytes to the area even after repair was complete. If this was to occur, it could cause the leukocytes to become confused and actually start attacking healthy cells. Once the attack begins and a new variety of healthy cell is targeted as an “enemy”, the leukocytes begin attacking those cells in other parts of the body as well causing a cascade of destruction.

In the end, what started out as repair of a paper cut on the finger leads to chronic inflammation disease.

What is Chronic Inflammation Disease?

Chronic inflammation disease is a broad-based term used to describe a group of diseases that arise from chronic inflammation. It’s more common to hear of them spoken by their specific names as opposed to a group.

Some of the most well known chronic inflammation diseases include:

• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Fibromyalgia
• Acne
• Neuropathy
• Heart Disease
• And the list goes on…

Just about any common human disease or disorder has roots that track back to chronic inflammation…

Ways to Fight Chronic Inflammation and Reverse Chronic Inflammation Disease

The best way to fight chronic inflammation and begin reversing the effects of chronic inflammatory disease is to make smart food choices and pay attention to your overall nutrition. Here is my article where I wrote about Nopalea which are foods to reduce inflammation. There are foods that cause inflammation in the body and there are also a number of foods that prevent inflammation in the body- it are just a matter of knowing which is which.

Additionally, since it’s impossible to get the right nutritional balance every day simply through diet, adding anti inflammatory supplements, such as Nopalea, to your diet are a huge help.