10 things you need to know about inflammation

You’ve heard the buzz, but not sure what the heck it really means? It starts when your immune system goes rogue and fights against your body rather than working to heal it. These answers through 10 things you need to know about inflammation, will help keep you strong.

#1 WHAT IS INFLAMMATION? AND IS IT GOOD OR BAD FOR YOUR BODY?

Inflammation can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Let’s say you sprain your wrist: The swelling and tenderness signal that your immune system is doing its job, and remind you to stay away from tennis till your injury heals. Same when you slice your finger instead of the bagel, or when your appendix becomes infected.

What’s happening is that your immune cells travel to the injury and summon chemicals and proteins called cytokines to attack the problem. Blood flow increases and white blood cells swarm the injured or infected area to begin the healing process; because fluid comes along with those cells, the area becomes swollen. This is an acute inflammatory response, and it’s needed for good health.

But sometimes your body doesn’t fully recover from these injuries and illnesses, and for reasons not yet understood, you end up with less intense but chronic body-wide inflammation. An unhealthy lifestyle can also bring on chronic inflammation, as can exposure to toxins like cigarettes. While acute inflammation helps you heal, the chronic variety actually contributes to illness, such as heart disease, and can make existing conditions even worse.

#2 CAN DOCTORS TEST FOR CHRONIC INFLAMMATION?

They can, but not enough do so regularly, says Holly Andersen, MD, director of education and outreach at the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute at New York–Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The test, which measures C-reactive protein (CRP), is a simple blood draw and can be done at the same time as other tests. (For heart disease risk, there’s a high-sensitivity test.) It’s not a perfect measure, but Dr. Andersen feels it should be part of gauging your overall risk of heart problems. Ask for it!

#3 WHEN IT’S CHRONIC, WHAT DISEASES ARE LINKED TO IT?

From A (allergies) to U (ulcerative colitis), the list is long, including stops at some biggies. It’s connected not only to heart disease but also to diabetes as well as such autoimmune diseases as rheumatoid arthritis. It’s even linked to depression and endometriosis. Inflammation doesn’t necessarily cause these, but it may be a significant player.

With your heart, for example, it’s thought that plaque buildup in the arteries is an inflammatory process, says Dr. Andersen. Then an invasion of antibodies can cause a bit of plaque to break off and head to the heart, and bang: a heart attack. “Inflammation helps to explain why some people with high cholesterol don’t get heart disease while some people with low cholesterol do,” says Dr. Andersen. It also explains why there’s a higher rate of heart attacks after the flu. If you’ve ever suffered a bout of that illness, you know it makes you hurt all over. The virus attacks everywhere, causing body-wide inflammation and increasing the chances of a heart problem.

#4 IS THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET FOR REAL? THERE’S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT IT.

While hard science has yet to produce the menu of “magic foods” you might hear about, what you eat has a big impact on inflammation, says Dayong Wu, MD, PhD, a scientist in the Nutritional Immunology Laboratory at Tufts University. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and fatty fish (think cold-water varieties like salmon) or ish oil all help. “Basically, if you follow the Mediterranean diet, you’re following an anti-inflammatory plan,” says Dr. Andersen. And compounds in green tea, turmeric, and naringenin (a lavonoid, or plant chemical, found in citrus fruits) can suppress inflammation and improve immune function, according to lab studies done at Tufts. Certain spices have been found to help as well: ginger, cayenne, and cinnamon.

#5 THERE ARE PROBABLY BAD FOODS TOO,RIGHT?

No surprise, the standard American diet (ironically known as SAD) is a major contributor to inflammation. That means fried foods, sugary drinks, processed meats, and simple (refined) carbohydrates like white bread and pasta. When you eat the sweet stuff or simple carbs, you produce insulin, which brings your blood sugar back to normal levels. But eat too much, and the insulin receptors “stop paying attention,” Dr. Andersen says. The resulting insulin resistance, a signal of inflammation, puts you at risk of diabetes and heart disease.

#6 WHAT’S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN WEIGHT AND INFLAMMATION?

Among its other evil acts, inflammation causes weight gain and makes it harder to drop pounds. But it’s worth the effort to try. In one review of 13 studies, all showed that weight loss led to a drop in CRP. Obesity is the villain in insulin resistance and inflammation; the enlarged fat cells promote production of a bunch of different pro-inflammatory molecules, says Dr. Wu. So shedding extra pounds can be helpful. But you need to exercise as well; other research shows that you get the most payoff from the combo.

#7 HOW MUCH EXERCISE IS IDEAL?

Aerobic exercise is best for inflammation, says Malcolm B. Taw, MD, director of the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine Westlake Village. If you’ve been sedentary, start by walking for 10 minutes and build up to about 30. A recent study found that even 20 minutes on the treadmill and not at breakneck speed reduced inflammation. Try for 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise (like fast walking), suggest scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or mix it up with vigorous workouts like running or fast bicycling and cut your time.

#8 ISN’T THERE SOME PILL YOU CAN JUST POP?

Actually, certain people are already taking an anti-inflammatory pill—aspirin, sometimes prescribed as a heart attack preventive. “It improves survival for both sexes, which may be due to its anti-inflammatory effects,” says Dr. Andersen. But don’t start a regimen without talking to your doctor. Aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen can cause gastrointestinal and bleeding problems. Also, if you’re taking a statin, like atorvastatin (Lipitor) or simvastatin (Zocor), it too reduces inlammation (along with lowering bad cholesterol).

#9 DOES STRESS MAKE INFLAMMATION WORSE?

Yep, it sure does. Stress interferes with the normal working of cortisol, a hormone that regulates inflammation. The effects can be very dramatic. An Ohio State study compared two groups of women whose breakfasts were either inflammation-inducing (loaded with saturated fat) or not. Not surprisingly, inflammation levels rose more for the sat fat eaters than for the healthier crew unless those healthier eaters had undergone a stressful event the day before. Then their levels rose just as much as those of the unhealthy breakfast eaters. And the tensions weren’t big deals: a traffic ticket, a problem with a coworker, and even in one case a child who’d drawn on the wall with a permanent marker! “But what was key was that the stress was ongoing. The issue wasn’t resolved,” says Martha Belury, PhD, a professor of human nutrition at The Ohio State University and one of the coauthors of the study.

In another study, though, people who scored higher on measures of positive feelings had lower levels of inflammatory markers. You can’t force a bright outlook, but it’s worth focusing on boosting your mood: Walk in nature, listen to music, look at art, or do a kindness for a friend.

#10 WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU SKIMP ON SLEEP?

In another Ohio State study, couples who hadn’t slept enough the night before not only suffered a spike in inflammation they also had a harder time resolving arguments calmly. You need enough z’s for the body to have time to repair itself. Even after just one night of too little rest, you’re not only crabby and forgetful, but actually more likely to get sick. Takeaway: To stay healthy (and have fewer fights!), turn off the TV, stash your phone, and try to save your worries for the daytime.