Chronic Inflammation Causes Many Diseases

‘Silent’ Chronic Inflammation – The Secret Killer

Would you believe that one and the same process is involved in creation of many apparently unrelated health problems? Yet this is a scientific fact. Even Time Magazine reported this issue on the front cover in 2004. It referred to it as a ‘Silent Killer’. The word ‘silent’ has been chosen because a chronic inflammation is usually unnoticed and acts slowly, causing damage over the years and not days.

Normal, short term inflammatory response, like in a case of sprained ankle, is a natural way of the body to deal with the problem. It is an example of a thriving mechanism of your own immune system. Acute inflammatory response is a way to ‘fire’ at and protect against disease and infection, as well as to fuel cellular regeneration. We all require a healthy measure of inflammation in order to survive, but if it becomes chronic, due to our faulty lifestyle, things start to go seriously wrong.

What if the inflammatory response persists for prolonged time because body feels constantly under an attack of some sort and you are filled with slow ‘burning fire’ inside of you? This is precisely when a healing response, goes bad. The body is amazingly resilient, but relies solely upon communication between the major systems within the body (the endocrine, digestive, elimination, respiratory/cardiovascular, and the central nervous system) in order to function and heal properly. If chronic ‘silent’ inflammation is present, these systems can no longer communicate, and disease is virtually inevitable. Which system in the body is affected most can determine the type of disease that will befall you personally. In any event, inflammation is often linked as an underlying cause leading to several serious conditions, which are listed below on this page.

Phenomena of chronic inflammation is also closely related to over-acidity of the tissues and free radical damage .

Here are some symptoms and indicators of chronic ‘silent’ inflammation:

General chronic body aches and pains
Muscle stiffness, pains and formation of ‘noughts’
Joint pain and stiffness
Repeatative head-aches and tension
Shortness of breath
Dry Eyes & Blurry Vision
head aches, migraines
Skin conditions (acne, psoriasis, etc.)
Weight changes/Obesity
Visible aging signs i.e. wrincles
Fatigue & Irritability
Behavioral changes in children
Indigestion/Acid Reflux
Frequent infections
Slow healing
Memory loss
Increased Blood Pressure
varicose veins

Different people may show very different signs, depending upon which part of the body is the most affected.

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Causes of chronic inflammation:

Prolonged Stress
Environmental Toxins
Oxidative stress due to heavy metals (inc. Mercury, Lead, Arsenic)
Low grade (‘silent’) viral, fungal, yeast and bacterial infections
Intestinal Flora imbalances (deficiencies of probiotic bacteria)
Low-grade food sensitivities
Allergies
Certain medications
Regular meat consumption
Refined sugar, excess of refined carbohydrates
Not enough of alkalizing plant foods in a diet

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Health Problems Promoted By Inflammation

• Gout/Arthritis/Osteoarthritis/Rheumatism/Lupus/Fibromyalgia/Undiagnosed Joint & Muscle Pain– Inflammatory cells called cytokines lead to the production of enzymes that attack the tissues and break down cartilage in joints.

• Diabetes– Inflammatory chemicals release TNF which make cells resistant to insulin.

• Cardiovascular/Heart Disease/Stroke/Athersclerosis– Inflammation causes scaring of arteries, which is followed by clogging

• Accelerated Aging– Inflammation causes wrinkles and premature aging of internal organs

• Skin Disorders/Allergies– Inflammation that releases chemicals causing imbalances and healthy bacteria destruction. Results show in both internal and external reactions and heightened sensitivities on many levels.

• IBS/Colitis/Crohn’s– Inflammatory cells are found in abundance in either or both the large and small intestines producing results that could determine your symptoms and in turn your diagnosis.

• Asthma/Bronchitis – asthma is driven by inflammation of the lungs and airways. Asthma is typically the result of allergies (again still inflammation) and often referred to as a “rash” in the lungs.

• Alzheimer’s/memory loss– Chronic inflammation disrupts the transportation of a protein known as amyloid beta protein into the brain, which causes neurological damage.

• Cancer– a multi-faceted link driving cancer initiation and promotion as a result of increased production of pro-inflammatory mediators that mediate tumor cell proliferation, transformation, metastasis, survival, invasion, angiogenesis, chemo-resistance and radio-resistance. These molecules are activated by a number of environmental and lifestyle-related factors, which together are thought to drive as much as 90% of all cancers.

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Scientific References:

check: ‘How Inflammation Can Lead to Cancer’, (ScienceDaily April 19,2011)

‘Why Cancer And Inflammation’ – Yale Journal of Biology And Medicine, 2007

Inflammation & Cancer (scientific research website) www.nutritionaloncology.org

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Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases – Science now admits that they all can be caused by pathogenic bad bacteria

Immunostimulation in the era of the metagenome (Cellular & Molecular Immunology (2011) 8, 213–225; doi:10.1038/cmi.2010.77; published online 31 January 2011)

Abstract: Microbes are increasingly being implicated in autoimmune disease. This calls for a re-evaluation of how these chronic inflammatory illnesses are routinely treated. The standard of care for autoimmune disease remains the use of medications that slow the immune response, while treatments aimed at eradicating microbes seek the exact opposite—stimulation of the innate immune response. Immunostimulation is complicated by a cascade of sequelae, including exacerbated inflammation, which occurs in response to microbial death.