Think Pro-Immunity, NOT Anti-Inflammation

Inflammation and antioxidants are two of the most commonly spoken buzzwords in today’s wellness world. But why? Why should you care about inflammation, and what’s the deal with being against oxidants?

BLUF (bottom line up front): oxidative stress causes inflammation, which is at the core of all chronic disease. In order to understand the recommendations for nutrition and other self-care tools suggested on this site, there has to be a baseline understanding of how the human body maintains health, and therefore how chronic disease develops.

Disease is nothing more than a state of dis-ease. The body is no longer functioning in a state of harmony, or what is referred to as homeostasis – the tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as maintained by physiological processes. In other words, disease occurs when the body can no longer maintain balance with its environment.

Homeostasis is lost when necessary responses such as inflammation and stress become unregulated, turning vital, life-saving processes into physiologically devastating enemies. The inflammatory response is a process that keeps us alive. It fights infection, destroys cancer cells, and heals wounds from physical injury. It also allows us to live in harmony with not just the external world, but with the trillions of organisms in and on our body, called our microbiome. Learn more about the friends you didn’t know you had in my article “Bugs are a Man’s Best Friend.”

Without inflammation, the human organism could not survive. But when inflammation becomes uncontrolled and chronic, the body is in a constant state of emergency, favoring oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress is the disturbance in the balance between the production of oxidants and antioxidant defenses. Oxidants, also known as reactive oxygen species or free radicals, are a normal product of cellular metabolism. Most of the oxygen consumed by a cell is converted to water. An estimated 1-3% forms free radicals, or oxidants containing an unpaired electron, which scavenge the body looking for a partner.

At appropriate concentrations, oxidants can be useful in controlling inflammation, killing bacteria, removing toxins, and regulating blood vessel tone. But when these physiological levels are exceeded, oxidants can damage proteins, lipids, and DNA, causing cell destruction and death (apoptosis). As one might guess, increases in cellular damage and death pose grave health consequences. In contrast to oxidants, antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, preventing oxidants from being excessively produced.

Oxidative stress leads to chronic inflammation, causing a rise in pro-inflammatory immune cells called cytokines. Excessive release of these cytokines further promotes a pro-oxidative state, creating a vicious cycle. Chronic inflammation is a highly researched area because it is associated with the development of every chronic disease, including heart disease, cancer, autoimmune disorders, and neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Although you do NOT have to be obese to be inflamed, obesity is actually a sign of chronic inflammation. When inflammation becomes uncontrolled and chronic, the body is in a constant state of alarm. Think about it. Inflammation sends the troops to protect and heal. When that process is activated, your body is preparing to go to war. In order to supply the troops, resources need to be diverted away from homeostasis to ensure battle readiness. The calories ingested that would be otherwise used for healthy functioning are now stored in fat tissue, ready to fight the false threat posed by chronic inflammation.

Several of the books I recommend in my resource list discuss in detail the science behind how the body changes to support chronic inflammation, and how these changes are deleterious to health. For the purpose of this article, just appreciate what the process of inflammation can do, but respect its power and the consequences that occur when chronic inflammation goes unchecked.

So how do we minimize oxidative stress and control inflammation? You guessed it – healthy lifestyle choices! The most common causes of inflammation include poor diet of processed foods, sugar and animal protein that is also low in nutrient dense plants, inactivity, physical and emotional stress, negative thinking, excessive alcohol intake, and smoking. Surprisingly, additional causes include many commonly prescribed medications – even anti-inflammatory agents themselves! Yeah. You heard me correctly. The medications used to treat inflammation ultimately worsen the process they are attempting to treat. More on this in future articles.

To sum it up – inflammation underlies all chronic disease, and the best way to both treat and prevent it is with healthy lifestyle choices.

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