Chronic Inflammation 🔥 What You Need to Know

Nearly every chronic disease in the world today can be linked back to this same thing.

🔥 Chronic Inflammation 🔥

3 out of 5 people worldwide die because of chronic inflammatory diseases, and the World Health Organization ranks these diseases as the greatest threat to human health.

Chronic inflammation is at play in:

🔹 Diabetes

🔹 Heart Disease

🔹 Autoimmune Disease

🔹 Arthritis

🔹 Eczema

🔹 IBD (Crohn’s & Colitis)

🔹 Depression

The list goes on….

But here’s what you really need to know.

Chronic inflammation can be subtle as it gradually builds up over time. Even in the absence of a chronic disease, inflammation can contribute to:

🔸 Fatigue

🔸 Achiness

🔸 Sleep Problems

🔸 Anxiety

🔸 Weight Gain

🔸 Digestive Issues

Or other vague and confusing health issues.

Simply stated - reducing chronic inflammation is fundamental for optimal health and longevity.

🔥 Why is the inflammation there in the first place? What’s causing IT?

It takes detective work to answer this question for any given person—and that is precisely my job as a Functional Medicine physician.

I routinely use expanded laboratory testing to evaluate the many possible underlying causes of chronic inflammation. To give you an idea, here’s a partial list of some of the possible causes I look for:

1️⃣ Infections

Many infections can evade the immune system and persist in the body over time—including bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. I use functional stool testing to screen for gut infections and a variety of blood testing to look for systemic infections. Two of my most common findings are reactivated Epstein-Barr Virus and Candida (yeast).

2️⃣ Toxins

Exposure to low levels of toxins or irritants over time can aggravate the immune system and cause inflammation. I frequently order heavy metal panels on my patients as well as panels which provide insight as to how well their detoxification pathways are working.

3️⃣ Diet

Here is a fundamental principle of my practice - every time you eat or drink something, you are making a decision to either increase or decrease inflammation in your body. Diets high in refined sugar or trans fats are associated with a higher production of inflammatory molecules.

4️⃣ Low Sex Hormones

Maintaining levels of hormones like estrogen and testosterone can reduce the risk of inflammatory diseases. Emerging data has shown that this is of special importance in the first 8-10 years of menopause in women.

5️⃣ Poor Gut Health

Inflammation in the digestive tract can compromise the integrity of the gut lining, allow passage of toxins or other molecules into circulation, and trigger systemic inflammation. In addition to screening for infections, Functional Stool Testing tests several different markers of inflammation in the gut.

6️⃣ Obesity

Visceral fat tissue (the type that builds up in the abdomen) acts like an endocrine organ, releasing inflammatory compounds. I am more likely to see signs of chronic inflammation in my patients with a “apple” shape with higher abdominal fat.

🔥 Stay tuned for more blogs in this series focusing on lifestyle measures and supplements to reduce inflammation.

Uncovering the root cause of chronic inflammation is a highly individualized process. As a board-certified Integrative & Functional Medicine physician, I can help you “think outside of the box and dig deeper with a variety of laboratory testing to help uncover the underlying root causes of inflammation in your body, and create a plan personalized for you that goes beyond the prescription pad to incorporate diet/lifestyle change, nutritional supplements, holistic therapies, health coaching and more!