One of our authors studied inflammation as a major topic focus of my Nutrition Masters, so we’re quite passionate about the topic.
But the interesting thing here is that we are not just talking about arthritis, which is what people commonly think of, we are talking about a low-grade inflammation that can occur in the cells of your body.
| Characteristic | Acute Inflammation | Chronic Inflammation |
|---|---|---|
| Onset | Rapid | Gradual |
| Duration | Short-term (days to weeks) | Long-term (months to years) |
| Signs | Redness, heat, swelling, pain, loss of function | Often subtle, tissue remodeling, scarring |
| Cellular Infiltration | Neutrophils | Macrophages, lymphocytes, other immune cells |
| Cause | Infection, injury, irritants | Prolonged infections, autoimmune disorders, irritant exposure |
| Purpose | Eliminate cause, initiate healing | Can lead to tissue damage, contributes to chronic diseases |
It is quite amazing because all throughout research studies today it is well understood that inflammation is at the base of most conditions. In fact it under lies most diseases today.
So what we need to do is understand what is happening in the body, and then use food and lifestyle strategies to help reduce the inflammation occurring.
Conditions Influenced By Inflammation
Reducing inflammation can be helpful for all types of conditions from:
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Dementia
- Osteoporosis
- Type 2 diabetes
- Adrenal fatigue
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Obesity and stubborn weight
- Depression
- Insulin resistance
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Thyroid issues
- Autoimmune dysfunction or disease
- Digestive issues and dysfunction
That’s a big list, right?
And I can share with you here that your diet is one of the biggest influencing factors on your overall inflammatory status.
Understanding Inflammation
Here are some great articles from the GFE blog to help get you started in understanding what’s happening in your body when inflammation is occuring. Just click on the links below to access the articles.
