Bullet Points 

• Chronic inflammation is involved in most major diseases including heart disease, cancer, dementia and many others  
• Chronic inflammation involves a continuous overactive immune response 
• There are multiple causes of chronic inflammation 
• There is a blood test called hsCRP that can determine if you have elevated inflammation 
• Fortunately, there are treatments outlined in The Tools section for Chronic Inflammation 

The Details 

What is Inflammation 
Inflammation is a natural and necessary process in the body that occurs in response to  injury, toxins or infection.   If your body is attacked by bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens, the inflammatory process initiates the required immune response necessary to destroy the pathogen and allow recovery.   When tissue is injured, as for example in a burn, it is the inflammatory response that brings in the cells that will repair the injury. These are examples of acute inflammation assisting the body in recovery.  However, if the inflammatory response is triggered unnecessarily or excessively as discussed below then chronic inflammation will occur with its myriad of negative consequences.

Chronic Inflammation – the Cause 
A primary source of chronic inflammation is your gut’s intestines.   There are two main drivers within the gut responsible for tuning on chronic inflammation.  The first is called dysbiosis.   Your gut is home to literally trillions of species of bacteria that reside throughout your intestines but primarily in your large intestine.   When there are alterations in the gut bacteria that result in a lack of adequate diversity of good bacteria or overgrowth of unwanted bad bacteria it is called dysbiosis.   The second driver of inflammation from the gut is known as leaky gut.   Your gut has developed an intelligent barrier system to allow the passage of only specific molecules from the gut into the blood stream.   When this gut barrier breaks down, this allows the passage of unwanted food molecules through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream.

Both dysbiosis and leaky gut result in unwanted and excessive activation of your immune system with the release of many bad actor carrying and signaling molecules.  These include Galectin-3 and nuclear factor kappa-B ( NF-kB) which stimulate unhealthy inflammatory cytokines ( white blood cell signaling molecules) to be released throughout the body including interleukin-1, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor –alpha.  So, what causes the gut intestines to develop unwanted leaky gut and dysbiosis that drives chronic inflammation.   Causes include a poor diet with excessive sugar, bad fats, too many processed foods, toxin exposure such as pesticides in your food, unresolved parasites, chronic stress, recurrent use of antibiotics and recurrent use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

While achieving or maintaining gut health is a pre-requisite for reducing chronic inflammation, addressing low grade or chronic infections is also important to reduce ongoing inflammation.   I recommend addressing THE SIX PILLARS OF HEALTH completely with all the tools available to you to limit chronic inflammation and the negative health impacts from this.   Please see THE TOOLS section for available tools to assist you in damping down chronic inflammation providing you the best opportunity for wellness and longevity. 

An Over Active Immune System – The Effects 
Gastrointestinal issues as described above resulting in overstimulation of the gut’s own immune cells can lead directly to gastrointestinal disorders such as IBS (Irritable Bowel Disease), Chron’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis.   But inflammation can also wreak havoc throughout the entire body and can lead to a range of diseases.  In fact, diseases of chronic inflammation are among the   leading cause of death worldwide.  Chronic inflammation is a  contributing factors  to cancer, heart disease, lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and a risk factor for an array of metabolic disorder including diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure.   Finally, inflammation is also one of the main causes of premature aging with the production of free radicals that damage your DNA as well as alter your gene expression allowing more of the “aging bad genes” and less of the “youthful good genes” to be turned on.   

Diagnosing High Levels of Inflammation  
Your doctor can order specific tests to determine if your body is undergoing excessive inflammation.   The most common test performed is called hsCRP ( high sensitivity C-reactive protein).   This is a protein produced by the liver in response to inflammation.    

Given the serious adverse health outcomes of chronic inflammation it is unfortunate that many doctors do not routinely order this test.   But your doctor may be willing to order it if you ask. You can also pay a commercial laboratory to run the test for around $50. 

What is the ideal level of hsCRP? 

Most labs indicate a normal level is 1.0 mg/L and below.   However, there is growing evidence this may be inaccurate and that levels at 0.6mg/L and below are truly optimal for lowering disease risk.   So obtain your hsCRP either through your doctor or directly through a commercial lab.   Follow below to reach optimal levels of 0.6 mg/L or below.  

How to Lower Chronic Inflammation
ALL THE SIX PILLARS OF HEALTH should be addressed to damp down chronic inflammation occurring in your body before it progresses to disease.   Addressing the root cause, for example, high stress or gut health is critical.   There are also specific nutrients that have demonstrated in research studies to turn down inappropriate inflammation.   All of these tools are available to you on The Tools page.   Your future health and longevity are in your hands.