Covid-19 and Health Update: Chronic Inflammation Weakens Our Immune System
Hello friends:
As you know, or have heard me say many times, inflammation either causes, perpetuates or aggravates virtually every human ailment. This also includes the fact that over time, chronic inflammation will weaken the immune system and/or imbalance it, resulting in a feedback loop that creates more inflammation and degeneration. Thus, chronic inflammation can lead to something called immuno-senescence, which means a weakened or imbalanced immune response. Here are a few selected quotes from the articles listed below (1,2) :
“Constant overproduction of pro-inflammatory molecules leads to chronic inflammation. Unlike acute inflammation, which is essential for healing, chronic inflammation can delay healing and, if left unchecked, contribute to a host of diseases. There is growing evidence that some dietary factors can play important roles in maintaining health and even reversing the progression of chronic diseases, with anti-inflammatory effects as important underlying mechanism.
Indeed, chronic inflammatory diseases have been recognized as the most significant cause of death in the world today, with more than 50% of all deaths being attributable to inflammation-related diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and autoimmune and neurodegenerative conditions 5 . Evidence is emerging that the risk of developing chronic inflammation can be traced back to early development, and its effects are now known to persist throughout the life span to affect adulthood health and risk of mortality .”
CONCLUSIONS/REMARKS
A comprehensive food-based strategy for reducing inflammation and thus reducing the incidence and severity of a large array of chronic illnesses and declining health is supported by a large and growing volume of scientific investigations. The cost benefit of societal promotion of such strategies is enormous . Clearly, genes and cells are responding to certain foods containing nutrients and phytochemicals that induce cell communication and affect gene expression, with the potential for profound long-term health benefits. The untenable and expensive alternative is to continue to see individuals make poor food choices and experience the consequences. In the case of chronic inflammation, the avoidance of lifestyle choices that promote it is obvious, but as important is incorporating foods in the diet that effectively prevent unnecessary and premature cell damage and death.
Bottom Line:
While it is not only foods that are a driver of inflammation it is well known that foods are fundamental to all processes of the body. Without health building clean food, it is much more difficult to deal with the other drivers of inflammation such as obesity, stress chemistry, sleep issues, latent infection, xenobiotic exposures (think: plastics, pesticides, endocrine disrupting chemicals etc.). As a first step in all cases, we must make sure that each of us consume a clean anti-inflammatory food plan. In other words, to protect your future as well as your present moment, focus on consuming an anti-inflammatory food plan. Friends don’t let friends eat poorly. The fastest way to find your unique low inflammatory food plan is via the Modified Elimination Diet and for more information on that, go to my website and click on the Resources tab, then the Diet and Nutrition tab and scroll to Elimination Diet (on the second page there are 3 links, and you can download them all). Also look at the link on Intermittent Fasting. There are also a bunch of good books and cookbooks all about the Elimination Diet, and can be found here: https://wholelifenutrition.net/books/elimination-diet
and http://www.nourishingmeals.com/p/nourishing-meals-book.html
PS: It is this food plan that profoundly healed several of my own health conditions, including migraine and hip pain!! If you follow this plan, do it for at least 120 days (not just 30) for best results.
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