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

Mark Smith • September 9, 2024

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!!


Do You Know Where 80 to 90% of Your Health Comes From?

By Mark Smith • September 15, 2025
New Title

What You Eat Can Save Your Life…or Not

By Mark Smith • September 8, 2025
New Title

To Avoid Chronic Disease, Watch What You Eat

By Mark Smith • September 1, 2025
To Avoid Chronic Disease, Watch What You Eat

Health News Update: Inflammaging is Bad News

By Mark Smith • August 25, 2025
Hello everyone: I think I have mentioned inflammaging before but never really focused on it. So, let’s dig into this interesting topic. Inflammaging is when chronic, low-grade inflammation develops with age as dietary and environmental stress accumulates, contributing to the development of all of the various age-related diseases and health issues. It results from a loss of control over systemic inflammation, which tends to come from an unbalanced and dysregulated immune system. One of the key drivers of inflammaging is diet…which means that one of the key tools to slow and reduce aging is our what we eat as well as what we don’t eat. In this paper, the authors reveal that the typical Western Diet (what science calls the Standard American Diet or S.A.D.) is the best example of a pro-inflammatory diet pattern. “ Conclusion: Inflammation is a key physiological process in immunity and tissue repair. However, during aging it becomes increasingly more chronic. In addition, we found that certain foods such as saturated fats have pro-inflammatory activity. Taking this into account, in this review we have proposed some dietary guidelines as well as a list of compounds present in foods with anti-inflammatory activity. It must be taken into account that the amounts used in the studies that detect anti-inflammatory activity of these compounds are very high, and the intake of a single food to achieve its anti-inflammatory power is not feasible. (My Comment: what this means is that it is the overall dietary pattern that matters the most.) However, the combination of foods rich in compounds with anti-inflammatory activity could exert beneficial effects during aging and in pathologies associated with inflammation and in reducing the detrimental effects of foods with pro-inflammatory activity. Therefore, we can conclude that the compounds in our diet with anti-inflammatory activity could help alleviate the inflammatory processes derived from diseases and unhealthy diets and thereby promote healthy aging. Thus, we can use diet not only for nourishment, but also as medicine.” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8389628/ anti-inflammatory diet and health aging https://www.healthline.com/health/5-minute-guide-to-inflamm-aging Bottom Line: We all must age, and how we do so is largely under our own control. To create an anti-inflammatory lifestyle is not that difficult, especially if you put it all together in stages. Start with a clean, whole-food, unprocessed plant-based food plan. And to begin, first focus on what you can add into your menus and use those additions to sort of crowd out the things that are more inflammatory…sugar, refined grains, processed and pre-packaged things. Set realistic goals such as going plant based one or two days a week, or even one meal…just start and gradually work up. It has to be doable so don’t stress. Next, start moving and doing regular exercise at least three times a week…and find what you enjoy doing and focus on that. Then add activities that de-stress you, whether that is socializing, church, meditation, prayer, yoga, etc. Overall, shift your attention to giving love to things that love you back. Sugar, drive-thru and processed food like thingies do not love you back but apples or kiwis or berries or veggies do. Sitting around does not love you back but going for a short walk after a meal does love you back. Hang out and give love to the people you really like to be with, they will most always love you back. Create a love you back lifestyle and see how you feel.

Health News Update: Blocking Internet on Smartphones Improves Mental Health

By Mark Smith • August 18, 2025
Hello everyone: I frequently hear about mental health issues with the people in our practice. They could be experiencing depression, or anxiety, feel flat, can’t focus or sustain attention, or may not feel well in general. These comments can come from anyone of any age…I can hear from parents about their kids, or it may be themselves experiencing these feeling. So, when I read this paper, it felt important to share it because we all seem to have mobile phones. Here is how the paper is summarized: “Concern about how smartphones affect users is widespread: half of American smartphone users—and 80% of those under age 30—worry that they use their device too much, and correlational research suggests that smartphone use is negatively related to mental health and cognitive functioning. However, few large-scale experiments have tested for causal effects. We report such an experiment, finding that blocking mobile internet for 2 weeks reduces smartphone use and improves subjective well-being (SWB) (including life satisfaction and positive affect), mental health (more than antidepressants), and sustained attention (as much as being 10 years younger). Despite the many benefits mobile internet offers, reducing the constant connection to the digital world can have large positive effects.” https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/2/pgaf017/8016017?utm_source=klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%28Email%20-%20Chris%20Kresser%20General%20News%29%20Chris%27s%20Friday%20Favorites&utm_term=randomized%20controlled%20trial&utm_content=randomized%20controlled%20trial&_kx=fARhTo_gi8X3B_2-MaeO_RyzUl9tvT3tr4re-Dy7cNQ.my75y6 Bottom Line: It seems like a smartphone ‘timeout’ can be very beneficial for mental, emotional, physical health and can be an important part of stress reduction. The world today, with nearly instant communications, the almost constant bad and anxiety promoting news, and the fast pace of data consumption can add up to significantly stress us out and pull us down…or just simple keep us distracted. From what I can see, a ‘timeout’ may be just what the doctor ordered.

