Latest news with #ASilentFire:TheStoryofInflammation
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
What Inflammation Really Does To Your Body, According To Doctors
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." You're feeling a little…off. Your body is achy, your brain feels foggy, you're getting rashes, and your digestive system is making more noise than your rowdy neighbors. Naturally, you start Googling. Before long, you've come up with a credible-sounding culprit—and it's a word more ominous than any of the symptoms you're experiencing. The word? Inflammation. 34.6 percent of American adults have systemic inflammation, according to 2024 research out of the University of Florida. It can be pretty serious. Inflammation is what's behind many chronic illnesses and most modern autoimmune diseases like arthritis, Crohn's disease, and lupus. And, unfortunately, the risks for autoimmune diseases are a lot higher for women. Four of every five people with an autoimmune disease are female, according to the National Institutes of Health, a complex puzzle researchers are still trying to solve. Put lightly, having unchecked inflammation throughout your body isn't necessarily a good thing. But there's more to it than its buzzy, bad-guy reputation would have you believe. Ahead, experts explain what inflammation is, when it's nothing to worry about, and when you should call your doctor. Meet the experts: Esther Sternberg, MD, is a physician, research director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, and author of Well at Work, Creating Wellbeing in Any Workspace. Shilpa Ravella, MD, is a gastroenterologist and author of A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet & Disease. When Inflammation Isn't So Bad Social media is full of advice on how to reduce inflammation, often accompanied by a pitch to buy a supplement or special tea. But sometimes, inflammation is actually on your side, a sign that your feisty white blood cells are working the way they're supposed to in order to fight off any threats. When your deltoid gets red and sore after a flu shot, for example, that's your immune system charging in to attack the virus—which is an inflammatory response. And while it's doing battle, it's also learning to recognize the virus, so that you can easily fend it off when flu season rolls around. Pretty smart. Without the inflammatory response, you wouldn't heal when you cut your finger while dicing onions, because it's your immune system that wards off infection and promotes scabbing. You wouldn't be getting strong and building muscle either. When you're working out correctly and not injuring yourself, you create small tears in your muscles that the inflammatory response helps repair and then strengthen. That's not to say it feels good. These forms of inflammation, known as acute inflammation, often bring side effects like redness, swelling, heat, pain, and even temporary loss of function of the body part affected. Luckily, for the discomforts acute inflammation brings, simple over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen are usually all you need. Just be careful about not overdoing it, and try to hold off using them post-workout so the inflammation can have its positive effects. When Inflammation Goes Wrong Inflammation is like the helpful friend who will always rush first to your defense when you're in need—and mutiny if you push her too far. When your alert system malfunctions and inflammation hangs around too long, it becomes chronic, attacking what should be healthy areas instead of repairing damaged ones. 'Inflammation is not always helpful, or even harmless,' says Shilpa Ravella, MD, a gastroenterologist and author of A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet & Disease. 'It can rage against the body's own tissues, disrupting essential functions and leading to injury.' We know that untempered inflammation plays an important role in many chronic conditions, including heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes. It also factors into rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, among other health issues. And while factors like genetics and environment play a major role in who develops inflammatory diseases, even lower-level chronic inflammation can undermine your overall well-being and make you more vulnerable to disease. A healthy system is alert to threats and fends them off as needed. One that's fighting all the time will feel like, well, it's fighting all the time, leading to issues like fatigue, joint pain, skin problems, or a rebellious stomach. But there are actions we can take to reduce risks and mitigate symptoms. 'Chronic, low-level inflammation is fueled in large part by dietary, lifestyle, and other environmental factors,' Dr. Ravella explains. How To Tell If Inflammation Is Something Serious A good rule of thumb is that if you know why you're experiencing an inflammatory reaction—like swelling around a cut—and can tolerate it, you likely don't have to worry. However, 'To err on the side of caution,' says Dr. Ravella, 'I always tell folks to visit the doctor if they have any concerning or out-of-the-ordinary symptoms that persist.' Talk to your medical team about what's been going on and for how long, to see if there's a more serious issue to be addressed. You'll also then be able to rule out other issues like anemia or hormonal changes, which might be the result of similar symptoms. Worried about chronic inflammation? Start here. Even with the odds stacked against women, there are simple steps we can take that make a big difference. Get Smarter About Your Stress Your immune system is responsible for setting