Did you know that chronic inflammation is the only common link between cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and heart disease? Researchers describe it as "the fires within" and they're referring to the way inflammatory proteins break down tissues and organs. So how can we reduce inflammation in our bodies? Here are the three triggers to look out for and the two best inflammation crushers to go for:
Three surprising inflammation triggers
1. Sleepless nights
Rubin Naiman, sleep specialist
and clinical assistant professor
of medicine at the University of
Arizona’s Center for Integrative
Medicine, points to a whack of
research that links sleep debts to
a rise in cortisol levels and inflammation
biomarkers. And it goes both
ways. “Sleeplessness increases
chronic inflammation,” Naiman
says, “but chronic inflammation
also increases sleeplessness.”
Our bodies should do exactly
what the planet does when the sun
goes down, says Naiman. “All of the
heat absorbed during the day
should dissipate and steadily
decrease throughout the night
before reaching its lowest point just
before the dawn and coming back
up,” he says. “Sleep is a release of
energy.” Scientists have found,
though, that people suffering from
sleep disorders don’t get cool
enough at night because they’re
inflamed. In some cases, their body
temperature literally qualifies as a
fever state (over 37ºC), says Naiman.
Naiman has a few tips for those
who suffer from the occasional bout
of insomnia and are looking for ways
to get a better night’s sleep:
Cool the room: Lower your
thermostat at night to around 20 C.
Turn off the TV: A little TV humour
is okay before bed, but avoid being
“dramatized” by one-hour police
shows or murder mysteries. Save
those for the day, says Naiman. At
night you want to create a release
of energy, not a buildup.
Unplug your brain: Don’t take
or make any phone calls or fire off
any emails one hour before sleep.
Prep for rest: Use your pre-sleep
hour to read a book or practise
simple relaxation techniques like
meditation and gentle yoga.
Set your alarm: Move your
clock to somewhere you can hear
it, but not see it. And if your clock
has a digital display, ditch it. “Even
the small amount of light from clock
radios can trickle through closed
eyelids, suppressing melatonin
production and disrupting sleep,”
says Naiman.
2. Couple stress
Have you been burned by love?
New evidence shows that stress
from personal relationships directly
impacts our body’s inflammatory
response. In fact, love gone wrong
can sometimes be as bad for the
body as smoking, obesity and
hypertension. And, once again,
women are more at risk than
men because we produce more
of the stress hormone cortisol than
they do, and it does more damage
in our bodies.
Recent studies showed that
women with lower marital satisfaction
experience a more rapid
progression of inflammation-related
disorders like carotid atherosclerosis
(a vascular disease affecting the
arteries to the brain), arthritis and
metabolic syndrome, which can lead
to heart disease and diabetes. Part
of this is because trusting, supportive
relationships can inspire health-promoting behaviours, including
better eating habits and romantic walks
together, while unsupportive relationships
can result in cancelled trips to the
gym, more sleep disturbances, Häagen-
Dazs binges and higher rates of smoking
and drinking. But it’s even more subtle
than that: Often, our expectations about
the availability and responsiveness of
our partners can influence how the
body reacts to stress, especially when
expectations fall short. This can lead to
depression, which studies show makes
us more vulnerable to infection, fuels
inflammatory production and may slow
down the healing process.
One 2009 study from Ohio State
University also found that how we love
directly affects our immune systems.
People who avoid conflict or withhold
love (an act dubbed “attachment
avoidance”) have higher levels of
inflammation than those who are less
evasive. In other words, experiencing your
feelings, working through your problems
and being open-hearted is better for
your body and psyche than bottling up
your feelings or pushing someone away.
What’s more, when women avoid intimacy
their cortisol levels spike—along with
their risk of chronic inflammation.
3. Forgetting to floss
“The old ‘Brush your teeth’ should really
be ‘Clean your mouth,’” says Howard
Tenenbaum, head of research in the
Department of Dentistry at Mount Sinai
Hospital in Toronto. Ever since a
bidirectional link was discovered between
gum inflammation and Type 2 diabetes,
and, possibly heart disease, periodontists
have been sharing patients with
endocrinologists and cardiologists.
“We now know that treating periodontal
disease—swollen and inflamed gums
that bleed easily and may have a slightly
bluish tinge—can improve the clinical
course of diabetes,” says Tenenbaum.