Health News Update: Diet can Alter Your Disease Trajectory

By Mark Smith • August 11, 2025
Hey there everyone: As you know, inflammation causes, perpetuates, and/or aggravates every known human condition, including aging. As we age, we become more vulnerable to non-communicable diseases such as heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, dementia, arthritis and more. How we eat can massively reduce our inflammatory burden and promote health as we age. It is your choice. One reason that I keep writing on this is that I keep running into the mindset that these diseases are inevitable and that there is nothing we can do about it. Plus, because there are so many different diets for sale out there, it becomes hard to know what to eat. What is important for you to know is that there is a growing scientific consensus about what to eat, but the media rarely mention it and our public health authorities don’t either. It definitely seems like money is more important than our health. So…consuming an overall low-inflammatory diet is what the science is adding up to show it is the healthiest way to go, plus it actually gives you power over your future. This is a great article worth the time it takes to read it as it is pretty comprehensive. Bottom Line: “To adopt an anti-inflammatory dietary pattern, it is recommended to replace refined grains with whole grains, substitute healthy fats (such as nuts, seeds and fatty fish) for saturated and trans fats and increase the consumption of colorful fruits and vegetables while reducing the intake of sugary and processed foods. Additionally, choosing lean protein sources like fish and legumes over red and processed meats, using herbs and spices (such as turmeric, ginger, garlic and cinnamon) in place of excessive salt and sugar and consuming probiotic-rich foods (such as yogurt and kefir) instead of processed and sugary snacks are advised. These dietary adjustments can help mitigate inflammation and promote overall health.” https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/overview-of-antiinflammatory-diets-and-their-promising-effects-on-noncommunicable-diseases/AA3166846841DCC1B219C063F52E2A7F (anti-inflammatory diet)

Health News Update: When We Eat is as Critical as What We Eat

By Mark Smith • August 4, 2025
New Title

: Dietary Inflammation Drives Diseases and Death

By Mark Smith • July 28, 2025
Health News Update: Dietary Inflammation Drives Diseases and Death 7.28.25 Hello again everyone: Here are two papers of tremendous interest because they reveal the link between dietary inflammation and health. Bear in mind that the two leading causes of death in our country are cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer…directly caused by chronic inflammation. Conclusion Chronic inflammation appears to play a key role in the development of CVD and certain cancers. The results from the present study suggest that eating a diet high in sugar, saturated fat and other pro-inflammatory foods promote inflammation, which may increase the risk of a variety of chronic diseases. The next logical step would be to use the DII (the Dietary Inflammatory Index) to predict CVD outcomes, such as atherosclerosis, and indicators of CVD including intimal thickening, plaque formation and cardiac output in the Asklepios Study. https://www.academia.edu/29422691/Associations_between_dietary_inflammatory_index_and_inflammatory_markers_in_the_Asklepios_Study?email_work_card=view-paper And here is the follow up study they suggested: Conclusions To conclude, an anti-inflammatory diet may diminish the risk of CVD in healthy individuals but may be impossible to reverse the results of several years of exposure to oxidative stress among participants with established MetS (Metabolic Syndrome). Thus, the presented findings suggest that favoring anti-inflammatory diet at early stages of life could be found to act preventively as regards to the development of CVD and challenge us to evaluate potential antioxidant therapies that could be applied on public health action plans. https://www.academia.edu/80264311/Anti_inflammatory_diet_and_10_year_2002_2012_cardiovascular_disease_incidence_The_ATTICA_study?email_work_card=view-paper Bottom Line: Consuming a diet with low inflammatory potential and high anti-inflammatory ingredients shows real and significant protection against the two leading causes of death. Furthermore, other more recent studies with different interventional designs do show the possibility of overcoming the cumulative damage from Metabolic Syndrome, which is an inflammatory condition associated with high cardiovascular risk. The following links show how the whole-foods, unprocessed plant-based Mediterranean diet reduces Metabolic Syndrome and inflammation. It is never too late to eat right to beat disease!! https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4540/6/1/4 https://dmsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13098-023-01052-7 “In this study, participants with MetS with adherence to high-quality and moderate-quality Mediterranean diet were significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality as well as cardiovascular mortality during the follow-up period. Furthermore, in joint analysis of the Mediterranean diet and sedentary behavior or depression, we found that high-quality or moderate-quality Mediterranean diet could attenuate, even reverse the adverse effects of sedentary behavior and depression on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in participants with MetS. Among the components of the MED diet, greater intakes of vegetables, legumes, nuts and high MUFA/SFA (Mono-unsaturated fats like olive oil/Saturated Fats mostly animal based foods) ratio were significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality and greater vegetables intake was significantly associated with lower cardiovascular mortality, while more red/processed meat intake was significantly associated with higher cardiovascular mortality in participants with MetS.”

