Why Reducing Inflammation Is Important

   

Systemic inflammation affects all of us and is coming to be understood now as another health risk marker capable of leading to chronic illnesses including Alzheimers, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis and hear disease and equal to that of other markers that assess our risk of a heart attack such as blood pressure, atherosclerosis, blood glucose levels or high triglyceride’s.

Like having high blood pressure, inflammation in the body is often considered a ‘silent threat’, as inflammation in the body may be high but inflammatory symptoms may not manifest themselves at all, in other cases symptoms of inflammation may be very apparent.

Inflammation in the body increases or decreases  in response to various foods we eat which are either pro or anti-inflammatory. A large source of our pro-inflammatory food sources come from Omega 6 fatty acids, particularly arachidonic acid. We obtain Omega 6 from oils, grain fed meats, seeds and are found in abundance on most processed foods including biscuits and crackers. Sugars and flour products are also pro inflammatory.

Foods that are the most anti-inflammatory that are present in our diet today consist of Omega 3 fatty acids, found in oily fish and wild meats or grass fed beef as well as vegetables with a high anti-oxidant content. For optimal health our diets should consist of an equal 1:1 ratio between Omega 6 and Omega 3, the same is the case for pro and anti inflammatory foods. That is not to say that one should not eat foods that are highly inflammatory such as organ meats or young meats such as lamb or veal but that they should be eaten with anti-inflammatory vegetables that have a high anti-oxidant content to fight free radical damage. An IF rating system has been devised to determine the estimated affect on inflammation that a food has, which can be found in The Inflammation Free Diet Plan by Nutritionist Monica Reinagel. The rating is formulated on a number of factors pertaining to a food that would determine its inflammatory response, this criteria include:

1. Saturated/Unsaturated fat content – Saturated fats- Pro Inflammatory, Unsaturated fats – Anti-Inflammatory

2. EPA/DHA/ALA/GLA content – These fatty acids in particular are highly capable of fighting inflammation.

3. Anti-Oxidant content – the higher the anti-oxidant content the more anti-inflammatory the food is

4. High Homocysteine levels contribute towards inflammation – B-Vitamins are effective in reducing Homocysteine levels, particularly B6, B12 and Folic acid.

5. Sugar feeds inflammation

7. Vitamin K, Zinc and Selenium are anti-inflammatory

8. Phytochemicals are anti-inflammatory – including foods such as turmeric, garlic, chilli peppers, ginger, pineapple and other plants.

Other contributing factors to increased inflammation include, smoking, being overweight, sedentary lifestyle, unprotected sun exposure, hormone replacement therapy and disease.

Inflammation increases your risk of developing and is present in the following conditions, arthritis, asthma, allergies, diabetes, obesity, cancer, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune diseases, prostate disease and heart disease.

The degree of inflammation in the body is measured through the amount of C-Reactive Protein in the blood, this is the blood test used to measure if there is inflammation somewhere in the body or not, which may not be apparent if one has not clear symptoms, this blood test is now more widely used by physicians in annual health checks. Systemic inflammation can be symptomless like blood pressure and should be checked regularly.

Reducing CRP and inflammation in the body through monitoring the balance of pro-anti-inflammatory factors of your lifestyle is as important as minimizing sugar and processed carbohydrate or trans fatty acid intake, making an effort to exercise, reducing stress or exposure to toxic substances.

References
Reinagel, M (2006) The Inflammation Free Diet Plan, McGraw Hill: United States
Deron, S (2004) C-Reactive Protein, Everything you need to know about CRP and why its more important than cholesterol to your health, McGraw Hill: United States