Dr Paul Clayton 2013
Internal inflammation – the health danger that threatens us all
Health researchers now believe they have identified a, or probably even THE, key reason why health seems to inevitably decline with age, and why we therefore need anti-inflammatory supplements to counter it. It’s called ‘chronic, sub-clinical inflammation.’
“Inflammation is an underlying contributor to virtually every chronic disease … rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, diabetes and depression, along with major killers such as heart disease and stroke.
“The connection between inflammation and cancer has now moved to center stage in the research arena.” Scientific American
“Low-grade inflammation is associated with everything from heart disease and diabetes to Alzheimer’s and arthritis, and may even be the cause of most chronic diseases.”
University of California Berkeley, School of Public Health
“Inflammatory processes … are likely to be involved in coronary heart disease.”
British Medical Journal
“Inflammatory factors predict virtually all bad outcomes in humans … having heart attacks, having heart failure, becoming diabetic … becoming fragile in old age … cognitive function decline, even cancer to a certain extent.”
Russell Tracy, Professor of Pathology and Biochemistry, University of Vermont College of Medicine
This type of inflammation is labelled chronic because it is a low level of continuous, ‘grumbling’, inflammation that over the years causes more and more damage to tissues in the arteries, brain, and joints until eventually it becomes manifest as an ‘age-related’ disease.
Except that ageing doesn’t cause chronic inflammation – it’s the other way around. Chronic inflammation causes ageing.
The other part of the description – sub-clinical – comes from its internal and largely undetectable nature, making it all the more dangerous.
The fact that it is internal is also the reason why, until recently, we have been unaware of the research and its huge significance to health. For most of us, inflammation is the body’s helpful external response to a cut or insect bite.
Internal inflammation damages tissues over the long term. And that’s bad news.
The good news is that you can take effective action against this type of inflammation and all the evidence is that this will then reduce the risk of the health issues that threaten us as we age.
Anti-inflammatory vitamins, minerals and other nutrients
The main priority is to increase the level of anti-inflammatory foods and nutrients in your diet.
See: Natural anti-inflammatory nutrients
They key elements here are the polyphenols and flavonoids in many fruits and vegetables and Omega 3 fish oil – all of which are powerful anti-inflammatories.
That’s why there is overwhelming evidence that Omega 3 fish oil is heart-protective, helps to protect brain function and has a role to play in reducing the risk of cancer. But few people have sufficient Omega 3 in their normal diet. You would need to eat 3-4 portions of oily fish such as herring, mackerel, sardines or wild salmon (not farmed) a week!
There is equally good evidence to support the importance of polyphenol anti-inflammatories to our long-term health. So much so that the American Cancer Society and many other authorities now recommend nine portions of fruit and vegetables a day!
Can you get enough anti-inflammatory vitamins and minerals from foods alone?
For many, these recommendations are difficult to achieve, which is why many health scientists like myself are positive on the role of a well-designed supplement that adds anti-inflammatory nutrients like Omega 3 and flavonoids and polyphenols like green tea extract, curcumin and grapeseed extract to a full range of vitamins and minerals.
DOWNLOAD my free e-book Inflamm-ageing now HERE.
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