Public Enemy Number 1: Inflammation and 6 Ways To Stop It
We think of diseases as independent entities. Each claims its own dominion of researchers and clinicians. This traditional conceptualization does little to prevent the most common illnesses of our time.
How we classify diseases is important because it establishes a conceptual framework for understanding the problem and formulating a solution.
Cancer, dementia, depression, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are each treated by a different medical specialist. We are as likely to seek the counsel of a cardiologist about cancer as to buy bread from a butcher. These diseases appear unrelated. And yet, they share a common cause, chronic low-grade systemic inflammation.
The usual suspects are responsible for this type of inflammation; Western diet, inactivity, excess fat tissue, stress and inadequate sleep. They disrupt the body’s equilibrium. In an attempt to regain balance, the body mobilizes its defenses and mounts an inflammatory response.
Here are six ways you can reduce inflammation and thereby lower your risk for cancer, dementia, depression, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It is directed to anyone who doesn’t get enough exercise or is overweight or gets too little sleep or has a questionable diet or experiences stress, i.e. everyone. These recommendations are relevant both before inflammation has caused disease and after.
1. Diet/Probiotics/Supplements
Over the past decade, research has demonstrated how our diet affects which bacteria live in our gut. And who lives in our gut turns out to be very important. These bacteria determine not only how we harvest dietary nutrients but modulate key pathways such as fat metabolism and inflammation. In this way, the flora in our gut are linked to our most common diseases: obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
• Eliminate processed foods
• Reduce carbohydrates
• Increase broccoli, nuts, fish, curcumin, green tea, dark chocolate
• Supplement with vitamin D, L-methylfolate and Omega-3 fatty acids
• Use probiotics such as Bifidobacterium
2. Caloric Restriction/Intermittent Fasting
Research suggests that caloric restriction increases lifespan in part by decreasing systemic inflammation.
• Attempt to reduce daily caloric intake by 10%
• Experiment with skipping breakfast and therefore fasting for approximately 16 hours. This is an easy way to begin. Everyone is different. Go slow.
3. Sleep
Research has shown that inadequate sleep significantly increases inflammatory markers (IL-6, CRP) that can be measured with blood testing.
• Know yourself. You don’t need a fancy test or sleep study to know if your getting inadequate sleep. Do you feel tired? Do you need a stimulant (caffeine or others) to function well? You have your answer.
• If getting enough sleep at night is impossible, try catching a nap. Like exercise, it does not have to be all in one go.
4. Physical Activity
Sedentary behavior has an established inflammatory effect. When you move, contracting muscles secrete hormone-like chemical messengers that have powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
• Monitor how many hours you sit per day. Then begin a program to cut down
• Try using a standing or treadmill desk
• If you take a bus or subway, offer your seat to someone else
• If you watch TV, get up and move for every advertisement
• Try to take a walk, no matter how brief, after every meal
• Set a timer and stand at your desk for 1 minute every 15 minutes. You’ll find you are more focused
• Do some physical work or exercise everyday. Even 15 minutes of fast walking or stair climbing. Again, it doesn’t have to be all in one go.
5. Socialization
A growing body of research indicates that social isolation can wreak havoc on our health. It is comparable to hypertension, smoking or alcoholic drinking and exceeds the influence of inactivity and obesity. Social connection appears to protect us from cardiovascular disease, depression and hypertension, ward off dementia, and increase our chances of surviving cancer. This is due in large part to an anti-inflammatory effect. Feeling isolated triggers a stress response with increased sympathetic tone (fight or flight response), increased inflammation, impaired immune function, sleep disruption and increased expression of genes regulating stress hormones.
• Nurture meaningful, supportive, stimulating relationships
• Volunteer — Believe it or not, it’s been shown to reduce inflammation
• Increase, not decrease, socialization when early stress is detected
• Smile
6. Mindfulness/Breathing
The ubiquity of mindfulness coverage speaks to the stress of contemporary life and the effectiveness of this easy accessible intervention. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the biologist and student of Buddhism who coined the term in the ’70s, defined it as a state of mind in which one pays attention to the present moment without judgment. Kabat-Zin pioneered the use of mindfulness in medical settings and designed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. Mindfulness techniques have proved remarkably effective in reducing stress responses and therefore decreasing inflammation. For a good introduction to practicing mindfulness go to www.wild5resources.com (password: wellnessmatters). Here you will find free apps to help you get going and audio files to guide breathing techniques and meditation.