off inflammatory reactions, and one of its biggest enemies is also one of the toughest to manage—stress. Chronic stress impacts the immune cells in the brain, according to a 2025 study in Biology. But that's not all: Chronic stress 'can make your chromosomes look 10 to 17 years older than your biological age," says Esther Sternberg, MD, a physician, research director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, and author of Well at Work, Creating Wellbeing in Any Workspace. This accelerated chromosomal aging means that your body doesn't repair itself as well as it should, making you more vulnerable to diseases like cancer and making your body feel older than the number on your driver's license. Before you freak out that your doomscrolling and deadlines are messing with your immune system and adding a decade or more to your body, remember that you can't—and wouldn't want to—eliminate stress from your life entirely. A dose of stress is what keeps you on your toes when you need to perform a task, and keeps you aware of your surroundings when you're walking home late at night. You just shouldn't be living your life 24/7 like you're trying to land a plane. Fortunately, all the things that you already do—or try to do—to keep yourself healthy will also help lower stress and, in turn, maintain your immune system and keep inflammation at bay. Think: good nutrition, rest, regular physical activity, and stress management exercises like meditation, mindfulness, or therapy. Best of all, these things all work really well together, like an Avengers team for your body. Catch Enough Zzzz's It's boring but it's true: 'Sleeping is really important for good health,' says Dr. Sternberg. During sleep, your body is working hard to repair itself, and your brain is washing out waste, setting you up for success when you wake up. Sleep actually controls the production of cells that are the drivers of inflammation, according to a 2022 study in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Getting enough sleep means that less of these cells are floating around. So skip the caffeine later in the day, limit screen time before bed, or at least get some blue light filtering, and stick as closely to a regular bedtime as you can. Feed Your Anti-Inflammation Defenses There are countless reasons to ditch processed and fast foods, limit alcohol consumption, and eat a colorful, whole foods-based diet, and most of them will lead you straight back to reducing inflammation. The right foods can help maximize your heart health, lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, calm your stomach issues, and more. A great place to start is by introducing more fiber into your day. 'One statistic that is troubling is that 95 percent of Americans have a fiber deficiency,' says Dr. Ravella, 'Fiber is one of our most anti-inflammatory nutrients, and we want to go even beyond the recommended daily allowances (about 28 - 38 grams for adults) to prevent and to manage inflammation.' Fiber can affect every part of the immune system, whether directly or through the gut microbiome, she says. Want even more info on how to fight inflammation through your diet? Check out the Women's Health+ Anti-Inflammatory Diet Guide. Sweat It Out Among the many benefits of exercise, it can help lower the bad kind of inflammation while it promotes the good kind with muscle repair. 'We have many clinical trials across age groups that point to the ability of regular exercise to decrease chronic, low-level inflammation,' Dr. Ravella says. Its positive effect on inflammation isn't just because it can result in fat loss; exercise lowers the number of inflammatory proteins released in the body, she explains. It might even impact your gut microbiome, which plays a role in reducing inflammation. 'When it comes to exercise and inflammation, it's not primarily about the numbers on the scale, it's about realizing that exercise can affect hidden inflammation in the body regardless of body type or weight loss,' Dr. Ravella says. Consistency, as always, is key, so lean into the activities you enjoy. And if it's your thing, invite a buddy to the gym or on your morning run, to add an immunity shot of social connection to the package. Healthy relationships help build healthy immune systems, boosting your mental health and helping minimize your risk of inflammation-related conditions like Alzheimer's and heart disease. But Don't Sweat It Go easy on yourself when making lifestyle changes. "One of the problems with people trying to help themselves and reduce stress is if they can't, then they feel they're a bad person, they're guilty, or they failed," says Dr. Sternberg. "That's even more stressful." If you're feeling overwhelmed, start by targeting one thing, preferably the issue you struggle the most with, whether it's getting enough sleep or finding a workout that works. Allow yourself space for trial and error, and don't get discouraged. Building healthy habits takes time and some effort, but you've got this. After all, you've already got a whole army inside of you, and when you treat it right, it's fighting on your side. You Might Also Like Jennifer Garner Swears By This Retinol Eye Cream These New Kicks Will Help You Smash Your Cross-Training Goals
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The dangers of chronic inflammation – and the worst things for it
