Daily Perricone

Inflammation, which is the response of the body’s immune system to infection or irritation, exists in a very wide spectrum.  At the extreme end it causes visible redness and swelling, such as in sunburn or an injured finger.  On the low end of the spectrum, the inflammation is invisible; we can’t see it and we can’t feel it.  But it does exist, and it causes a host of health-related problems.  The bright red and painful sunburn that exists at the extreme high end is usually present for only a short period of time. Physicians refer to this type of inflammation as “acute inflammation.” The invisible inflammation that exists at the low end of the spectrum is usually present for longer periods of time and is termed “chronic inflammation.”

The question you may be asking is, “If it is invisible, and we can’t feel it, then how do we know that this low-grade inflammation exists?”  The answer is simple: some of this inflammation can be detected under a microscope.  However, low-grade inflammation can also be invisible even with a microscope because it exists on a molecular level, but it can be detected through chemical tests using special instruments.

Research indicated that the effects of this chronic, low-grade, invisible inflammation is at the basis of aging and age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain forms of cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and autoimmune diseases-and even wrinkled, sagging skin.

However, it doesn’t stop there.  I am now categorically stating that this same chronic, low-grade, invisible inflammation is at the very basis of excess body fat, out-of-control appetites, food cravings, food addictions, diabetes, and the inability to lose excess body weight.

If that is the case, you may be thinking, “Why don’t I just go ahead and take an ibuprofen tablet and get thin?” Unfortunately, it is not that simple-especially when you consider this inflammation is not just a one-time event reacting to a one-time cause.  Our bodies are under a constant barrage, a continual assault of physical insults resulting in this inflammation-beginning with that bag of potato chips and ending with the creation of a veritable factory in our body whose one job is to grow more fat cells and produce more inflammatory chemicals.

The answer lies in learning to recognize and avoid the factors that are creating the inflammation in the first place, and then, through natural means, reducing the existing inflammation to successfully lose the excess body fat.  By embracing the anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle, you will not only lose the weight, you will dramatically alter your quality of life-and increase your life expectancy.

The effect of this low-grade, invisible inflammation (also referred to as “subclinical” inflammation) has been at the cutting edge of medical science for the last decade, and it has been the focal point of my own research for the past two decades.  After years of either being ignored or relegated to a “by-product” of the disease process, cellular inflammation is finally coming to the attention of the mainstream media.  What are your questions relating to inflammation?