{"id":6376,"date":"2014-07-28T07:34:19","date_gmt":"2014-07-28T12:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/?p=6376"},"modified":"2022-03-21T15:18:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T20:18:43","slug":"is-inflammation-behind-almost-all-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/28\/is-inflammation-behind-almost-all-disease","title":{"rendered":"Is Inflammation Behind (Almost) All Disease?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>You can see your factory-installed <a href=\"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/22\/the-evidence-is-in-inflammation-shortens-your-life\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inflammation<\/a> system in action when you cut yourself or get a big zit on your chin. As annoying as the redness, swelling, and pus are, they\u2019re a sign your inflammatory response is functioning well to ward off attackers and keep your body intact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the grand scheme of things, inflammation is intended to be a limited, \u201cturn on locally when needed\u201d response to injury or infection. Your body isn\u2019t meant to be smoldering in low-level inflammation day in and day out. Over the past few years, doctors have begun to appreciated that along the road of chronic inflammation, we\u2019re finding more and more varieties of chronic illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Inflammatory conditions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me list a handful of the conditions unequivocally known to be linked to chronic inflammation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Heart disease and stroke<\/strong>&nbsp; We know that certain triggers (dental plaque among them, interestingly enough) irritate the lining of blood vessels and predispose a person to cholesterol deposits that lead to artery blockage. It\u2019s worth noting that daily flossers, because they remove dental plaque, have fewer heart attacks than the rest of you. In addition, taking a daily low-dose aspirin both reduces inflammation and makes the platelet cells involved in blood clotting less sticky and prone to clot. Inflammation in your body can be measured with tests like the C-reactive protein (CRP) blood test.<\/li><li><strong>All autoimmune diseases <\/strong>&nbsp;There are many of these, including rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn\u2019s disease, lupus, Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis (MS), psoriasis, and scleroderma. But the essential mechanism behind them all seems the same. Certain individuals have overly efficient immune systems that see enemies where none exist. An unknown <em>something<\/em> alerts the immune system to trigger inflammation and attack vital parts of the person\u2019s own body. In rheumatoid arthritis, it\u2019s the joints; in Hashimoto\u2019s, the thyroid; in MS, the brain and spinal cord. Doctors have been asking for years \u201cWhat sets off some people\u2019s immune response like this?\u201d What\u2019s that mysterious <em>something<\/em>? The answer appears to be that it\u2019s a pre-existing low level of chronic inflammation, which in turn triggers the immune system to go into high gear, accelerating the inflammatory response in all the various autoimmune diagnoses.<\/li><li><strong>Brain dysfunction<\/strong>&nbsp; Most recently, chronic inflammation has been linked to an increasing number of conditions, including Alzheimer\u2019s disease, autism, schizophrenia, and treatment-resistant depression (in which people with depression don\u2019t respond to antidepressants). Some patients with these diagnoses are found to have elevated inflammatory markers, like the CRP mentioned above, but also others not routinely measured, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gopubmed.org\/interleukin-6.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">interleukin-6<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/livertox.nih.gov\/TumorNecrosisFactorAntagonists.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tumor necrosis factor<\/a> (TNF).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Treatments: drug company, herbal, and worms<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A variety of drugs exist that specifically block TNF for those with autoimmune disease. You may have heard of the egregiously expensive Humira (adalimumab), Remicade (infliximab), and others in this class for common autoimmune diseases like Crohn\u2019s, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis. These meds do come with side-effects, though. Turning off inflammation renders you more susceptible to infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the way, nature-made TNFs include curcumin (turmeric) and green tea. And to anticipate your next question, yes, followers of anti-aging medicine protocols use both of these in their daily regimen, via supplements or teas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research <a href=\"https:\/\/jama.jamanetwork.com\/article.aspx?articleID=1891340&amp;utm_source=Silverchair%20Information%20Systems&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=JAMA%3AOnlineFirst07%2F23%2F2014\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">published just last week in <em>JAMA<\/em><\/a> shows promising results by giving TNF inhibitors to people with treatment-resistant depression and elevated CRP. In reviewing older studies, patients with chronic schizophrenia have had some positive responses to anti-inflammatory drugs like Celebrex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most provocative study to me, though, had high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder regularly swallow eggs of a medicalized parasite, <em>Trichuris suis<\/em> (harmless in humans), which acted to damp down inflammation throughout the subjects\u2019 bodies and visibly improve autistic behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Is it all starting in your gut?