Imagine a glowing couple in their 20s, working and partying hard, getting precious little sleep, says gastroenterologist Shilpa Ravella. Then fast-forward 30 years and the couple may have serious health issues such as Type 2 diabetes or heart disease. 'Late nights, drinking and stress, all these things trigger low-level inflammation which can damage our tissues and then one day it turns into heart disease or cancer,' adds Ravella. 'Yes, younger bodies tend to process things more favourably. But the processed food has got worse, and young onset colon cancer is skyrocketing.' Being slim isn't a protection, adds Ravella. 'You can be at the gym lifting weights, have big muscles and a flat tummy, but still be highly inflamed. More importantly, you could have a higher risk of disease down the line, without having a clue.' Hidden, chronic, low-grade, systemic inflammation is a 'hot topic' in health and wellness because it's increasingly recognised as a major driver of heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's, as well as autoimmune conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and rheumatoid arthritis (where the immune system starts to attack the healthy cells of organs and tissues). And scientists now believe 'inflammaging' is one of several essential factors that drive ageing in humans. 'As we age, just naturally through a combination of genetics and the sum total of our environmental exposures, our immune systems develop a natural propensity for wanting to engage in chronic inflammation,' explains Dr Nathan Curran, a functional Medicine Practitioner at London's The Galen Clinic. 'If we're trying to prevent chronic disease, it needs to go beyond just screening for the disease,' he adds. 'We need to be screening for the actual triggers of the disease before they emerge.' Inflammation isn't bad per se. It's the immune system's response to any traumatic event in the body tissues – for example, a scraped knee or finger cut. In case of 'acute' inflammation, our immune system releases inflammatory cells and cytokines (small proteins that stimulate more inflammatory cells) to neutralise the invading virus or start healing injured tissue. You will experience redness, warmth and swelling, but it will be over in a matter of days. 'Acute inflammation serves a very important role in keeping us alive,' says Dr Curran. In our evolutionary history, in order to protect our bodies from pathogens and poisons, we developed a hyperactive immune system, explains Ravella, author of A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet and Disease. The problem is inflammation is not always harmless. 'Chronic' inflammation happens when this response is switched on all the time, leaving your body in a constant state of alert. The body continues to send white blood cells on the attack in the absence of any threat. This disrupts normal bodily functions and can result in healthy tissues and organs being attacked. Plus your body never gets a chance to recuperate. The whole topic of inflammation became a bit more 'personal' last October when I learnt I have 'a propensity for excessive inflammation on a genetic level' when I did a DNA test at Dr Curran's clinic. The clues were there already: I had high cholesterol and was a point from being pre-diabetic. I sneezed incessantly (and very loudly) after too much fizz or sugar, both of which raise inflammation. 'You have an 'eager/active' variant of the gene,' Dr Curran tells me. 'This means a relatively mild trigger has the potential to trigger a disproportionately large/sustained release of TNF-alpha (a pro-inflammatory protein), unless we moderate the impact of this genetic variation through an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, omega-3s, Vitamin D and so on.' I immediately Google TNF-alpha and find that, worryingly, this cytokine is implicated in acute and chronic inflammatory conditions including, sepsis, rheumatoid arthritis and dementia. 'Just because you have the genetic propensity doesn't mean it will be translated into excessive inflammation,' he adds, 'but you need to be mindful of your lifestyle and dietary exposures.' But there's my family's history of heart disease to consider, too. 'When cholesterol accumulates in the arteries, it creates inflammation because it gets modified and oxidised,' explains British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Cambridge, Ziad Mallat. 'And then the body recognises it as a stranger. This inflammation initially serves to clear the oxidised cholesterol from the arteries. But when the body is exposed continuously to this aggression, the clearance capacities become overwhelmed and the inflammation becomes chronic. This causes more build-up of fatty material in the arteries and later may create clots in the arteries, and cause heart attack and stroke. The same thing happens when you have high glucose in diabetes, or if you smoke; it causes injury to the arteries and that creates chronic inflammation.' The shock motivated me to change my diet (I gave up free sugar, brought my cholesterol down naturally for this paper). Then in March I asked my GP for a CRP (C-reactive protein) blood test (CRP is produced by the liver and if there's a higher concentration of CRP than usual, it's a sign of inflammation) and, phew, it's normal at the moment. The sneezing has stopped. 'You were really lucky, because your sneezing was so obvious and not everybody has that,' says Thaddeus Stappenbeck, MD, PhD chair of Inflammation and Immunity at Cleveland Clinic. 'Most people have more vague symptoms, like they don't have the energy they used to, or they're not sleeping well.' At Cleveland Clinic, Dr Thaddeus's research programme focuses on determining the root causes of inflammatory diseases with the goal of developing new therapies. 