Obesity rates have increased massively over the last 30 years and continue to do so despite eating much less fat than we used to, suggesting that the concept of low-fat diets being good for our health are very misdirected.
It’s the excess carbohydrate intake (and processed carbohydrates at that) which has sky-rocketed that we need to worry about!
What Is Inflammation?
Most people rightly think of inflammation as localized redness, swelling and heat as part of a temporary fight against bacteria, viruses and other infections or the reaction to damaged tissue which needs repairing cuts, muscle damage etc.
Unfortunately systemic inflammation has become a huge problem in the human body across most of the world, largely down to poor nutrition the effects of which are detailed below.
Inflammation is also a critical concept to understand for those engaging in intense physical training. Those looking to improve their physique MUST engage in weight training which by it’s very nature breaks down muscle during the training which is then rebuilt bigger and more dense to give that muscular or ‘toned’ physique for ladies! Similarly athletes who engage in hard training almost on a daily basis are subject to high amounts of free radicals which can also cause increased inflammation in the body.
As you will see, the high protein diets often advocated in physique development combined with the often recommended sugar and sweetener-filled protein shakes many become addicted to in the hope of rapid muscle growth, only serve to compound the problem of inflammation. It is highly likely that this is a major factor, if not THE reason that many athletes who are viewed as untouchable gods in their prime, suffer greatly with all manner of health problems as they age and the golden years fade into the distance.
Whether or not you harbour desires to be an international athlete or you just want to live well and get rid of the excess body fat that has plagued you over the years, controlling and minimizing inflammation in your body is probably the most important thing you can do for yourself.
This requires a strong focus on significantly improving your nutrition.
Three hormones lead to increased inflammatory conditions:
- Pro-inflammatory eicosanoids
- Insulin
- Cortisol
To put it simply, you need to keep all these hormones in check or face any or all of the following, especially as you get older and your immune system weakens.
Let’s look at individual organs in the body to see why inflammation is not just something to think about when you bang your knee!
Heart
Inflammation leads to damaged arteries which we all know eventually results in heart complications. Inflammatory conditions can destabilize cholesterol deposits on coronary arteries leading to heart attacks as the artery then gets blocked by these deposits floating around your blood vessel
According to Dr Sears in the Anti-Inflammation Zone, 50% of heart attacks occur in people with normal cholesterol levels and the best drug for reducing heart attacks is aspirin which has no effect on cholesterol.
This would suggest that traditional advice which lays the blame for heart attacks solely at the feet of cholesterol are misdirected at best and dangerously misleading at worst resulting in serious problems.
Brain
Chronic inflammation often results in damaged nerve cells in the brain leading to reduced cognitive function at best and diseases such as Alzheimer’s at worst. Such conditions are very hard to reverse so inflammation cannot be something that we leave to be sorted out when we’re older as is often the attitude in the Western world. No doctor or drug will restore your brain.
Those with highest intake of Omega 6 fatty acids, in particular all the vegetable oils which are so prominent in Western diets, have a greatly increased risk of Alzheimer’s.
Immune system
A depressed immune system is almost guaranteed in cases of chronic inflammation which in many cases leads to the formation of cancerous tumours.
You can also expect increased risk of common troubles such as migraines, fibromyalgia, arthritis and chronic pain and autoimmune diseases which often come in groups such as MS, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. If one of these creeps up on you, you can expect another to be not too far behind.
Diabetes
The pro-inflammatory cytokines which are more prevalent in chronic inflammation make cells more resistant to insulin thus increasing the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Also, excess insulin produces excess arichadonic acid which further increases inflammation. High fasting insulin levels is a key indicator of high levels of silent inflammation so if you score highly on this test at your GP practice then you should immediately seek ways to reduce systemic inflammation.
Cancer
Pro-inflammatory eicosanoid hormones are not only highly associated with tumour formation but also encourage metastasis which is basically the replication and spreading of cancer throughout the cells in your body.
If your immune system is having to battle chronic systemic inflammation, it is not going to do it’s job with regard to destroying stray cancer cells allowing them to divide and grow into tumours.
Multiple Sclerosis
In MS the insulating membrane that coats nerve cells unravels due to ongoing inflammation making it difficult to transmit their signals. Not wanting to clean your nutrition up can lead to an irreversible life of being unable to control your muscles and nervous system.
Attention Deficit Disorder
The severity of ADD has been directly linked to the level of systemic inflammation. Children may need higher levels of EPA and DHA (Omega 3 fatty acids) due to their accelerated metabolic rates. Simply altering your child’s nutrition patterns could have life-changing effects on family life and their chances of success in future life.
Depression
The increase in depression rates in recent times correlates strongly with the decrease in fish consumption and increase in levels of inflammation in the human body. Fish is a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids which help reduce systemic inflammation.
