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Inflammation

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Netdotnotes
Netdotnotes Posts: 31 Member
in Debate Club
Inflammation seems to be a trending buzzword but I'm a little confused as to what it means/covers. Does the one term mean what I think of as internal inflammation such as heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and dementia as well as joint issues? Do the same diet and exercise recommendations cover all types of inflammation?

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  • Miz_T
    Miz_T Posts: 150 Member
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    I think it refers mostly to joint inflammation. Not sure, I'm just here for the cake. :D
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Not that I know anything about it, but what I've read on MFP is eating "certain foods" will cause gut "inflammation" thus leading to weight gain. Since this is supposed to happen to every person who is overweight/obese, I believe is BS. If the person has IBS or Crohn's or the like, that's different.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    zyxst wrote: »
    Not that I know anything about it, but what I've read on MFP is eating "certain foods" will cause gut "inflammation" thus leading to weight gain. Since this is supposed to happen to every person who is overweight/obese, I believe is BS. If the person has IBS or Crohn's or the like, that's different.

    Funny thing is when my intestinal inflammation the highest I rapidly lose weight not gain it because of crohn's.
  • cremorna1
    cremorna1 Posts: 133 Member
    edited February 2017
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    From the Mayo Clinic web:

    Research suggests that there's a link between diet and inflammation, which is your body's response to injury or infection. Inflammation causes heat, redness, swelling and pain in the affected part of the body. While this normal immune system response is important for healing, sometimes inflammation can become chronic. Long-term inflammation is linked to several diseases and conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease.

    Although the exact reason is unclear, it's believed that certain foods offer protection against inflammation, while other foods might actually encourage inflammation.
  • Treece68
    Treece68 Posts: 780 Member
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    Inflammation (Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecular mediators.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    Netdotnotes wrote: »
    Inflammation seems to be a trending buzzword but I'm a little confused as to what it means/covers. Does the one term mean what I think of as internal inflammation such as heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and dementia as well as joint issues? Do the same diet and exercise recommendations cover all types of inflammation?

    I delved into this years ago (among many other things) and ultimately found myself confused and swimming in a sea of misapplied science and woo. I took a step back and thought to myself...millions of years of evolution and really, it's all this complicated and crazy"...I didn't think that really possible.

    I ultimately decided to ignore all of the noise and focused on just eating better...getting my veg and fruit...eating more whole foods than not...eating a balanced and varied diet...getting in regular exercise, etc...from there, things became very easy...I not only lost weight, but improved a bunch of bad blood work and other health markers as well. At 42 I'm in better shape now in every aspect of my health than I was in my 20s.
  • Zumaria1
    Zumaria1 Posts: 225 Member
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    Many diseases are actually a manifestation of some form of inflammation. Stress, especially long term chronic stress, can even cause an inflammatory response in the body. That is why exercise is so good, not just for weight loss but also the release of endorphins, which help to combat against stress that we all face on a daily basis.
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
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    ch5681 wrote: »
    Inflammation is basically your immune system going on overdrive (freaking out) as a response to harmful foreign invaders inside your body.

    The immune cells will release toxic chemicals in order to get rid of these foreign invaders (or bad bacteria) in the body,

    As a side effect, these toxic chemicals can damage otherwise healthy cells and tissue (collateral damage) resulting in what is known as "inflammation"

    Jesus, after reading so many responses, ONE person is trying to actually answer the OPs question. Inflammation is a good and vital bodily function (usually). When you hurt your knee or cut yourself, inflammation surges blood and nutrients to the affected area as an "inflammatory response"...the initial part of the healing process to push building blocks to the injury...it's considered the primary and first protective reaction to stressed systems within the body. This can affect organs, muscles, joints and almost all soft tissues.

    Here is where your definition of inflammation becomes hazardous: the body reacts to "good stress" much like it responds to injury- by evoking an inflammatory response. A chronic inflammatory condition can lead to the opposite effect to healing: cell damage via an overreaction to stress in the absence of real external stress factors. This can be in the form of fried chicken or deep dish pizza, but unlike most health nuts will have you believe, will not be mitigated much by "anti-inflammatory foods". Sure, foods that are highly anti-inflammatory will regulate inflammation in the absence of a supremely inflammatory catalyst, but will not do much to curtail sudden inflammatory spikes as a result of food or exercise or injury.

    How much does "inflammation" cause the health factors we are concerned with in the longer run (heart, brain, cancer, etc)...is yet to be proven. There is certainly a correlation between individuals who are chronically inflammatory and cancer and heart disease, but correlation in this case is not necessarily causation. Food for thought!

  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
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    singingflutelady wrote: »
    ch5681 wrote: »
    Inflammation is basically your immune system going on overdrive (freaking out) as a response to harmful foreign invaders inside your body.

    The immune cells will release toxic chemicals in order to get rid of these foreign invaders (or bad bacteria) in the body,

    As a side effect, these toxic chemicals can damage otherwise healthy cells and tissue (collateral damage) resulting in what is known as "inflammation"

    Sometimes if you are super lucky your immune system is always in overdrive and thinks your cells are foreign invaders and attacks yourself. Autoimmune diseases suck.

    Yup,and having to take a bunch of meds to suppress your immune system.
  • Tretop76
    Tretop76 Posts: 256 Member
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    Inflammation is anywhere in your body that is inflamed due to diseases and or injuries. It's a broad spectrum of issues not caused by just food.
  • CaptainJoy
    CaptainJoy Posts: 257 Member
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    I just read how your heart health can impact your joints in "Health" magazine. According to a 2016 Australian animal study, high cholesterol apparently breaks down cartilage cells and can lead to osteoarthritis. Since high cholesterol is connected to inflammation and can affect the joints, I find this tidbit of information very useful and true. Since inflammation does impact the heart and cause damage to the joints, I think diet and exercise recommendations for reducing cholesterol would be the answer to your question. The DASH diet, which limits saturated and trans fats would be the best for inflammation if it is a result of high cholesterol.

