Health News Update: Chronic Inflammation, Diet, & Everyday Life

Hello everyone:

This blog is longer than normal because the information is so important. If you have been following my blog posts, then you know that I have stated many times that inflammation causes, perpetuates, and/or aggravates every known human chronic health problem. Here is a simply stunning paper that says it superbly by highlighting the positive healthy aging effects you can generate for yourself with a whole-foods, unprocessed, plant-based food plan along with fasting and the subsequent gut improvement with fiber and plants…you should read this paper and look at the diagrams…but here are some of the important highlights:

“The lifestyle adopted by most people in Western societies has an important impact on the propensity to metabolic disorders (e.g., diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases). This is often accompanied by chronic low-grade inflammation, driven by the activation of various molecular pathways.

Chronic inflammation is a central process involved in a high number of metabolic disorders (e.g., obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, dyslipidemia, etc.), including neurodegenerative (Alzheimer), malignant diseases, and autoimmune diseases. In most if not all chronic inflammatory conditions, there is an extensively failed resolution of inflammation with high influx of leukocytes, which in their effort to resolve inflammation stimulate the synthesis of pro-inflammatory molecules and establish a highly inflammatory micro-environment, leading to extensive fibrosis and tissue damage.

Chronic low-grade inflammation has been shown to either induce or aggravate metabolic disturbances, including insulin resistance and dyslipidemia, which contributes to the development of other complications.

There is accumulating evidence that, in the case of autoimmune diseases, when the immune system loses self-tolerance and attacks the body’s cells and tissues, metabolic disturbances are key contributors to disease progression.

Many chronic inflammatory diseases originate or have their development promoted by an unbalanced diet.

Lifestyle and nutrition are modifiable factors that interact with genetics in regulating chronic inflammation, leading to aforementioned complications. The changes in nutritional patterns in Western societies—caused by a high intake of fat and energy-dense, processed foods, as well as a low intake of fibers, fruits, and vegetables—are associated with a rising prevalence of asthma, allergies, and autoimmune diseases involving inflammatory mechanisms.

High fat diets determine, among other things: intestinal inflammation, favoring lipopolysaccharides (LPS) absorption from gram-negative gut bacteria, and increasing lipoperoxidation that induces insulin resistance and inflammation. Saturated fatty acids and LPS activate toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling pathways further contribute to promoting systemic inflammation and consequent metabolic disorders.

Lifestyle- and diet-induced inflammation affects several cellular pathways, which stimulates the synthesis and secretion of various pro-inflammatory molecules. This ultimately maintains the low-grade inflammation state…. Interestingly, populations that consume a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fibers have lower incidences of inflammatory diseases compared to Western populations.

The Mediterranean diet—based on olive oil, fish, vegetables, and fruits, in addition to incorporating myriad beneficial phytochemicals—discourages cardiovascular diseases (and pretty much all chronic conditions [Dr Smith]).

Given that a large part of the global population suffers from various metabolic disorders, it is important to look for non-pharmacological ways to deal with these conditions. Targeted changes in lifestyle and especially diet can be economical tools to mitigate the development of metabolic disorders when they are at an early stage. These changes include increased fiber and polyphenol intake compared to the current western diets, but also well-structured, personalized fasting protocols, which can reduce the risk of metabolic disorders.”[By the way, metabolic disorders are the leading causes of death and disability…Dr. Smith comment.] 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7312944/

Bottom Line:

Experience with thousands of patients has revealed that without an excellent, nutrient-dense, whole food, clean (organic whenever possible), primarily plant-based food plan, even the best functional medicine supplement protocols and chiropractic care are not effective or only help a little. Food is so foundational that when it comes to either preventing or treating any chronic health condition, dietary optimization is where almost all of us need to start. Only the plants have the necessary ingredients to optimize health, that is, the majority of our food should be plant-based, unprocessed, whole foods. Start there and never stop.

I can say that the people who consult me and commit 100% to an optimal food plan are the ones that absolutely do the best. When it comes to fasting, what appears to work the best is eTRF (early Time Restricted Feeding). In eTRF, you consume a breakfast before 10 AM, and 80% of your total daily calories by 2 PM, and then dinner is 20% of your daily calories. Additionally, you consume all of your daily food within a 10-to-12-hour window and finishing your light dinner as early as possible (say before 6 PM) is crucial for success. It is sort of like this: breakfast like a prince/princess, lunch like a king/queen, and dinner like a pauper. Put it all together (figure 3 in the paper) shows how you can lower your inflammation and promote healthy aging…and that means an expanded health-span with a longer lifespan with less disability and increased vibrancy and resilience.

What this paper means to you is that now you absolutely know that you can optimize your health and safeguard your future by an upgrade to your lifestyle: Eat right; Move Right; Think Right. Start with eating right and see how it goes!!