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The evidence seems to be mounting for an idea naturopathic physicians have known about for years: the body\u2019s widespread inflammation starts in your gut. Certain foods (gluten is a frequent villain) can trigger low-level intestinal inflammation, allowing large molecules of inadequately digested food to \u201cleak\u201d into your bloodstream and stimulate your immune system to trigger a bodywide, low level of inflammation. Many people with rheumatoid arthritis, for example, feel better when they eliminate gluten or undertake a low-inflammation eating program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leading-edge research is now focusing on our microbiome, the 100,000,000,000,000 (10 to the 13<sup>th<\/sup> power, or 100 trillion) bacteria from roughly 500 to 1,000 species that inhabit our intestines. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thespec.com\/news-story\/4632053-are-we-more-microbe-than-man-\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Here\u2019s a good piece on all this<\/a>. The metabolic activity of these bacteria have evolved since the dawn of man, the bacteria themselves responsible for manufacturing a wide variety of enzymes and vitamins as well as aiding our digestive processes and food absorption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The microbiome is often referred to as the human body\u2019s \u201cforgotten organ\u201d and an imbalance of bacteria, usually caused by dietary choices or antibiotics, is now linked with a variety of inflammatory illnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Low-inflammation, healthy-microbiome eating <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019d like to start eating to keep your microbiome happy and inflammation down (without using worms, I might add), the plan isn\u2019t rocket science, though personally I\u2019d schedule a visit with one of our nutritionists&#8211;Marla Feingold, Seanna Tully, or Marcy Kirshenbaum&#8211;who know this stuff really well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The basics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Remove high-inflammatory foods&#8211;dairy, gluten, sugar (and high fructose corn syrup), soy, refined carbs, and anything with additives\/chemicals\/preservatives.<\/li><li>For the rest of your life eat whole foods, emphasizing those that encourage a healthy microbiome. Probiotic-promoting foods include fermented foods (like <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kimchi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">kimchi<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wildfermentation.com\/making-sauerkraut-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">sauerkraut<\/a>, both of which are easy to make), artichokes, garlic, oats, onions, asparagus, and virtually all green foods and all high-fiber foods. A prescription to go wild at the farmers market.<\/li><li>Ensure your digestive system is working well and that you have a reasonably good balance of bacteria. A test called the Comprehensive Stool Digestive Analysis (which also checks for parasites and yeast) is partially covered by most insurers.<\/li><li>If needed, begin using digestive enzymes, probiotics, and specific supplements to repair your intestinal lining.<\/li><li>If leaky gut (intestinal hyperpermeability) is a strong possibility, there is a second test to check your intestinal lining for leakage.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I think we\u2019ll see evidence in the next few years that a person\u2019s conscious effort to maintain the lowest possible level of bodywide inflammation will be linked with lots of good things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have the potential to enjoy a healthy longevity, easier weight control, fewer chronic illnesses, and the most important goal of all health care (!), eternal youth. Well, maybe not eternal, but definitely healthier looking skin and a happier belly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be well,<br><em>David Edelberg, MD<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can see your factory-installed inflammation system in action when you cut yourself or get a big zit on your chin. As annoying as the redness, swelling, and pus are, they\u2019re a sign your inflammatory response is functioning well to ward off attackers and keep your body intact. In the grand scheme of things, inflammation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2087,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,195,256,296,3,2334],"tags":[1013,1656,1657,852,816,1513,954],"class_list":["post-6376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-diseases","category-i","category-inflammation","category-knowledge-base","category-naturopathic-medicine","tag-autoimmune-diseases","tag-brain-dysfunction","tag-gut-health","tag-heart-disease","tag-inflammation","tag-microbiome","tag-stroke"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Is Inflammation Behind (Almost) All Disease?<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You can see your factory-installed inflammation system in action when you cut yourself or get a big 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