Vol: 2 - Skillful aging newsletter
I hope you are having a fantastic day!
What are we talking about this week?: chronic inflammation
Why is it important to your health?": It affects your current state of health, aging and disease status
What skillful action can I take?: Incorporate anti-inflammatory foods, avoid pro-inflammatory foods, engage in skillful exercise and get enough restorative rest
You are equipped with an immune system that keeps you safe and healthy in the face of many threats, large and small. These threats range from the common cold or a minor cut all the way up to cancer or neurodegenerative diseases. Your immune system is on duty 24/7 and when faced with one of these threats it responds with inflammation. Your immune system comes to the rescue by releasing inflammatory cells that heal damaged tissue and fight disease. This is a natural process that results in your body healing [1]. However, inflammation comes in two flavors. The first type is referred to as acute, as described above, and is beneficial and necessary for you to regain good health after injury or illness. The second type is referred to as chronic and can be thought of as your immune system being "stuck" in the "on" position. In other words your immune system continues to send out inflammatory cells even though there is no active injury or illness. You can think of it as:
1) acute: short term, targeted activation of the immune response that results in healing
2) chronic: long term, system wide activation of the immune response that is damaging to your cells and bodily systems
Chronic inflammation comes from many sources, 3 of the most prevalent include:
1) Unhealthy states like being overweight or under chronic stress
2) toxins from processed foods, unhealthy fats, refined oils & sugars and environmental pollution
3) ongoing infection as in the case of a viral or auto-imune disease
Why is chronic inflammation important?
The damage from chronic inflammation can be serious and includes: increased risk of the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) chronic kidney disease, various types of cancer; depression; neurodegenerative, autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis and sarcopenia [2]. If you believe you may be subject to chronic inflammation there are tests your doctor can perform to detect the presence of biomarkers that are associated with chronic inflammation.
The good news is that all the behaviors that support your good health and skillful aging will also have a positive effect on chronic inflammation. In other words:
The triad of goodness:
healthful nutrition (whole, minimally processed foods that are balanced and sufficient in micro & macro nutrients and in the proper portions)
skillful exercise (consistent movement that elicits your body's adaptive response)
restorative rest (adequate, high quality sleep and appropriate exercise recovery)
What can I do?
Because this newsletter is dedicated to your health and skillful aging I'm going to introduce a new segment called Choose your own health adventure!
Each week I will make practical suggestions on how you will be able to take advantage of the knowledge I'm sharing with you. Yes! homework! I will suggest several "adventures" that will result in you getting healthier. Choose at least 1 or tackle all of them.
1) Incorporate more anti-inflammatory foods and avoid pro-inflammatory foods
swap 1 item of processed food from your weekly menu with 1 item of whole food. For example: instead of having a bowl of chips, have some sliced bell peppers with hummus or a small serving of nuts. Instead of having a soda, have a seltzer water. Instead of having ice cream try some dark chocolate and blackberries.
2) Engage in skillful movement (above your normal exercise).
Go for a walk, do 15 minutes of yoga, practice diaphragmatic breathing for 5 minutes, stretch your legs...
3) Ensure your rest is adequate and restorative
Keep a sleep journal for a week: A few things to jot down about good sleep habits: get enough quality sleep, try to keep a regular schedule, minimize screen time 1 hour before sleep, make sure your room is dark, quiet and cool.
As you achieve a higher state of health and wellness your body will turn down the inflammation. Of course, if you have any health concerns, immediate or long term, you should consider consulting a doctor or other health care provider.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I love talking (and writing) about this stuff.
Be well, George
[1] https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-you-should-pay-attention-to-chronic-inflammation/