    I don't know if this would include Alzheimer's disease or dementia. If I believed everything I read, I would think a LCHF diet would help with these two conditions but I question why Alzheimer's is lowest in high carb countries like India.

    Personally, in addition to a calorie deficit to lose weight, I limited my saturated fats and added walking and running which reduced all my cholesterol numbers to a healthy range. I have osteoarthritis and had joint pain before my diet but am now free of most pain.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Personally, like @cwolfman13 said, I think maybe people try to overthink the inflammation issue. A healthy diet with plenty of fruits, veggies, and good fats, and avoiding excessive amounts of things like sugar, saturated fats, & alcohol, will likely do its job without having to get bogged down in specific recommendations.

  • Netdotnotes
    Netdotnotes Posts: 31 Member
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    Thanks all for your responses. Food for thought, no pun intended. I had an appointment at the spine clinic yesterday and the xrays showed my lumbar area as a mostly white, fuzzy mess with no discs to speak of. Surgery doesn't seem to be an option so the next step is an MRI to see about stenosis, etc. which may or may not result in surgery. I'm sure there will be physical therapy to strengthen all the muscles to support the area. I asked about inflammation and was told joint inflammation isn't the same as the inflammation in the circulatory system, etc. I don't know yet if inflammation was a part of my lumbar degeneration or if it's just a fact of aging, overuse and being overweight. After a knee injury when inflammation gone bad started an immune system response that destroyed the cartilage in my inner knees, I had to have partial replacements. That was about 10 years ago. A year ago I had a total hip replacement even though I wasn't really having any of the classic bad hip pain. I did regain a lot of my hip's range of motion after surgery but the pain I was having stayed the same after the surgery which is leading the doc to think my back is the major cause. I don't know if inflammation was involved in my hip issues. I'm concerned about my back problems because of how it limits my activity but at this time I'd say I'm almost more worried about heart, brain and other immune system responses connected to inflammation. It seems the more I hear/read, the more confused I am and I've yet to discover any scientific evidence that a grain, dairy and sugar free diet really plays much of a part in any kind of inflammation. I guess the best I can do at this time is to continue on with my grain, dairy and sugar free diet, adding in good fats, veggies and fruits and see how it goes.
  • dawnmcmurray793
    dawnmcmurray793 Posts: 2 Member
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    I have an autoimmune condition called psoriatic arthritis. In my situation, some cells over produce and cause red/scaly and "inflamed" patches on my skin. Associated with this condition is a bi lateral arthritis in my hands, spine and feet. Both are caused by inflammation and/or injury....overexercise (that causes inflammation) can set off my psoriatic arthritis and make it very painful. I'm sum, inflammation and what it does to it fir your body seems to be on a case to case situation. Excersise is necessary for me, but if I over do it, then I exasperate the inflammation and often end up having to take steroids. Foods that can cause inflammation are usually important to avoid fir people like me when I am flared up. If I am not experiencing the psoriatic arthritis symptoms those foods don't cause problems. I think doing things to get your inflammation or swelling down when it's at peak is common sense. Ice, relax, stay away from inflammation type foods. However, when one is active, feeling good etc anything (within reason) that works fir your body is fine. I'm not a physician and this is not meant as medical advice. Just years of experience in balancing a painful "inflammatory" autoimmune disease
  • Netdotnotes
    Netdotnotes Posts: 31 Member
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    My husband has a mild case of psorias on his skin, just a few patches. Topical creams usually keep the patches under control but they never disappear completely. I've often wondered if certain foods might trigger his flare ups or even keep the patches from clearing up.
  • Kimberx33
    Kimberx33 Posts: 1 Member
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    When diet and inflammation are talked about together, they are usually referring to cellular inflammation. It is inflammation at that level that causes all sorts of problems, from joint inflammation, to heart disease, to Alzheimer's, to weight gain. There has been a lot more study recently into both the causes and results of cellular inflammation. To keep it simple, the biggest correlation seems to be between the Omega 3 and Omega 6 content in a person's diet. In a nutshell, Omega 6's (for the most part) are bad, Omega 3's are good. Therefore, to decrease cellular inflammation and all its unhealthy results, drastically decrease the amount of Omega 6 containing foods in your diet. This will include cutting out some things you would expect - like most processed and prepackaged foods, but also some items you wouldn't - like chicken (unless it is free range). If you really want to make a change that will make you healthier and feel a million times better, google omega 3 vs omega 6 for more information and give it a try. I, personally, have done this and within 2 weeks was able to stop taking blood pressure medications because there was such drastic improvement.....and that is just the start!
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
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    I have ulcerative colitis in remission. However, while the gut is healthy, I "retain" inflammation for long periods of time in other areas of my body, particularly the muscles and joints. For the most part, I blame this problem on the reason why it is taking me so long to build upper body strength. I sometimes hurt so much that I simply cannot lift weights and I have to rest those areas which sometimes means weeks, weeks that I don't want to lose in terms of muscle building. So ... I do what I can and ignore the rest.

    My doc told me when you have one auto-immune disorder, particularly an inflammatory one, it typically leads to others. I am not surprised. However, thanks to my mostly healthy lifestyle (hey, I love my donuts and chips), it could be worse.

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