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Tag: Inflammation

  • More Than A Buzzword: The Effects of Chronic Inflammation

    More Than A Buzzword: The Effects of Chronic Inflammation

    Inflammation has become a trendy term to discuss a wide range of health and wellness topics. In reality, it is a simple term describing a complex phenomenon more rightfully called “chronic inflammation” that is difficult to detect yet can have devastating effects, contributing to conditions like cardiovascular and autoimmune disease, cancers, and even mental health issues.

    By understanding chronic inflammation and the health risks it poses, it becomes easier to make the lifestyle adjustments necessary to mitigate the damage.

    Chronic vs. Acute Inflammation

    While “inflammation” has become a blanket term for a range of health issues, acute and chronic inflammation have different effects on the body. Acute inflammation results from the body’s response to injury or illness through the production of white blood cells to start the healing process and fight infection.

    Chronic inflammation occurs when the body continues releasing white blood cells because it believes that there is still infection present in the body. This reaction can indicate lingering illness or infection, or, as with autoimmune disorders, the body is reacting to healthy tissue as if it is a threat. In both scenarios, the body targets healthy tissue and organs, resulting in damage.

    The Long-Term Effects of Chronic Inflammation

    The symptoms of chronic inflammation can be dismissed easily, taking the form of stomach issues, brain fog, fatigue, headaches, and weight gain. The more extreme symptoms include slower recovery from illness, skin rashes, and widespread pain and sensitivity. Many people with these symptoms disregard them as part of normal life; however, unaddressed, they can lead to lasting consequences.

    Researchers have discovered that chronic inflammation is involved in the development of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and various cancers that affect the kidneys, lungs, pancreas, and other organs. It also appears with diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease.

    However, chronic inflammation can affect mental health, promoting anxiety disorders and even what some researchers call “inflamed depression.” It can lead to the development of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and dementia, where it can both result from and aid in the development of cognitive decline.

    What Can Trigger Chronic Inflammation

    Unfortunately, the specific causes of chronic inflammation remain unclear. Lifestyle, environment, immune response, and even gender and genetics can affect an individual’s susceptibility to chronic inflammation.

    However, several factors promote its development, with the most obvious and severe being the presence autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis.

    However, even people who do not deal with autoimmune disorders can contend with chronic inflammation resulting from factors including diets high in ultra-processed foods and alcohol consumption and obesity. These factors can damage the gut microbiome, leading to systemic inflammation, a weakened immune system, and even contributing to “leaky gut syndrome.”

    Additionally, smoking or environments polluted with exhaust or chemical fumes can put stress on the lung tissue and trigger an inflammatory reaction. Lifestyles high in stress and low in exercise and good- quality sleep also can trigger similar responses.

    How To Manage Chronic Inflammation.

    While the damage caused by chronic inflammation cannot always be reversed, lifestyle adjustments can prevent further damage and manage the symptoms.

    While there are tests to measure inflammation, they cannot distinguish between acute and chronic inflammation, so the useful information they can provide is highly limited.

    One of the most effective ways to combat chronic inflammation is diet. An unhealthy gut microbiome can be a source of inflammation; however, the current Western diet and its prevalence of ultra-processed foods can damage the gut microbiome, causing inflammation. In contrast, anti-inflammatory diets, such as the Mediterranean diet or any diet emphasizing fish, leafy greens, fruit, and whole grains, reduce the rates of chronic inflammation and improve overall health.

    Another essential aspect of managing chronic inflammation is exercise. Regular, moderate exercise can help relieve stress, regulate the immune system, and increase circulation, easing inflammation. Additionally, regular exercise helps with weight management, which can help reduce inflammation.

    Final Thoughts

    Chronic inflammation can be difficult to detect and devastating to the body. Often, it disguises itself among common symptoms that could be attributed to a wide range of causes. While its impacts on health are becoming more widely known, its causes and the extent of its effects are still being studied.

    However, from what we do know, inflammation is not just a catch-all term for general health issues; it is a very real issue that deteriorates the body and mind.

    However, paying attention to your body’s symptoms and making the necessary adjustments to your lifestyle can go a long way to maintaining your body’s health. The modern world, with its fast pace and emphasis on convenience, might make it easy to dismiss these symptoms, but choosing healthy habits, consuming whole foods, regular exercise, and adequate sleep, among others, will produce long-term satisfaction and quality of life.

  • You Are What You Eat: Ultra-Processed Foods and Their Impact on Health

    You Are What You Eat: Ultra-Processed Foods and Their Impact on Health

    The word “processed” has become the proverbial boogeyman in conversations about food, nutrition, and health for years, but since the earliest civilizations, people have processed foods, producing cheese, olive oil, wine, and more. However, with increased industrialization, the factory approach began to be applied to food and food preparation. This transition led to the creation of a new kind of food, eventually be dubbed “ultra-processed food.”

    Cheap, calorie-dense, and tasty, these foods have become staples in American pantries. However, as they rose in popularity, physicians and researchers became increasingly concerned about the long-term effects on consumers’ health.

    While research is still ongoing, the data collected so far indicate that diets heavy in ultra-processed foods (like the typical American diet) can have highly detrimental effects on overall health and well-being.

