Health&Wellness Magazine August 2014 | Page 8

8 & August 2014 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net | Like us @healthykentucky Inflammation By Angela S. Hoover, Staff Writer figuring out how to manipulate and cut off chronic inflammation. Many food and beauty products tout anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is a process that happens during healing – like from an insect bite for example – so why would we want to stop inflammation? Because sometimes the body can go on an inflammation spree, known as chronic inflammation. Under these conditions, the immune cells never ease back but cause damage to various body systems, which make them more vulnerable. It ultimately causes degeneration of our tissues and leads to disease. Chronic inflammation is an autoimmune disease where the body turns on itself with a hyperactive defense mechanism. Common examples of autoimmune diseases are hay fever, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, pelvic inflammatory disease, colitis and bursitis. However, medical researchers now include Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, Parkinson’s, osteoporosis and depression and more on to the list. It’s believed that inflammation isn’t just a result of osteoarthritis, but that it may very well be a contributing cause. Generally speaking, inflammation is the basic mechanism that maintains the well-being of our cells, but nearly every disease is connected with inflammation. Whether inflammation is the root cause or whether these diseases are made worse by the inflammatory process is not yet clearly known, but inflammation is nearly always a factor. While different diseases manifest themselves in different ways, they seem to share many commonalities in the cellular level. Scientists believe that the key to extending healthy lifespans lies in Causes Inflammatory agents, things that set off our immune system, are all around us: in the air we breathe, the UV rays we absorb, the cleaning agents we use, the makeup we wear, the candles we light, the germs we encounter and environmental pollution. And some individuals are more genetically predisposed to inflammation. Obesity is linked with many diseases and conditions from diabetes to Alzheimer’s, butresearchers have discovered that being overweight is a huge cause of inflammation. Body fat is not an inert object in the body; it is a metabolically active tissue that is a source of the compounds that trigger inflammation. Having too many extra fat cells can amp up the inflammatory process because fat cells are producers of hormones like estrogen and leptin, as well as other molecules that signal the immune system. In other words, excess fat creates excess inflammation. Fat around the abdomen may be especially dangerous as compared to fat in the hips or rear because midsection fat tends to produce even more estrogens and inflammatory compounds called cytokines. Chronic stress is also a source of chronic inflammation. In concentrated doses, emotional stress is no big deal. But when the stress is constant, like during an ongoing personal crisis, it triggers a constant inflammatory response. Try to curb emotional stress and be sure to not scrimp on sleep. Another source of chronic inflammation is unknown and unidentified allergies. An undiagnosed food sensitivity can upset the balance of bacteria in the gut, leading to a variety Root Canal Specialist • Compassionate Care • State of the Art Facility • Delta Dental Provider • Accepting Insurances & Care Credit DONALD L. KELLEY, D.D.S., M.S. • www.endocenterlex.com • (859) 685-1068 216 FOUNTAIN COURT • SUITE 140 • LEXINGTON, KY 40509 of other symptoms, such as inflammatory bowel disease, migraines or chronic headaches and/or chronic fatigue syndrome. This is why it’s important to get to the underlying root cause of any ailment or co