Causes Of Inflammation | Women to Women
Posted: June 1, 2015 at 1:42 am
by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP
Systemic or chronic inflammation has a domino effect that can seriously undermine your health. So how does it all begin?
Many experts now see inflammation as arising from an immune system response thats out of control. When you catch a cold or sprain your ankle, your immune system switches into gear. Infection or injury trigger a chain of events called the inflammatory cascade. The familiar signs of normal inflammation heat, pain, redness, and swelling are the first signals that your immune system is being called into action. In a delicate balance of give-and-take, inflammation begins when pro-inflammatory hormones in your body call out for your white blood cells to come and clear out infection and damaged tissue. These agents are matched by equally powerful, closely related anti-inflammatory compounds, which move in once the threat is neutralized to begin the healing process.
Acute inflammation that ebbs and flows as needed signifies a well-balanced immune system. But symptoms of inflammation that dont recede are telling you that the on switch to your immune system is stuck. Its poised on high alert even when you arent in imminent danger. In some cases, what started as a healthy mechanism, like building scar tissue or swelling, just wont shut off.
Are you walking around on simmer? Just yesterday I saw Nancy, a patient who has been with me for years. When she first came to see me, her triglycerides were sky-high (in the 400s!), her cholesterol was elevated, and she was overweight, unhappy and stressed. Her face was flushed and chapped, her lips were dry, and she seemed fluttery and agitated. On the surface she looked like a heart disease candidate, but when I probed deeper I saw a woman on fire from the inside out.
Currently there is no definitive test for inflammation the best that conventional medicine can do is measure blood levels of C-reactive protein (a pro-inflammatory marker) and the irritating amino acid called homocysteine. I use the high-sensitivity CRP test now available at most labs. Anything above 1 mg/dL with this test is too high in my book. With the older tests a reading of between 25 mg/dL was considered normal. (If youve been tested, be sure to ask your doctor for the results). Newer ways to assess risk early on for future inflammatory disease include markers such as the apolipoprotein B to A1 ratio (ApoB/ApoA-1). This and other tests are in experimental use and only available through a few labs.
When I first ran Nancys tests, I was surprised to see that her CRP levels were normal (this was before the high-sensitivity CRP test was widely available as it is today). This was good news for her heart, since elevated CRP and cholesterol increase your risk of heart disease threefold. But her homocysteine levels were high and all of her other symptoms pointed to inflammation. I prescribed an anti-inflammation diet, essential fatty acids, other anti-inflammatory supplements, and a daily exercise regime (for more information, read our article Reducing Inflammation The Natural Approach.) When Nancy next came in, her triglycerides were down by 200 points, her skin was clear, and her mood was much better. Later tests revealed her cholesterol had gone down, too.
A year went by, and as Nancy entered a stressful period in her life, she again began snacking on unhealthy food and going for days without exercise. Her cholesterol crept back up and she started having irritable bowel symptoms. After a brief pep talk, she got back on track and today shes feeling great. When I saw her yesterday she looked like a different person. Her blood tests all looked good and her inflammation was back under control. Nancys fires are well-tended now, and I feel confident she knows what to do if they start to flare up again.
Here is the original post:
Causes Of Inflammation | Women to Women
- Cancer drugs block dementia-linked brain inflammation, study finds [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Cancer drugs block dementia-linked brain inflammation, UCI study finds [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- (2012-08b) Ron Rothenberg - Inflammation, Hormones, Stem Cells & Telomeres - Video [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2014] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2014]
- Biochemical cascade causes bone marrow inflammation, leading to serious blood disorders [Last Updated On: July 4th, 2014] [Originally Added On: July 4th, 2014]
- Brain inflammation dramatically disrupts memory retrieval networks, study finds [Last Updated On: September 14th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 14th, 2014]
- UCLA study finds link between neural stem cell overgrowth and autism-like behavior in mice [Last Updated On: October 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 9th, 2014]
- Study Finds Link Between Neural Stem Cell Overgrowth and Autism-Like Behavior in Mice [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2014]
- Neural stem cell overgrowth, autism-like behavior linked, mice study suggests [Last Updated On: October 12th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 12th, 2014]
- A cause of age-related inflammation found [Last Updated On: November 6th, 2014] [Originally Added On: November 6th, 2014]
- Link between inflammation, tissue regeneration and wound repair response [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2015]
- Nephritis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2015]
- Vasculitis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: May 23rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 23rd, 2015]
- Cooling Inflammation: Anti-inflammatory Diet [Last Updated On: May 30th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 30th, 2015]
- Reducing Whole Body Inflammation? - Ask Dr. Weil [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2015] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2015]
- Butyric Acid: An Ancient Controller of Metabolism ... [Last Updated On: June 13th, 2015] [Originally Added On: June 13th, 2015]
- Omega-3 fatty acids | University of Maryland Medical Center [Last Updated On: June 13th, 2015] [Originally Added On: June 13th, 2015]
- Inflammation of Carotid artery and neck pain - Undiagnosed ... [Last Updated On: June 13th, 2015] [Originally Added On: June 13th, 2015]
- Endocarditis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: July 22nd, 2015] [Originally Added On: July 22nd, 2015]
- Inflammation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: July 23rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: July 23rd, 2015]
- Anatabloc Anti-Inflammation Joint Supplement: Review of ... [Last Updated On: August 7th, 2015] [Originally Added On: August 7th, 2015]
- The aloe vera miracle: A natural medicine for cancer ... [Last Updated On: August 7th, 2015] [Originally Added On: August 7th, 2015]
- Vaccines: About/Terms/Glossary [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2015] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2015]
- Turmeric | University of Maryland Medical Center [Last Updated On: August 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: August 27th, 2015]
- What 7 Symptoms You Have Now That You Shouldn't Ignore [Last Updated On: August 30th, 2015] [Originally Added On: August 30th, 2015]
- Inflammation SIU SOM Histology INTRO - SIU School of Medicine [Last Updated On: September 3rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 3rd, 2015]
- Foods That Fight Inflammation | Anti Inflammatory Diet ... [Last Updated On: September 3rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 3rd, 2015]
- Buzzed on inflammation - Mayo Clinic [Last Updated On: September 3rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 3rd, 2015]
- Inflammation - New World Encyclopedia [Last Updated On: September 3rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 3rd, 2015]
- Reducing Inflammation Ways to Reduce It Naturally [Last Updated On: September 3rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 3rd, 2015]
- Inflammation NutritionData.com [Last Updated On: September 3rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 3rd, 2015]
- Arthritis Inflammation Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments [Last Updated On: October 13th, 2015] [Originally Added On: October 13th, 2015]
- About Inflammation - WebMD [Last Updated On: October 13th, 2015] [Originally Added On: October 13th, 2015]
- Encephalitis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: October 23rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: October 23rd, 2015]
- The Relationship between Sugar and Inflammation [Last Updated On: October 23rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: October 23rd, 2015]