'With certain types of inflammatory conditions, they can programme parts of your immune system so they simply malfunction which further fuels inflammation later. A really good example is sepsis. Patients who have had bloodstream infections and spent time in intensive care, if they survive and are able to leave the hospital, what's well recognised is that parts of their immune system are no longer functional. So they're at risk for repeat infections with worse overall inflammation.' The function of the immune system is to protect us from invaders—and to be able to tell apart the cells of our own body from other cells that don't belong to us. And scientists have estimated that about 70 per cent of the immune system lives in the gut microbiome. Chronic inflammation in the gut may be due to inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. But a modern Western diet high in ultra-processed foods can literally cause our whole body to be on fire, too. The poorer the quality of a meal, the higher the inflammatory response. Our microbiome (and the trillions of bugs in our intestines crucial to human health) is worryingly damaged, in contrast to our ancestors who had better gut health. This sort of inflammation contributes to most of our '21st-century' diseases, says Dr Stappenbeck. 'The link between what's going on in your gut microbiome, and diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or sleep disorders or depression is really amazing. We're learning, for example, that Parkinson's disease probably starts in many of these patients in the colon and becomes more evident once brain lesions have developed. A lot of patients with Parkinson's have very severe constipation because the neurons in their colon are damaged and don't function properly. They could have been experiencing that for years without realising. So could we diagnose Parkinson's earlier before the cells of the brain are damaged?' Many people don't know they have chronic inflammation until they're diagnosed with another condition, like rheumatoid arthritis or Type 2 diabetes. Though patients may have experienced symptoms long before a formal diagnosis, says Dr Stappenbeck. 'We and others now recognise there are likely pre-existing conditions to Crohn's disease, for example. We see patients who start off by just feeling terrible, they're chronically tired, have brain fog, lethargy, some sort of GI disturbance. It's all connected.' We still lack functional tests of our immune system to recognise people at risk. Though you can ask your GP to check inflammation levels with a CRP blood test to check inflammatory biomarkers (as part of your midlife check). C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood may indicate infection or inflammation in the body which will require further testing. Though as Dr Curran reminds us, it could simply be caused by a common cold. The good news is we can prevent, treat or even reverse chronic inflammation with medication and diet changes, says Ravella. 'You're able to see changes in the microbiome within a few days to weeks after changing your diet and that is going to jump-start positive change. From a disease-risk perspective, it may take longer.' Modifications in diet, behaviour and lifestyle are the best place to start. 'People who are able to keep up those anti-inflammatory dietary and lifestyle factors throughout their lives, have a better chance of retaining the physical and mental functionality they had in their youth,' says Ravella. 'So that puts the way in which they age in a very different context. Obviously you will have the inflammation that's a natural part of ageing, but you're able to resolve inflammatory challenges far more seamlessly.' Many inflammatory issues start in the gut, so we need a diverse diet, rich in foods that fight inflammation. 'What you include is actually much more important than what you exclude,' says Ravella. Aim for at least six portions of fruit/veg a day. Prioritise gut-friendly natural foods (leafy greens, like kale and spinach, plus cruciferous veg like broccoli, kale, cauliflower), grains, beans, spices and herbs which contain healthy fibre and chemicals. Opt for healthy anti-inflammatory fats from sources like olive oil, nuts and seeds (chia seeds, flaxseed, walnuts, almonds). Studies have associated nuts with reduced markers of inflammation and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Eat 50g of fibre a day (30g is not enough, argues Ravella). As well as oats and fibre-rich wholemeal bread, add in quinoa, bulgar, legumes each day. 'Fibre is one of our most anti-inflammatory foods that can actually manipulate the immune system, yet 90 per cent of UK adults are deficient in fibre,' says Ravella. Eat fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel. 'A diet rich in omega-3 from oily fish is very effective at quelling chronic inflammation,' says Dr Curran. Diets high in processed meats, butter, sweets, sugary drinks and refined grains are linked to higher inflammation and an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Ultra-processed foods are highly inflammatory due to their high content of saturated fats, sugars, salt, and additives like emulsifiers and sweeteners, which can negatively impact the gut microbiome and trigger inflammation. 'They're like Frankenfoods,' says Ravella. Sugar also feeds inflammatory microbes in the gut, damaging our gut microbiome and leading to more inflammation. Among other things, booze profoundly disrupts your gut bacteria and gut and liver function. 'All the data suggests it's really a toxin, essentially equivalent to cigarettes in provoking chronic inflammation. Limiting exposure to alcohol as best you can is a good strategy,' says Dr Stappenbeck. