{"id":212122,"date":"2010-01-22T09:04:26","date_gmt":"2010-01-22T14:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/calorielab.com\/news\/?p=6780"},"modified":"2010-01-22T09:04:26","modified_gmt":"2010-01-22T14:04:26","slug":"general-inflammation-the-elephant-in-the-room-of-our-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/212122","title":{"rendered":"General inflammation: The elephant in the room of our health"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"Guest contributor: Karen Collins, M.S., R.D., C.D.N.<\/strong>
\nKaren Collins holds a B.S. degree from Purdue and an M.S. degree from Cornell, both in nutrition. When she’s not writing or speaking, she conducts a private nutrition practice in Jamestown, New York.<\/div>\n

Most Americans know that health risks such as high blood cholesterol and blood sugar are important to monitor, but a growing number of researchers believe that other major factors with far\u2013ranging effects on heart disease and cancer should be getting more attention. <\/p>\n

One of these \u201cbig\u201d factors is inflammation, and it\u2019s easy to look past it as we focus on smaller health targets. Basic healthy lifestyle choices are the key to fight inflammation, but we need to beat the epidemic of excess abdominal obesity to take the most powerful anti\u2013inflammation step of all.<\/p>\n

Blood sugar control not the whole story<\/h3>\n

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that among 500 adults with diabetes, medical treatment reduced blood sugars to near normal levels, but markers of inflammation, present in all subjects, were not reduced. <\/p>\n

Researchers suggest that this may help explain why several large studies of heart disease among patients with type 2 diabetes did not show any lower risk of heart disease despite intensive blood sugar control. Reducing high blood sugar is crucial to limit small blood vessel damage in the kidney and eye caused by diabetes, but it does not appear to be enough to stop the heart disease\u2013diabetes link.<\/p>\n

Why inflammation happens<\/h3>\n

Our body\u2019s ability to respond to infections and injury with inflammation is an immediate response crucial to health. But chronic, low\u2013grade inflammation seems to damage body tissues in ways that lead to and accelerate development of chronic health problems linked with age. <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Scientists now consider atherosclerosis (\u201chardening of the arteries\u201d) an inflammatory process, and inflammatory cells have been found in the fatty plaque that builds up in blood vessels. Inflammation may also promote cancer development by damaging our genes, increasing cell turnover and increasing development of blood vessels that allow cancer cells to grow and spread.<\/p>\n

What to do about it<\/h3>\n

A variety of lifestyle changes can reduce or prevent this chronic, low\u2013grade inflammation. Studies show lower levels of markers of inflammation in those who don\u2019t smoke and those who exercise regularly. One recent study showed that several inflammation markers dropped within weeks among women in a smoking cessation program. <\/p>\n

Good dental care that prevents the gum inflammation known as gingivitis may even help to reduce overall body inflammation. Moderate exercise like walking seems to directly reduce signs of inflammation, even after adjusting for its impact on weight control.<\/p>\n

A plant\u2013based diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits and beans also seems to decrease inflammation. Studies link a more \u201cMediterranean\u2013style\u201d diet with lower levels of an inflammation marker called C-reactive protein. <\/p>\n

Scientists emphasize that it is the impact of the overall diet and whole foods that supplies interacting antioxidant and anti\u2013inflammatory phytochemicals (like carotenoids and flavonoids) with vitamins like vitamin C that provide protection, rather than just a single compound. A Mediterranean\u2013style diet is traditionally higher than the typical American diet in omega\u20133 fat, found especially in fish. A healthy balance between omega\u20133 and other fats reduces production of hormone\u2013like substances that stimulate inflammation.<\/p>\n

While all these lifestyle choices impact inflammation, research suggests that obesity may be the single largest influence on inflammation. Fat cells secrete certain proteins (such as interleukin\u20136 and tumor necrosis factor) that stimulate inflammation throughout the body. <\/p>\n

Fortunately, even a modest 7 to 10 percent weight loss as part of a healthy lifestyle is enough to reduce markers of inflammation.<\/p>\n

Testing inflammation<\/h3>\n

Chronic underlying inflammation can be measured by blood tests such as \u201chigh\u2013specificity C\u2013reactive protein\u201d (hs\u2013CRP), which is produced by the liver, and IL\u20136 and TNF\u2013alpha, secreted by other cells. But since these tests can\u2019t identify where the inflammation is or which of many potential causes is responsible, for now it may be best to simply recognize that making changes to improve health habits and weight will have far\u2013reaching, positive health effects.<\/p>\n

(This article was provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research<\/a> in Washington, D.C. A registered dietician is available to respond to questions about diet, nutrition, and cancer at the free AICR Hotline at 1 (800) 843-8114 during business hours.)<\/p>\n

From the RSS feed of CalorieLab News<\/a> (REF3076322B7)<\/p>\n

General inflammation: The elephant in the room of our health<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest contributor: Karen Collins, M.S., R.D., C.D.N. Karen Collins holds a B.S. degree from Purdue and an M.S. degree from Cornell, both in nutrition. When she’s not writing or speaking, she conducts a private nutrition practice in Jamestown, New York. Most Americans know that health risks such as high blood cholesterol and blood sugar are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212122\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}