January 9, 2003 – Everyone knows about the inflammation that a cut or burn causes and the rapid and efficient response of our immune system. Today, science knows more about another type of inflammation: chronic inflammation which plays a key role in the development of inflammatory diseases like Crohn’s disease, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. We also know better how to prevent it.
First, unlike short-term inflammation (e.g. cutting yourself and a few days later, the wound is healed), chronic inflammation leads to tissue destruction. There will certainly be remedial attempts, but sometimes these fail and that’s when you have to think about a change in lifestyle.
What is going on ? Our immune system, which originated in the Stone Age, constantly struggles to protect us against the aggressors of our industrial civilization: eating too much fat, too many calories and too many unhealthy foods. Its task is weighed down by our greater longevity than before. Because of this, our bodies are exposed to inflammation triggers longer and our aging tissues are more easily damaged. After some time of this excessively rich diet, the body reacts: some people will have small infections such as periodontal disease (gingivitis and periodontitis). Others will have more serious infections: chronic inflammatory diseases.
Among the modern triggers of chronic inflammation, we note meals that are too fatty and too high in calories, bad cholesterol, fatty cells, emotional stress, chronic bacterial or viral infections (oral herpes, bronchitis, etc.), lack of physical activity and the lack of fruits, vegetables and good fats (of the omega-3 type) in our diet. We will come back to some of these aspects and ways to prevent inflammation in more detail in later texts.
Stéphane Gagné – PasseportSanté.net
From Prevention, January 2003.