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (like walking) per week. Partly because it can help to prevent obesity, which causes inflammation and partly because it comes with its own benefits. A 2017 study conducted by the University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that even one 20-minute session of moderate exercise can stimulate the immune system. 'Sleep is very important in draining toxic material from the brain through a specialised lymphatic system that cleans the brain, and it is very active at night,' says Prof Mallat, 'and all of this is very important in terms of shutting down inflammation.' 'Taking a walk in the woods can help us de-stress, but also exposes us to bacteria, viruses and fungi that can boost our own,' says Ravella. ' Too many people are on screens in concrete buildings and don't go out.' Burnout exacerbates inflammation. 'If you are operating constantly in a state of constant threat perception, that will drive your immune system to a state of hyper-vigilance,' explains Dr Curran. 'Your thoughts are communicated to your immune system through stress hormones, so high levels of cortisol or adrenaline (all of the fight-or-flight signalling agents) shifts your immune system into a state of high alert, where the smallest trigger sets off a massive inflammatory cascade.' Vitamin D is hugely important for regulating inflammation, says Dr Curran. It helps to support the body's immune response, improving your ability to fight off illness and disease. Research based on workers during Ramadan in Indonesia suggests intermittent fasting can help limit inflammation. It can facilitate weight loss, prevent the progression of Type 2 diabetes and consequently improve cardiovascular risk, increase longevity, and reduce disease. Certain cleaning supplies and body care products contain chemicals that may inflame us, so read labels carefully. 'We call it sterile inflammation,' says Dr Stappenbeck. 'Usually with inflammation, you have an infectious agent. But it's this sterile inflammation in the absence of any kind of infectious agent, that's worrying. We also need to further study the emerging role of microplastics and their interaction with the microbiome, especially in the gut, since this is something that's usually ingested.' You can get a water filter and avoid bottled water, he adds, though the majority of microplastics come from our clothes when they are washed. So avoid polyester, nylon and acrylic. Choose natural fibres like cotton, wool, linen. Wash less frequently, use cold water, run full loads, and consider investing in a washing machine filter or a laundry bag designed to capture microplastics. Air quality is also key. 'All the epidemiological studies suggest that in terms of lung disease, your post code, and how much pollution you breathe in really matters. A 2019 study by King's College London found London had the highest levels of airborne microplastics yet recorded, with a rate of microplastic deposition over 25 times higher than China, and seven times higher than Paris. 'If you live in an area with high amounts of air pollution, that's obviously going to affect your lung function, or if your water supply is contaminated with high amounts of microplastics.' Air purifiers, especially those with HEPA filters, can effectively remove microplastics and other airborne pollutants. And if you live in a polluted are a like London avoid exercising outside at dawn or dusk when pollution peaks.
Telegraph
08-04-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
The dangers of chronic inflammation – and the worst things for it
Imagine a glowing couple in their 20s, working and partying hard, getting precious little sleep, says gastroenterologist Shilpa Ravella. Then fast-forward 30 years and the couple may have serious health issues such as Type 2 diabetes or heart disease. 'Late nights, drinking and stress, all these things trigger low-level inflammation which can damage our tissues and then one day it turns into heart disease or cancer,' adds Ravella. 'Yes, younger bodies tend to process things more favourably. But the processed food has got worse, and young onset colon cancer is skyrocketing.' Being slim isn't a protection, adds Ravella. 'You can be at the gym lifting weights, have big muscles and a flat tummy, but still be highly inflamed. More importantly, you could have a higher risk of disease down the line, without having a clue.' Hidden, chronic, low-grade, systemic inflammation is a 'hot topic' in health and wellness because it's increasingly recognised as a major driver of heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's, as well as autoimmune conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and rheumatoid arthritis (where the immune system starts to attack the healthy cells of organs and tissues). And scientists now believe 'inflammaging' is one of several essential factors that drive ageing in humans. 'As we age, just naturally through a combination of genetics and the sum total of our environmental exposures, our immune systems develop a natural propensity for wanting to engage in chronic inflammation,' explains Dr Nathan Curran, a functional Medicine Practitioner at London's The Galen Clinic. 'If we're trying to prevent chronic disease, it needs to go beyond just screening for the disease,' he adds. 'We need to be screening for the actual triggers of the disease before they emerge.' What is inflammation? Inflammation isn't bad per se. It's the immune system's response to any traumatic event in the body tissues – for example, a scraped knee or finger cut. In case of 'acute' inflammation, our immune system releases inflammatory cells and cytokines (small proteins that stimulate more inflammatory cells) to neutralise the invading virus or start healing injured tissue. You will experience redness, warmth and swelling, but it will be over in a matter of days. 