Most Chronic Diseases are Linked to Inflammation

Inflammation, Chronic Inflammation, and Chronic Disease

One of the most important health discoveries of the past 20 years has been that the immune system’s inflammatory process is involved in nearly every mental and physical health problem we encounter today.

Most people don’t realize that it’s our immune system that causes inflammation. It causes inflammation to deal with various threats and injuries. If this process goes on over time, it becomes chronic inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is a leading cause of chronic disease. It’s an underlying factor in a huge number of chronic diseases that plague us today.

Chronic Inflammation Damages Our Health

Chronic inflammation is a condition that can influence all your organs, tissues, and cells.

Unlike the normal inflammatory response that happens after an injury and goes away within a few days, chronic inflammation is an abnormal response that can last years. It’s an acute inflammation that goes unchecked and continues. The underlying processes over time damage the function of our bodies and brains.

Here are just a few of the ways chronic inflammation can affect your body:

• Chronic inflammation is due to abnormal function disrupting our immune system, causing it to function sub-optimally.
• Fatigue, depression, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and poor appetite have all been linked to chronic inflammation.
• Heart disease and other neuro-degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease have been linked to long term chronic inflammation.

Our Daily Habits Help Reduce Inflammation

It’s impossible to prevent chronic disease completely, but we do have the power to reduce your risk every day.

Taking action steps like eating right and exercising every day have been shown to dramatically decrease chronic inflammation and your likelihood of developing a chronic disease.

Know we’re here to help you live an active and fulfilling life. We understand that it’s hard to get enough exercise each day when you’re in pain. We hope you’ll take a moment to schedule a movement assessment with us so we can create a plan to help you start moving and feeling better.

Science Source: Chronic Inflammation in the Etiology of Disease Across the Life Span. Nature Med. 2019.