    Processed vs. Ultra-Processed

    While “processed” has become a catch-all phrase when discussing food, the definition actually contains quite a bit more nuance. The NOVA Food Classification, developed by the Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition in Brazil in 2009, categorizes foods into unprocessed, minimally processed, and ultra-processed.

    Unprocessed food is food in its natural state, such as raw vegetables and fruits, brown rice, and raw meats. It is simply food that has had nothing done to it.

    Processed is simply food that has had something done to it, including cooking and preservation methods such as pickling and canning. For example, the difference between unprocessed food and processed food is the difference between eating raw carrots and broccoli and a vegetable stir-fry. The vegetables have been changed while retaining their nutritional value.

    In contrast, ultra-processed, the “Frankenstein’s monster” of the food world, is food so fundamentally altered that it is unrecognizable from its original form. Due to the added sodium, sweeteners, fats, hydrogenated oils, and other additives and preservatives, these foods tend to be shelf-stable and consistently tasty. Both factors make them highly appealing to children and busy adults.

    Unfortunately, this definition encompasses the most popular food consumed by Americans. This category includes most packaged snacks, breakfast cereals, soda, energy drinks, and even protein and granola bars. Even foods labeled “low calorie” or “reduced fat” often utilize the same artificial preservatives and sweeteners as many other ultra-processed foods, giving the illusion of health while dubious of actual nutrition.

    The detrimental effects of ultra-processed foods are becoming a growing cause for concern, and research is ongoing on their full effect.

    The Effects of Ultra-Processed Food: Non-Communicable Diseases

    Researchers have become increasingly concerned with the rising rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular and heart disease, fatty liver disease, and type 2 diabetes, including children and adolescents.

    Ultra-processed foods have been shown to be a key contributor to the rising rates of obesity in children and adults, which is associated with many NCDs. One study published by the National Library of Medicine noted that patients with diets higher in ultra-processed foods were at a much higher risk of developing comorbidities of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases, reducing the favorability of their prognosis.

    As one analysis noted, the high sugar content of many ultra-processed foods is associated with a high addictive potential and subsequent increased tolerance and dependence. Sugar, along with salt, fat, and caffeine, is classified as a “hedonic” substance, a substance pursued not just for the taste but for the pleasurable feeling it evokes, of which ultra-processed food is abundant. All of these elements, particularly sugar, have become ubiquitous in the American diet. Because of the hedonic cues provided by these elements and the fundamental lack of nutrition, people find it easy to consistently and frequently over-consume this kind of food. Unfortunately, these eating patterns increases their chances of developing an NCD or multimorbidity like obesity.

    The Effects of Ultra-Processed Food: The Gut Microbiome

    Another area where ultra-processed foods are negatively affecting health is in the gut microbiome. Studies of the gut microbiome have revealed its importance to almost every facet of human health, including mental health through the “gut-brain axis”.

    Research on the effects of ultra-processed foods on the gut microbiome have shown that regular consumption not only damages beneficial bacteria and reduces overall microbial diversity but also promotes the growth of harmful bacterial groups, leading to low-grade systemic inflammation. These changes in the microbiome can also lead to increased intestinal permeability, dubbed “leaky gut,” allowing inflammation to become systemic and leading to issues such as inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic abnormalities.

    Because of the “gut-brain axis,” the regular consumption of ultra-processed foods can also have consequences for mental health. A person with a diet heavy in ultra-processed foods has a greater risk for both anxiety and depressive symptoms. For example, in a meta-analysis in the National Library of Medicine, researchers have contended that artificial flavorings and sweeteners like aspartame, found in “diet” and “sugar-free” drinks, and MSG can contribute to the dysregulation of mood transmitters like dopamine and serotonin, which can contribute to mood disorders.

    While the research is more limited in this area, there is also evidence to suggest that diets heavy in ultra-processed foods contribute to cognitive decline, including the development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

    Next Steps

    Many people are attracted to ultra-processed food due to its taste and accessibility. However, the growing body of evidence indicates these same quick and cheap foods have deleterious health effects.

    A diet consisting of whole grains, lean meats, and fresh produce has been demonstrated to provide the highest nutritional benefit. Additionally, incorporating fermented foods and foods high in fiber can support the essential healthy bacteria in the gut microbiome.

    Some people are daunted by the high costs that eating a diet more centered on whole and minimally processed foods could entail. However, options like nuts, frozen vegetables and fruits, meats such as canned chicken, tuna, and sardines, and dried and canned beans provide great sources of nutrition while being relatively easy on the budget.

    Final Thoughts

    The widespread use and consumption of ultra-processed foods is a fairly recent phenomenon, meaning that research is still ongoing on the long-term effects these items have on human health. However, the data that we have now strongly indicates that the regular consumption of ultra-processed foods has devastating effects on both physical and mental well-being.

    While healthy eating may seem complicated and daunting, focusing meals around minimally processed and whole foods is an effective approach to achieving a healthy diet.

    In the modern day, avoiding all ultra-processed foods is practically impossible. However, being informed about ultra-processed foods and their effects on human health empowers people to make the informed decisions necessary for themselves and their loved ones.