Inflammation Is Aging And Aging Is Inflammation

As I’ve said before, I see patients every day for work place injury care. Dealing with pain is probably the biggest reason why people see me, and one of my most challenging battles.

Interestingly, it’s at these times I see people at their best and their worst.  Pain, and subsequently inflammation, is the body’s natural response to injury;  it’s method to protect us.  This finer point is often lost on the patient who’s sitting in front of me suffering a great deal of pain related to their injured back , laceration, burn,  fractured bones, or worsening infection. Typically, the best treatment initially is the R.I.C.E protocol of rest, ice, compression and elevation. Look at that, we don’t even need a doctor yet (unless you are losing blood from a gaping wound).

Allopathic medicine can come in handy with the use of anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen or Aleve and if severe , narcotic analgesics might be required. Steroidal medications are often necessary when an overwhelming inflammatory problem arises from a severe allergic response,  i.e. reaction  to a bee sting or when trying to relieve inflammation due to a compressed nerve in a back or neck injury. I would like to set aside this type of acute inflammation and discuss long-term lifestyle inflammation for now.

Long-term lifestyle inflammation is contributing to our nation’s poor health and literally accelerating the aging process of everyone. Essentially anything that inflames accelerates disease and aging, inflammation is aging. The causes of inflammation include trauma to the body discussed above, inflammation from infections such as a cold virus, strep throat , or a bacterial infection. But did you know that obesity is inflammation? It is the biggest killer in the United States. Obesity affects two thirds of our nation. Books are written on this subject alone,  but boil down this simple fact:  sugar in all its forms, when over-consumed, will kill you- albeit slowly.

Think of carbohydrates as sugar- yes that’s cookies, cakes, candy, crackers and chips. These cause the pancreas to release insulin which tries to remove the sugars (sugar is highly inflammatory to the body) from the bloodstream.  Where do these inflammatory sugars go? Well, either to energy to run the body if for instance you’re exercising, or to your ass if sitting on it takes up the majority of your day. The body converts a relatively small portion of carbohydrates into glycogen to store in the liver or muscle.

Type II diabetes, the offspring of obesity, is inflammation. Heart disease is inflammation. How so? The majority of the carbohydrates from Cokes and cookies, bagels and bread is turned into fat, and a large majority of that fat is in the form of triglycerides which not only deposit on your butt and belly but love to set up house in the arteries around your heart.  Crohn’s disease is chronic inflammation of the intestines; irritable bowel syndrome is as well. And the causes are many. Yes- our friend sugar is to blame but, as discussed in prior blogs, grains contribute gluten and many other substances that cause inflammation of the gut.

Why is that important? The gut is responsible for 70% of our immune system and when the gut is not functioning well neither is the immune system. Nutrients are not being absorbed properly, further jeopardizing health. Let’s carry this out further. Chronic inflammation of the gut can lead to cancer of the intestines, the third most common cancer in our country. Did you hear that right? Yes chronic inflammation is probably one of the most important pre-cursors to cancer. The list is practically endless. Show me any system in the body, chronically inflame it, and I’ll show you how it weakens, ages, and eventually dies before it’s time. Let the scientists complicate these issues but a simple basic understanding about chronic inflammation can protect you from premature aging and cancer. Inflame the brain and you have Alzheimer’s. Inflame the blood vessels and you have strokes and heart attacks. And don’t forget our modern-day future blog subject, STRESS, which kills everything in the body prematurely.

These systems can be broken down and will be discussed in detail in the future and in response to your questions.  Get ready for the next blog- how to eat to and which neutraceuticals and vitamins prevent inflammation. There are many herbs that calm or suppress inflammatory response. I would talk about them now but it’s Father’s Day and this article is starting to stress me out. So I’m going outside to play with my dog, maybe swim some laps and work in the yard.  You should go out and play now too. Doctors orders!

Happy’s father’s day to all!