Cortisol and stress
When the body senses high pro-inflammatory eicosanoids it instructs the adrenal glands to pump out cortisol which is an anti-inflammatory hormone. Under normal, temporary circumstances, this is great – a highly valuable response. However, when pro-inflammatory eicosanoids are chronically elevated, high amounts of cortisol are pumped out constantly putting great stress on the adrenal glands.
This will leave you tired and lethargic all day long, every day. If you never seem to be able to get out of the doldrums, you need to do all you can to clean up your nutrition and reduce stress levels so you avoid this chronic elevation of cortisol. Excess cortisol makes you fat, dumb and sick which doesn’t make anybody happy!
Finally excess cortisol encourages neo-glucogenesis which is the break down of muscle protein converting it into glucose. This break down of muscle will leave you not only permanently tired but also weak, with a skinny physique devoid of any kind of muscle bulk or ‘tone’.
Screaming Pain
If a condition ends in –itis it indicates that inflammation is involved.
This pain can also include fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Chron’s disease and end-stage cancer.
On a higher level, this is also an important concept for hard-training athletes who are often racked with screaming pain on an ongoing basis. Combined with the high glycemic load diets typical of high level sports, this is a recipe for highly inflammatory states resulting in more pain and illness in the short, medium and long-term.
Inflammation, Fats and Obesity
If insulin resistance is down to or at least interlinked with systemic inflammation, simply restricting calories will not work as a way to reverse obesity – you need to pay attention to where the calories come from.
An overweight person needs to take steps to reduce arichadonic acid in their body by reducing consumption of fatty red meats and egg yolks as well as Omega 6 rich vegetable oils and high glycemic load carbohydrates. Instead choose carbohydrates from fruit and vegetables rather than starchy foods and processed carbohydrates.
You also need to increase your levels of Omega 3’s through daily intake of EPA and DHA (Omega 3’s) which can be gained from fish oil consumption or vegan sources.
What Causes Inflammation?
You should now be clear about the wide-reaching effects of chronic, systemic inflammation, but what actually causes it?
First, excess insulin not only causes you to store excess body fat but also increases inflammation.
Also, high meat diets (particularly red meats) increase arachidonic acid which increases systemic inflammation through the eicosanoid hormones we spoke about. This is one of many reasons why the Atkins Diet is very detrimental to your health.
Moving a little bit deeper and we see that an imbalance in EPA from Omega 3 fatty acids and arichadonic acid from Omega 6 causes inflammation you might not even see or feel yet ,so this needs to be rebalanced to be much higher in Omega 3’s and much lower in Omega 6’s.
Stress raises cortisol levels so you need to pay attention to stress reduction techniques. If you have a very stressful job, rowdy kids and an annoying husband or wife, even the best nutrition and training program may be rendered useless. In fact, an intense training program can compound the problem if stress reduction techniques aren’t in place.
When all is well, a hard training session will temporarily raise inflammation in the body in response to muscle damage, which then settles over the next 24 hours or so causes positive adaptation to your strength and physique.
When systemic inflammation is present, the problem can be compounded by the same training session causing problems as the effects accumulate.
What Reduces Or Eliminates Inflammation?
Omega 3 fatty acids are hugely important in controlling inflammation. Fish oil has often been seen as the ideal source.
It still is a great source although some people choose to use vegan based sources of EPA and DHA although they can be more expensive. It is worth considering that the quality of fish on our planet has deteriorated with most other food sources so you should factor this in as well when making your decision about fish and fish oil consumption.
Do what you can to get fish oil…
Remember to take fish oils with food as the digestive enzymes will improve absorption.
Extra-virgin olive oil, sesame oil, turmeric and ginger, nuts, avocado are other great sources of Omega 3’s, whilst flaxseed oil also reduces the production of all the eicosanoid hormones discussed earlier.
Aloe vera may also help dampen inflammation in the digestive tract.
In terms of meat consumption proteins with the lowest fat content are desirable to help reduce arachidonic acid – substitute fish for most of your red meat.
You should also increase your intake of antioxidants, in particular the following…
- Vitamin E (hard to get enough from diet only)
- Coenzyme Q10 (hard to get enough from diet only)
- Beta-carotene
- Vitamin C
- Polyphenols from berries and dark-coloured vegetables.
Eating a diet high in raw vegetables will go a long way towards providing you with sufficient antioxidants.
On the other side, you need to look at reducing your intake of Omega 6 fatty acids particularly vegetable oils.
Throw out all processed starches, vegetable oils, margerine and butter, high sugar foods, canned fruits and vegetables.
Keep egg yolks to 1-2 per week as they are also high in arichadonic acid.
Take Home Message
The key message is that you need to analyse which areas of your life and nutrition are causing increases in systemic inflammation and work on them. These may be different for you and your neighbour so don’t just copy what everyone else is doing!
There are numerous causes of systemic inflammation but most relate to poor dietary habits. There are also many effects of chronic systemic inflammation so be aware of changes in your health, wellness and energy levels. Deterioration in any of these areas for more than a few days would intake that inflammation is out of control and areas of your life need to be addressed before more serious and often more permanent problems develop.
