Your morning stiffness may not yet qualify as arthritis, but it's likely a sign of inflammation
simmering throughout your body. Other red flags include elevated blood sugar levels, high
cholesterol levels, or a few extra pounds around the middle - each of which may help set the stage
for serious inflammatory diseases.
This startling news comes as medicine is quickly changing its view of inflammation. Just a few years ago, chronic inflammation was pretty much defined as arthritis and other "-itis" diseases. Today, it's also regarded as a likely cause of heart disease, Alzheimer's, and some cancers.
Normally, inflammation helps fight infections and initiate the healing process after an injury. But it doesn't always routinely fade away. Sometimes, inflammation festers in one part of the body, perhaps related to allergies or an injured knee, then spreads out and eventually leads to a cluster of related disorders: the inflammation syndrome.
C-Reactive Protein
Over the past 10 years, researchers have found runaway inflammation in most major health problems. For example, white blood cells, which release large amounts of inflammation-causing substances, play an early role in damaging artery walls and setting the stage for cholee.
The development a simple, accurate, and inexpensive blood test for measuring inflammation has helped researchers and physicians zero in on one of the key players: C-reactive protein (CRP). In a major study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, people with elevated CRP levels were four and one-half times more likely to have a heart attack. Not only is elevated CRP more accurate than cholesterol in predicting heart attack risk, but high CRP levels have turned up in people with diabetes and prediabetes and in people who are overweight.
The body makes CRP from interleukin-6 (IL-6), a powerful inflammation-causing chemicals. IL-6 is a key cell communication molecule, and it tells the body's immune system to go into a full rage, releasing CRP and many other inflammation-causing substances.
Being fat increases inflammation because adipose cells, particularly those around the tummy, make large amounts of IL-6 and CRP. As blood sugar levels increase, so do IL-6 and CRP. Both overweight and high blood sugar levels increase the risk of heart disease, very likely because of the undercurrent of inflammation.
Good Fats and Antioxidants
Unlike cholesterol, CRP is not found in foods. However, its levels in the body are strongly influenced by diet. A recent study by Simin Liu, M.D., Ph.D., of the Harvard Medical School found that women who ate large amounts of high-glycemic (or diabetes promoting) carbohydrates, including potatoes, breakfast cereals, white bread, muffins, and white rice, had very high CRP levels. Women who ate a lot of these foods and were also overweight had the highest and most dangerous CRP levels.
Dietary fats also influence inflammation. Most omega-6 fats, found in margarine and corn and safflower oils, are the basic building blocks of arachidonic acid and prostaglandin E2, two of several key inflammation-causing substances in the body. In contrast, omega-3 fats, found in fish, fish oils, and vegetables, have an inflammation-suppressing effect.
Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) is an omega-6 fat that enhances the anti-inflammatory effect of omega-3 fats. Both GLA and omega-3 fish oils have been found helpful in arthritis and other inflammatory disorders. GLA is found in leafy green vegetables and dietary supplements. Similarly, oleic acid, an omega-9 fat found in olive oil, avocados, and macadamia nuts, has anti inflammatory properties.
In addition, antioxidants lower CRP levels. They also curb inflammation by quenching hazardous molecules called free radicals, which stimulate inflammation. In one study, researchers found that people with high blood levels of carotenoids, including beta-carotene and lutein, had the lowest CRP levels.
Granted, those carotenoids may have simply been a marker for vegetable intake. But other studies have clearly shown that natural vitamin E supplements (800 IU daily) can lower CRP levels from 30-50 percent.
Inflammation tends to increase with age, making us more susceptible to disease. However, it is possible to significantly slow this process. The keys are cutting back on inflammation promoting foods, such as refined carbohydrates and omega-6 fats, and emphasizing anti inflammatory fats and antioxidants.
A Simple Anti-Inflammatory Recipe
Simple Baked Salmon
REFERENCES
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Zurier RB, Rossetti RG, Jacobson EW, et al. Gamma-linolenic acid treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. A randomized, placebo-controlled study. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 1996;11:1808 1817.
Linos A, Kaklamani VG, Kaklamani E, et al. Dietary factors in relation to rheumatoid arthritis: a role for olive oil and cooked vegetables. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1999;70:1077-1082.
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The information provided by Jack Challem is strictly educational and not intended as medical
advice. For diagnosis and treatment, consult your physician.