Shmerling, medical editor of Understanding Inflammation from Harvard Health Publishing and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Too much is often bad. The goal is to recognize when inflammation is simply doing its job, and when it can potentially cause problems. Signs of inflammation are like a car's dashboard engine light. It tells you that something is wrong. But your response is not to take out the bulb, because that's not the problem.
Instead, you look at what caused the light to turn on. There are two types of inflammation: acute and chronic. People are most familiar with acute inflammation. This is the redness, warmth, swelling, and pain around tissues and joints that occurs in response to an injury, like when you cut yourself.
When the body is injured, your immune system releases white blood cells to surround and protect the area. In contrast, when inflammation gets turned up too high and lingers for a long time, and the immune system continues to pump out white blood cells and chemical messengers that prolong the process, that's known as chronic inflammation.
When this happens, white blood cells may end up attacking nearby healthy tissues and organs. For example, if you are overweight and have more visceral fat cells — the deep type of fat that surrounds your organs — the immune system may see those cells as a threat and attack them with white blood cells.
The longer you are overweight, the longer your body can remain in a state of inflammation. Research has shown that chronic inflammation is associated with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and bowel diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Yet, because chronic inflammation can continue for a long time, it's not easy to know its exact impact. It is not always clear. Here are some other steps you can take to prevent and reduce chronic inflammation:. Most of the time, you don't need to worry too much about acute inflammation, says Dr. It also has links with two types of arthritis. Learn more here.
Everything you need to know about inflammation. Medically reviewed by Kevin Martinez, M. Types and symptoms Causes Chronic or acute? Is it painful? Treatment Herbs Diet Takeaway We include products we think are useful for our readers.
Types and symptoms. Share on Pinterest A person with acute inflammation might experience pain in the affected area. Chronic or acute inflammation? Acute Chronic Cause Harmful pathogens or tissue injury. Pathogens that the body cannot break down, including some types of viruses, foreign bodies that remain in the system, or overactive immune responses. Onset Rapid. Duration A few days. From months to years.
Outcomes Inflammation improves, or an abscess develops or becomes chronic. Tissue death, thickening, and scarring of connective tissue. Is inflammation painful? Common treatments. Herbs for inflammation. Anti-inflammatory diet.
Latest news Scientists identify new cause of vascular injury in type 2 diabetes. Adolescent depression: Could school screening help? Related Coverage. Does sugar cause inflammation in the body? Medically reviewed by Alan Carter, PharmD. Which herbs help reduce inflammation? Medically reviewed by Gerhard Whitworth, RN. How can diabetes cause joint pain? Medically reviewed by Maria S. A recent study found that green tea can block oxidative stress which directly causes inflammation.
Try to avoid or minimize your consumption of wheat, bread, eggs, dairy, soy, seafood, red meat, alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and food coloring since they are most common dietary irritants.
To find out which foods you are allergic to, work with your doctor on how to do an elimination diet. Following an elimination diet can help you identify any sensitivities that could be causing your inflammation.
Simply try avoiding a substance for two to three weeks, then reintroducing one food type every three days to see how it affects you. Avoid alcohol and nicotine whenever you can since it will directly reduce inflammation. The average American spends most of the day sitting. Regular physical exercise doesn't have to mean going to the gym or starting a regimented fitness routine. It can be as simple as getting up and walking around more.
Physical activities keep the joints flexible and during exercise, your body produces more antioxidants which fight inflammation. It is best to try to exercise for at least 30 to 45 minutes five times a week.
Yoga, Pilates, and swimming are good options for fighting inflammation because they have a low-impact on your body. Anyone can exercise no matter what your fitness level is. Loss of sleep hinders your immune system and can trigger inflammatory responses.
Our bodies need between seven and nine hours of sleep every night to properly rest. There are many things you can do to improve your sleep , including turning off electronic devices in the evening, getting enough exercise, and creating a healthy, de-stressing routine before bed. Enough quality sleep will decrease inflammation. Research has found that mind-body practices, such as meditation or yoga, can also help the brain manage stress which is known to trigger and aggravate inflammation.
Even minutes a day can be beneficial. Chronic stress is not good for your body. By relaxing more and engaging in mindfulness, your stress hormones will decrease, helping decrease inflammation. Other relaxation techniques may be as simple as taking deep breathes for 1 minute every hour and taking proper breaks every few hours.
By treating the underlying cause of the chronic inflammation, your condition can be remarkably lessened or reversed. By taking a natural approach to treating inflammation and creating a personalized treatment plan, positive results are felt quickly. This increases the risk of lung cancer. The older you are, the more likely you are to have higher levels of inflammatory molecules. This may be due to free radical accumulation to increase and other age-related risk factors like and increase in visceral fat.
A diet rich in fruit and vegetables is one of the best ways to avoid chronic inflammation. Vegetables are full of anti-inflammatory nutrients, including magnesium, carotenoids, antioxidants and lycopene. The following vegetables and fruits are particularly anti-inflammatory :. The following foods have been found to increase inflammation in the body:. Foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids can be anti-inflammatory. You can try adding fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna or sardines to your diet.
Regardless of your weight, regular exercise can help prevent chronic inflammation and reduce your risk of chronic disease. People with anxiety or depression can lower their inflammation markers simply by getting treatment.
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