Inflammation is your body’s way of protecting itself from harm, such as infections or injuries. When you cut your finger or catch a cold, inflammation helps your body heal by sending extra blood, nutrients, and immune cells to the affected area.
This type of inflammation is short-term and usually disappears once the problem is resolved. However, when inflammation sticks around for weeks, months, or even years without any real threat to fight, it can start to cause problems.
This is called chronic inflammation, and researchers have found it plays a major role in many serious diseases.
Chronic inflammation doesn’t look the same as the redness and swelling you might see with a wound. Instead, it happens quietly inside the body. Scientists have discovered that when the immune system stays active for too long, it starts to attack healthy tissues and organs.
This constant state of low-level inflammation damages cells and leads to diseases like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and even cancer.
One of the clearest links between chronic inflammation and disease is in heart health. Studies have shown that inflammation can damage blood vessels over time, making it easier for cholesterol to build up and form plaques.
These plaques can block blood flow, leading to heart attacks or strokes. A groundbreaking study in 2017, called the CANTOS trial, revealed that reducing inflammation in people with heart disease lowered their risk of having another heart attack—even if their cholesterol levels stayed the same.
This finding emphasized that inflammation is not just a side effect but a key driver of heart disease.
Chronic inflammation is also closely tied to type 2 diabetes. Research shows that inflammation interferes with how cells respond to insulin, the hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels.
When this happens, blood sugar stays high, leading to insulin resistance and eventually diabetes. A 2018 study highlighted that people with higher levels of inflammatory markers like CRP were more likely to develop diabetes, even if they didn’t have other major risk factors like obesity.
Cancer is another disease where inflammation plays a hidden but harmful role. Chronic inflammation can damage DNA, the blueprint for how cells function. This damage increases the chances of cells growing out of control, which is how tumors form.
For example, chronic inflammation caused by infections like Helicobacter pylori in the stomach or hepatitis viruses in the liver is known to increase the risk of stomach and liver cancers.
A 2016 review of cancer research found that nearly 25% of cancers worldwide are linked to chronic inflammation caused by infections or other factors.
Autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis are perhaps the most obvious examples of how chronic inflammation harms the body. In these conditions, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy joints, tissues, or organs, causing pain, swelling, and long-term damage.
Research has shown that treatments targeting inflammation, such as medications that block specific inflammatory proteins, can significantly improve symptoms and slow disease progression.
Even the brain is not immune to the effects of chronic inflammation. Scientists now believe it plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease and depression.
In Alzheimer’s, inflammation in the brain damages neurons, contributing to memory loss and cognitive decline. A 2020 study found that people with higher levels of inflammation in midlife were more likely to develop dementia as they aged.
The good news is that chronic inflammation can often be managed or reduced through lifestyle changes. Regular exercise, a healthy diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods, stress reduction, and adequate sleep can all help calm the immune system.
While chronic inflammation is a complex process, understanding its role in disease development is an important step in protecting your health. Recognizing it as a silent but powerful force behind many illnesses can empower you to take action for a healthier, longer life.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies that whole grain foods could help increase longevity, and vitamin D supplements strongly reduce cancer death.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies about natural coconut sugar that could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness, and whey and soy protein may reduce inflammation in older people.
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