Although rumour has it that cleaning
your mouth properly can also ward off
heart disease, here the evidence is more
tenuous. “There’s a strong possibility of
a link,” says Tenenbaum, “but we don’t
know for sure.”
So why is a clean mouth so vital to our
overall health? “It’s the only area of the
body where a structure—the teeth—
perforates the skin,” says Tenenbaum.
“It’s a weak spot and a breeding ground
for bacteria.” When gums are diseased
they spill a whole array of cytokines into
the bloodstream. Flossing and using a
soft brush in circular motions along the
gum line is key to eliminating bacteria
and warding off inflammation, but so is
brushing your tongue and sweeping the
bristles over the insides of your cheeks.
Tenenbaum recommends toothpastes
that contain triclosan , an antibacterial
ingredient, as well as antibacterial rinses.
Tenenbaum’s lab is now conducting
a clinical trial with a rinse containing
resveratrol, a compound in red wine that
has been shown to block inflammation.
Two inflammation crushers
1. The anti-inflammation diet
What you eat can determine whether
you’re in a pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory state, writes lifestyle guru
Andrew Weil, in his book Healthy
Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical
and Spiritual Well-Being.
Weil, director and founder of the Center
for Integrative Medicine at the University
of Arizona, suggests stocking up
on foods rich in omega-3s—greens, seeds
and nuts, and oily, cold-water fish like
salmon, sardines and black cod—while
cutting back on foods high in omega-6s,
found in grain-fed meat and processed
foods such as cookies and candy. “Omega-
6s tend to increase inflammation by promoting
blood clotting and blood-vessel
narrowing,” he says, “while Omega-3s
counteract each of these processes.”
Weil says correcting omega imbalances
would bring the North American
diet in line with the Mediterranean diets,
where obesity, heart disease and chronic inflammation rates are lower.
Eating low-glycemic foods (slow-digesting
carbohydrates) such as yams, wild
rice and beans, is also key. The high glycemic
carbohydrates we love, found
in cakes, waffles and doughnuts, jumpstart
a process called glycation. It produces
pro-inflammatory compounds
called advanced-glycation end products
(AGEs) that lead to oxidative stress,
which can do everything from degrading
the elastin and collagen in your skin to
destroying blood vessels and organs. He
also suggests using spices that have
potent anti-inflammatory properties,
such as turmeric and ginger.
Weil’s Food Pyramid presents
the best food choices and serving suggestions
for warding off chronic inflammation.
On the bottom, you’ll find the items
you should add most often to your diet,
namely red and green veggies and fresh
or frozen berries. This is followed by
whole grains, pasta, and beans and legumes,
all the way up to red wine and
chocolate at the top.
2. Gentle yoga
A study published in September confirmed that regular exercise is key in
lowering the number of C-reactive proteins
in the body in patients with heart
disease, but extreme exercise increases
them. Meanwhile, a study from Ohio State
University published in January was the
first to present clinical evidence of the link
between a particular type of yoga practice
—the gentle Iyengar—and lower levels
of inflammation. The study involved
50 healthy women, average age 41, half of
them yoga experts and the other half with
only a few classes under their belts. The
novices, the study found, had over 40 percent
more inflammatory markers in their
bloodstream compared to those who had
been working the mat once or twice a week
for at least two years.
What makes Iyengar so special? The
mechanics of the poses and the placement
of blocks and bolsters at certain points
along the body are very stimulating to the
adrenals (the glands above the kidneys
in charge of releasing adrenaline and
cortisol), says Marlene Mawhinney,
president and senior instructor at Yoga
Centre Toronto (YCT). Other poses improve circulation and pulse rates. YCT
offers special classes in Iyengar yoga for
people suffering from inflammation-based
disorders, including rheumatoid
arthritis and heart disease. Mawhinney
has even started collaborating with scientists
in research trials and presenting
evidence of yoga’s medical benefits at conferences.
“Doctors today are looking at a
wider approach to therapies,” she says.
Still, if yoga isn’t for you, any form of
exercise will help lower the inflammatory
response in your body. The key is to mix it
up: Combine strength training with cardiovascular
activity such as walking, biking
or running. And just remember: Don’t
overdo it—excessive exercise can trigger
inflammation too!
To learn why chronic inflammation is considered the 'secret killer', check out this article.