Plant-Based Diet Quality is Essential

By Mark Smith • July 21, 2025
Health News Update: Plant-Based Diet Quality is Essential 7.21.25 Hello everyone: While science now recognizes that going plant-based is critical to prevention and recovery from any illness, dietary quality is a must…not all plant-based foods are healthy. Please read these highlights carefully: “A new study confirms that healthy plant-based foods can be beneficial for the heart. However, not all plant-based foods qualify as healthy, and the study finds that those foods can be just as damaging to the heart as their non-plant-based counterparts. For many people who choose not to eat animal-based foods for moral reasons, the potential health benefits of a plant-based diet may be considered a happy byproduct or even a reward. The study suggests that this is not necessarily incorrect, as long as one considers that the rules that apply to healthy eating in general also apply to plant-based foods. This study’s biomarkers of concern were cardiac troponin T, cardiac troponin I, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide. Troponins are indicators of cardiac muscle damage, which is a sign of myocardial infarction or heart attack . The peptide is associated with heart failure. Up to 50% of individuals with no apparent history of cardiac issues have subclinical levels of troponins. While these levels are not of immediate concern, they may be interpreted as an (early) warning sign of potential future issues. (Especially cardiac troponin I elevations.) The analysis revealed that adherence to a healthy plant-based diet was associated with a 49% lower likelihood of having elevated levels of cardiac troponin I. People following an unhealthy plant-based diet had a 65% greater chance of elevated levels of cardiac troponin I.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/unhealthy-plant-based-diets-may-significantly-raise-heart-disease-risk?utm_term=feature&utm_source=Sailthru%20Email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=MNT%20Daily%20News&utm_content=2025-06-18&apid=41304130&rvid=a32216b5e1c0c5df3c84080e2b2e161318206dbce6fd663dd747aa557a4753cd https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666667725001047 To clarify this observation, increasing cardiac troponin I levels reveal very early heart damage from systemic inflammation, which if allowed to continue can lead to cardiovascular disease progression…the number one killer on the planet. Thus, consumption of a predominantly unprocessed, plant-based whole-foods diet is largely anti-inflammatory and heart protective, while a diet that may be plant-based but is processed, fried, sugar laden, etc., is what contributes to systemic inflammation and sets the stage for heart, arterial and immune damage. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5419814/ https://www.ajconline.org/article/S0002-9149(02)02253-1/abstract Bottom Line: Quality really matters, so please avoid processed foods from all sources, plant or animal. Be wary and minimize or avoid processed or ultra-processed food products…stick with unprocessed whole-foods such as vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, lentils, etc. to protect your health and your heart. Food is foundational to all aspects of our lives, so please…eat as if your life depended on it…because it truly does. “While many plant-based diets can reduce cardiovascular risk due to their nutritional profile, such as being low in saturated fat, high in fiber , high in potassium , magnesium, calcium, and antioxidants , not all plant-based foods share these benefits,” she added. ( Michelle Routhenstein , who is a registered dietitian specializing in heart disease.)

: Plants Can Save Your Life

By Mark Smith • July 14, 2025
Health News Update: Plants Can Save Your Life 7.14.25 Hello everyone : I am working to give you information that you can easily put into your daily life that can massively improve your health and wellness, as well as speed recovery and promote prevention. Because inflammation can cause, aggravate, and/or perpetuate every known human ailment (including aging), my goal is to empower us all towards our best life by managing our inflammatory and anti-inflammatory biology. Because food is foundational to health, it is important to know what the best dietary approach to health is, and currently the data is all pointing to plants…the only source of phytonutrients adequate to upgrade your health. “Phenolic compounds including phenolic acids, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins are widely distributed in plants as a protective mechanism against biotic and abiotic stresses. Fruits, vegetables, grains, spices and herbs are the richest source of dietary polyphenols. High intake of these foods has been linked to lowered risk of most common degenerative and chronic diseases that are known to be caused by oxidative stress . This review intends to summarize briefly recent progress on the chemistry and biochemistry of dietary polyphenols, their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and the underlying molecular mechanisms of their involvement in inflammation mediated metabolic diseases are also discussed.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214799316300133 Bottom Line: Be sure to eat lots of a lot of different plant-based foods. Make it an integral part of your day and personal health plan. Read what the science says that can lead us all to make the best choices when it comes to fueling our body, our Temple, our only home. We all have nothing to lose and everything to gain by being smart about what we choose to consume day in and day out. Shoot for 90% of your food to be from unprocessed, whole-foods, plant-based sources and watch your health improve. “Dietary polyphenols are one of the most important groups of natural antioxidants and chemo preventive agents found in human diets including fruits, vegetables, grains, tea, essential oils and their derived foods and beverages. Epidemiological, clinical and nutritional studies strongly support the evidence that dietary phenolic compounds enhance human health by lowering risk and preventing the onset of degenerative diseases including cancers, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders.” If you want to be really impressed, and super informed, at the bottom of the paper take a look at the references…click on a few and read the beginning introductions/abstracts…this should help convince you that our present day Standard American Diet is truly S.A.D and empower your shift to a predominantly plant-based lifestyle. Friendly-tip : to make the upgrade to a predominantly plant-based whole-foods plan and to make it easy, start with one meal per week…then move to 3 meals per week, then one per day…or just start with breakfast or lunch…think about and focus on what you can add to your daily food intake…that makes it easier to know what to avoid.
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