Maintaining the Mature Body- Part II: Inflammation – Quelling the Internal Fire

Maintaining the Mature Body
Part II: Inflammation – Quelling the Internal Fire

In Part I of Maintaining the Mature Body, The Curse of the Paunch, we discussed the effects central obesity (also known as a paunch) has on insulin signaling and its relationship to Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, and longevity. In Part II we explore the second part of the curse – increased inflammation – and the important role it plays in health and disease.

We all know what inflammation is. It’s the runny nose, painful throat, and greenish phlegm of a cold, the angry pimple that you should have left alone the night before Prom, and the painful, swelling of a sprained ankle. Aulus Celsus, a physician in the first century B.C.E., described the four cardinal features of inflammation (in Latin, of course): calor (heat), dolor (pain), rubor (redness), and tumor (swelling). The four -ors in medical language become the -itises such as bronchitis, gastroenteritis, cystitis, and arthritis – all characterized by inflammation.

Inflammation is an important means by which foreign bacteria, viruses, and injured tissue is broken down, neutralized and recycled in the body. In the process of cellular digestion, reactive oxidative species (ROS), are generated and carefully regulated with naturally occurring antioxidants. However, in chronic states of inflammation the antioxidants can be overwhelmed, leading to excessive destruction by ROS, which is believed to be a major factor in aging. As with everything in life, it is a matter of balance (and good taste).

Today we know that inflammation and its intimate partner, the immune system, play a central role in almost every known disease from Alzheimer’s and heart attacks to cancer and autoimmune disorders like asthma and multiple sclerosis. They cut a broad swathe across all the medical specialties as a unifying pathological process that has many entry points.

We talk about disease as though it where a thunderbolt flung down upon us from Zeus’ quiver. Suddenly we are stricken with cancer, suffer a heart attack, a bout of depression, or fall ill with diabetes. But a more accurate metaphor is that of a smoldering fire that burns underground undetected for years before finally bursting into flames as diagnosable disease. A long train of events precede most illnesses, laid down by millions of choices – each one in themselves trivial – but when added together over the years lead us step by step to our appointment with destiny.

Ideally, one would quell the fire at an early stage when it is easily managed before irreversible damage has been done. But alas, we have an amazing ability to adapt, even to our own dis-ease. Fortunately, there are some powerful ways to modulate inflammation that don’t require drugs. But first, how do you know if you’re sitting on a smoldering fire? You can feel the heat! Early symptoms of inflammation include chronic aching and stiffness in joints and muscles, poor digestion, subtle food allergies, chronic skin conditions, fatigue, headaches, malaise, poor concentration and a long list of other minor symptoms of unwellness. We ignore the pleas of our body at our own peril. As my father used to say, “A machine talks to you before it breaks down.”

A convenient objective measure of inflammation can be obtained through a simple blood test, a CRP-hs, which stands for C-reactive protein – highly sensitive. This protein is principally secreted by liver cells when the body is in a state of heightened inflammation. Although an inexpensive test, it is so sensitive that it can pick-up the low levels of inflammation associated with cholesterol plaques in coronary arteries, an independent risk factor for heart attacks.

To put out a fire you must direct the fire extinguisher at the source, not the flames. It is the same with inflammation. Unfortunately, most conventional medical treatments are directed at the flames. This of course makes no sense, but as a business model it makes a great deal of cents for the drug companies, hospitals, surgical supply houses, insurance companies, and yes, doctors as well.

One of the most important sources of inflammation is stress. It has been demonstrated that emotional stress can trigger the release of inflammatory chemical messengers with names like TNF-_, interleukin, and other cytokines that direct the DNA within the genome to initiate inflammatory cascades. In other words, these chemical signals sound the alarm and move the body towards red-alert in a feed-forward vicious cycle of increased inflammation.

The health consequences of chronic stress are very real. For example, three 10-year studies found that emotional stress was more predictive of death from cancer and cardiovascular disease than smoking, and people who were unable to effectively manage their stress had a 40% higher death rate than non-stressed individuals. We would expect an aggressive Type A person to also have an aggressive immune system, and they do. And angry people with inflammatory personalities promote inflammation in themselves as well as in those around them. But it seems so much easier to take a pill to douse the flames, rather than to confront the source of the stress that is literally killing you. Breathworks, meditation, self-help methods and wise counsel from a trusted friend or professional can give us the clarity and inner-support to change our lives in fundamental ways.

Another way to quell the fire of inflammation is through biochemical detoxification and fasting. An immune system that is over-burdened with environmental toxins, drugs, alcohol, and poor food choices is a major source of inflammation in the body. Liver detoxification capability varies up to 7-fold in healthy people which is why some people who take acetaminophen (Tylenol) as prescribed on the package will develop toxic hepatitis. It is this kind of biochemical individuality that can make, “one man’s feast another man’s poison.”

As mentioned in Part I of Maintaining the Mature Body, fasting is an extremely powerful way to down-regulate inflammation. It is believed that the improvement in inflammation and insulin signaling are the major reason that organisms fed a 40% caloric restriction diet live, on average, 40% longer. This extraordinary biological effect continues to be the focus of intense research.

So putting this all together, here are some things you can start doing today:
• Do more of what you already know is good for you – exercise, eat clean food (avoiding packaged, processed, and rich foods), and spend time with supportive friends.
• Turn off the screen, close the book, set the magazine aside and make something with your hands.
• Once a day write down 3 things that you are thankful for.
• Breathe.
• Buy an attractive ceramic bowl from your local pottery guild and keep it filled with fruit.
• Love your veggies.
• If you’re over fifty I recommend anti-oxidants daily: prunes and raisins are off the charts; Vitamin C 1-2 grams; Vitamin E 400 I.U. (mixed tocopheral); and add Omega 3 oils 2-4 grams to shift towards anti-inflammatory lipids.
• If you are already feeling the heat of inflammation then we should meet to discuss additional approaches that can be of great help.