It’s long been a secret problem. TIME Magazine called it “The Secret Killer”
…and here’s how to help protect against it

In 2004, TIME Magazine ran an astonishing story about inflammation and its destructive effect on the body’s health.*

In the years following TIME’s story, medical science went on to find even more links between chronic inflammation and highly debilitating conditions, including allergies, chronic aches and pains, IBS and others. 

– now scientist are discovering it’s the cause of so many different kinds of pain and serious disease

Chronic inflammation is linked to a wide variety of conditions, including many types of pain, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and even gum disease!

For the longest time, chronic inflammation remained hidden and unknown as an extremely serious health problem. It wasn’t until not too long ago that it was discovered to be so dangerous. So much so that TIME Magazine even published a story about it on its cover.* Now, scientists are finding more and more links between chronic inflammation and a wide variety of conditions including:

• Many types of pain
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Cancer
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Gum disease

Although inflammation hasn’t been pinpointed as the cause of all these conditions, it has been well-documented* as playing a part in them – often intensifying the symptoms and effects.

So what exactly is inflammation, how can it affect you and how can you help reduce it?

First things first: What is inflammation?
Inflammation is your immune system’s response to damage. This damage can arise from trauma, bacterial, viral or parasitic infection, stress, genetic abnormalities, metabolic disorders and a host of other sources. Certain lifestyle conditions can also contribute to inflammation: poor diet, stress, being overweight, a sedentary lifestyle and smoking. Inflammation can cause redness, swelling, heat, pain and loss of function.

When you’re injured, the inflammatory response immediately moves into action. White blood cells rush to the scene of the damage and begin to destroy the damaged cells, while sending out chemical signals that call for more help. Part of this response process creates free radicals, which attack the damaged area and help correct the problem. Finally, at a certain point, the body overcomes the damage, repairs the tissues, and equilibrium is restored.

However, if the body can’t overcome the damage and restore equilibrium, then the inflammation continues unabated. Those free radicals, instead of stopping, continue attacking the body’s tissues, and now start damaging healthy cells. This new damage leads to yet the continuation of inflammation, which mistakenly causes more damage, which results in further inflammation, and so on. This is the cycle of chronic, never ending inflammation. And it’s what causes all the serious trouble.

How chronic inflammation worsens your health over time
Though you may not see or even feel chronic inflammation, it could be silently causing trouble within your body right now. Over time, it can result in two kinds of damage: first to the immediate area of your body that’s chronically inflamed; and second to your overall health as well. Common problems can include:

• Heart Problems – chronic inflammation is believed to contribute to the formation of plaque in blood vessels, as well as the formation of blood clots. When these blood clots break free into the blood, they can block blood flow to the brain or heart, resulting in a heart attack or stroke.
• Brain Problems – chronic inflammation plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease, yet scientists are still uncertain what that role is. However, one theory is that inflammation kicks into gear because of the plaques and tangles in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. In trying to solve the problem, inflammation just makes matters worse.
• Joint Problems – chronic inflammation of the joints can result in destroyed ligaments and tendons, damage to joint cartilage and bone and even bone erosion. This leads to pain, deformity and an inability to perform daily tasks – drastically affecting quality of life.
• Mouth and Gum Problems – dental researchers once thought bacterial infections caused gum disease, but now it is thought that some of the more severe symptoms of gum disease are attributable to chronic inflammation. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, report that inflammation can even break down bone and connective tissue that keep the teeth in place.
• Emotional Health Problems – chronic inflammation may even play a role in your emotions. Scientists at the University of Illinois (Champaign/Urbana) discovered that an enzyme secreted by the immune system caused inflammation-related, depression-like symptoms in mice. Because inflammation is linked with conditions often accompanied by depression – such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease – researchers expect that this study will provide insight into chronic inflammation’s role in depression.
• Cancer Problems – although researchers haven’t discovered the exact mechanism of chronic inflammation’s role in cancer, they believe it encourages cancer growth. According to the American Cancer Society, inflammation creates just the right conditions for cancer cells to grow and multiply.