Is Your Diet Leaving Your Health Vulnerable to Chronic Inflammation?

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Guest post with Tzabia Siegel - nutritionist, life coach and weight loss specialist

Healthynomics: What is the relationship between the body’s inflammation response and whole body health?

Tzabia Siegel: The body’s inflammatory response is a key part of the immune system and present as a first line of defense against invasion. A healthy inflammatory response is obvious when you get a cut or injury. The swelling, redness, and pain are a natural action to increase the blood flow to the injured area, sending an onslaught of defenses against the invading organism. The immune system is often likened to an army that is designed to defend the natural order of our body. Using that metaphor, consider what happens when there is chronic inflammation.

Our immunity (the army) is defending our body (the nation). With a constant state of war (which results in chronic inflammation) our well-trained and sufficiently stocked army (immune system) starts to run out of resources. As a result, defense is less effective and we become vulnerable to foreign invasion. On the sidelines, the nation, whose resources are too heavily pumped into defence is going into a state of chaos. There is dysfunction happening in numerous systems of the body, showing up in any number of symptoms. So the problem with inflammation is when it is chronic. The signals of defense never turn off and the resulting chemical and electrical signals trigger a flux of negative consequences.

Inflammation and Disease – Andrew Weil, M.D.

HN: What are the symptoms of chronic inflammation?

TS: A noticeable symptom is pain. Where there is pain, there is inflammation. The following are examples of inflammatory conditions that are clearly marked by pain:

• joint or muscle stiffness and immobility
• arthritis
• headaches
• inflammatory bowel conditions such as IBS, Crohn’s and colitis
• respiratory conditions such asthma and bronchitis
• nerve-related conditions such as sciatica and shingles

But beyond the obvious pain signals, inflammation is associated with a number of dysfunctions that are not so much a symptom of chronic inflammation as they are a marker that inflammation is present. These include:

• Being overweight, especially around the waist – – the fat cells are a site of production of pro-inflammatory chemicals
• Frequent infection such as colds and coughs that linger for weeks
• Skin issues such as acne, exzema, dermatitis, psoriasis, hives
• Sunburn
• Chronic digestive issues such as cramping, bloating, excessive gas, constipation and/or diarrhea, leaky gut
• Infertility
• Endometriosis
• Osteoporosis
• Brain degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, dementia, even age-related cognitive decline
• Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome
• Cancer – research continues but there have been some speculation of the role of inflammation in particular cancers especially – colorectal, cervical, liver, prostate, and gastric
• Heart disease – the best markers for identifying risk for heart attacks are not blood pressure and cholesterol alone but increases in those along with inflammatory markers such as CRP (C-reactive Protein) and homocysteine.

HN: What foods are particularly good at reducing inflammation levels in the body?

TS: There is a lot more to understand about how foods play a role in inflammation and which ones promote or heal it, but what seems to be established is that the inflammatory factor of a food (whether it increases or decreases inflammation) is dependent on these 5 factors:

1. The amount and type of fat that the food contains
2. The content of essential fatty acids
3. The density of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants
4. How it rates on the glycemic index
5. Its natural anti-inflammatory compounds

Some of the foods that rate high in anti-inflammation are:

• Mono-unsaturated rich fats and nuts such as olive oil, avocado, hazelnuts, macademia nuts, pecans, almonds
• Omega 3 rich foods such as flaxseed, chia seed and their oils, fatty fish such as black cod, salmon, herring and mackerel, as well as fish oil (for a full list of which fish are healthy to eat, see my blog post)
• Antioxidant rich vegetables and fruits such as carrot, strawberries, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, red pepper (eat raw), cantaloupe, blueberries, cherries, pineapple
• Vitamin and mineral rich greens – kale, collards, broccoli, cabbage, spinach
• Spices and herbs that have natural anti-inflammatory compounds – particularly rich are turmeric and ginger but you can also include rosemary, oregano, cinnamon, parsley, chives, garlic, cloves, cardamom, black pepper

In general if you stick with a close to nature diet with a strong emphasis on plant based foods to balance the inflammatory properties of animal foods, you will be on the right track.

HN: Are there any supplements, herbs or spices that may help with inflammation?

TS: The spices mentioned above, particularly turmeric and ginger are best used in encapsulated form if you have a therapeutic issue. The curcuminoids that are active anti-inflammatory chemicals in turmeric can be difficult to absorb, so I suggest a form that has been made more bioavailable, such as AOR’s CurEcumin.

SierraSil is an excellent clay-based, mineral-rich supplement that I have had excellent results with for joint pain and gastrointestinal issues.

New Chapter’s Zyflamend is also a great choice, particularly for joint pain but I have also used it for respiratory issues with good success.

Aloe vera, bromelain and fish oil (with a mixture of EPA and DHA) are other commonly used anti-inflammatories. (Fish oil will thin the blood and should be used only under supervision if on blood thinning medications).

HN: It is thought that inflammation can lead to disturbed gut flora. What significance does gut flora play in whole body health?

TS: The good bacteria of the gut communicate with the immune system across the intestinal wall, thus they are a key player in immune health and in regulating inflammation. They also play a role in the breakdown of foodstuff in the intestine, the manufacturing of some vitamins such as B12 and K and the general well being of bowel, ensuring a proper transit of waste material.

Tzabia Siegel, BAPhEd, DHN, NNCP is The Food Coach – nutritionist, life coach, weight loss specialist. Tzabia is the clinical nutritionist at the Toronto Athletic Club Sports Medicine Clinic and a corporate health educator for the Cambridge Group of Clubs. You can find her blog at www.foodcoach.ca.