'Acute inflammation serves a very important role in keeping us alive,' s ays Dr Curran. In our evolutionary history, in order to protect our bodies from pathogens and poisons, we developed a hyperactive immune system, explains Ravella, author of A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet and Disease. The problem is inflammation is not always harmless. 'Chronic' inflammation happens when this response is switched on all the time, leaving your body in a constant state of alert. The body continues to send white blood cells on the attack in the absence of any threat. This disrupts normal bodily functions and can result in healthy tissues and organs being attacked. Plus your body never gets a chance to recuperate. Inflammation and cholesterol The whole topic of inflammation became a bit more 'personal' last October when I learnt I have 'a propensity for excessive inflammation on a genetic level' when I did a DNA test at Dr Curran's clinic. The clues were there already: I had high cholesterol and was a point from being pre-diabetic. I sneezed incessantly (and very loudly) after too much fizz or sugar, both of which raise inflammation. 'You have an 'eager/active' variant of the gene,' Dr Curran tells me. 'This means a relatively mild trigger has the potential to trigger a disproportionately large/sustained release of TNF-alpha (a pro-inflammatory protein), unless we moderate the impact of this genetic variation through an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, omega-3 s, Vitamin D and so on.' I immediately Google TNF-alpha and find that, worryingly, this cytokine is implicated in acute and chronic inflammatory conditions including, sepsis, rheumatoid arthritis and dementia. 'Just because you have the genetic propensity doesn't mean it will be translated into excessive inflammation,' he adds, 'but you need to be mindful of your lifestyle and dietary exposures.' But there's my family's history of heart disease to consider, too. 'When cholesterol accumulates in the arteries, it creates inflammation because it gets modified and oxidised,' explains British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Cambridge, Ziad Mallat. 'And then the body recognises it as a stranger. This inflammation initially serves to clear the oxidised cholesterol from the arteries. But when the body is exposed continuously to this aggression, the clearance capacities become overwhelmed and the inflammation becomes chronic. This causes more build-up of fatty material in the arteries and later may create clots in the arteries, and cause heart attack and stroke. The same thing happens when you have high glucose in diabetes, or if you smoke; it causes injury to the arteries and that creates chronic inflammation.' The shock motivated me to change my diet (I gave up free sugar, brought my cholesterol down naturally for this paper). Then in March I asked my GP for a CRP (C-reactive protein) blood test (CRP is produced by the liver and if there's a higher concentration of CRP than usual, it's a sign of inflammation) and, phew, it's normal at the moment. The sneezing has stopped. 'You were really lucky, because your sneezing was so obvious and not everybody has that,' says Thaddeus Stappenbeck, MD, PhD chair of Inflammation and Immunity at Cleveland Clinic. 'Most people have more vague symptoms, like they don't have the energy they used to, or they're not sleeping well.' At Cleveland Clinic, Dr Thaddeus's research programme focuses on determining the root causes of inflammatory diseases with the goal of developing new therapies. 'With certain types of inflammatory conditions, they can programme parts of your immune system so they simply malfunction which further fuels inflammation later. A really good example is sepsis. Patients who have had bloodstream infections and spent time in intensive care, if they survive and are able to leave the hospital, what's well recognised is that parts of their immune system are no longer functional. So they're at risk for repeat infections with worse overall inflammation.' The role of diet and the gut microbiome in inflammation The function of the immune system is to protect us from invaders—and to be able to tell apart the cells of our own body from other cells that don't belong to us. And scientists have estimated that about 70 per cent of the immune system lives in the gut microbiome. Chronic inflammation in the gut may be due to inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. But a modern Western diet high in ultra-processed foods can literally cause our whole body to be on fire, too. The poorer the quality of a meal, the higher the inflammatory response. Our microbiome (and the trillions of bugs in our intestines crucial to human health) is worryingly damaged, in contrast to our ancestors who had better gut health. This sort of inflammation contributes to most of our '21st-century' diseases, says Dr Stappenbeck. 'The link between what's going on in your gut microbiome, and diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or sleep disorders or depression is really amazing. We're learning, for example, that Parkinson's disease probably starts in many of these patients in the colon and becomes more evident once brain lesions have developed. A lot of patients with Parkinson's have very severe constipation because the neurons in their colon are damaged and don't function properly. They could have been experiencing that for years without realising. So could we diagnose Parkinson's earlier before the cells of the brain are damaged?'
