A BALANCED BODY

Inflammation helps you heal, but too much of it can punish your body in a number of ways

Living healthy is the best defense.

INFLAMMATION HAS been a trending topic in recent years. Scientists have spent decades unraveling the mystery of inflammation, how it can help us, and when and why it brings pain and illness.

At its root, inflammation serves a critical purpose. Inflammation is an essential part of the regeneration and healing process in the body. It’s when that initial inflammation goes unchecked and proceeds longer than is intended that we get the destructive effects.

This sets people up for health problems. Chronic low-level inflammation is the underlying cause of weight gain, early development of various diseases, and acceleration of the aging process. Roughly 35 percent of Americans live with systemic inflammation, according to a 2024 study by University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions. Out-of-control inflammation feeds on itself and can trigger or exacerbate everything from autoimmune diseases to cancer. And in the case of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases like SARS or the flu, it puts you at risk for a dangerous immune system over-reaction called a “cytokine storm.”

Inflammation has one job: to wake up the immune system and stem cells. What it’s supposed to do is say, “Hey, something is going on! We need to either activate an immune response, a healing response, or both,” explains Ben Van Handel, PhD, a stem cell scientist. This immediate inflammatory reaction helps you get well, whether you’re trying to recover from the flu or a sprained ankle. Once you’re on the mend, an anti-inflammatory process kicks in, getting your system back to normal.

Here’s the rub: If you start with high levels of inflammation, you don’t snap right back to baseline, instead, the body remains suspended in that inflammatory state and predisposes the system to even higher levels of longer-term chronic inflammation. The immune system stays fired up when it should be winding down. And this overactivation of the body’s immune system is really one of the biggest concerns.

Chronic inflammation accelerates aging. It’s a “feed-forward cycle.” It just keeps going. This can occur with various conditions. Take a person who is obese, for example, “The adipose tissue in their body produces a ton of inflammatory proteins. The fat cells in the adipose tissue senses extra inflammatory proteins, and that induces them to make more,” Van Handel, says. From there, it could build and build, leading to a chronic inflammatory problem.

At first, you may not even know you’re in this state. Sure, there are signs that you have too much inflammation (skin redness and swelling, joint pain, digestive woes). But by the time your body feels out of sorts, “the process has been going on behind the scenes, doing damage, for a long time.”

The best offense is a strong defense. “Your lifestyle makes all the difference.” A lot of the healthy-living advice you’re already following applies here. Don’t smoke or vape. Drink alcohol only in moderation (no more than one drink a day for women). Eat whole foods rather than processed foods, with big emphasis on plant foods, nuts, seeds and vegetables.

Your behavior at night matters too: Don’t skimp on sleep. Most experts say adults need seven hours a night. Getting a sufficient amount of sleep is really important. Your body manifests what is happening on a cellular level.

Stress-reduction strategies can be game changers. The easiest and cheapest is breathing. Breathing lets you hack your nervous system and bring it into a parasympathetic, calmer state. Dr. Vuu’s favorite method; Breathe in for five counts, hold for six counts, exhale for seven counts.

Another potent natural anti-inflammatory is exercise. High-intensity interval training (HIIT), alternating bursts of intense cardio with periods of easier exercise, is particularly heart-healthy. Strength training is also great because it teaches your system that a little bit of stress is OK. And don’t underestimate the power of a quick walk. There is good data on this; it doesn’t even have to be a super brisk pace. As long as your heart rate goes up a little bit, that alerts your body to wake up your tissues and help them function at peak efficiency.

Overall, it’s not about running a marathon or going vegan or striving for a perfectly healthy existence, but rather making small, good choices when you can. If we are able to live a little bit healthier, it helps a lot. By Lisa Lombardi