Inflamación crónica: aprenda a detectarla

Chronic inflammation: learn how to spot it

Chronic inflammation can determine the difference between a healthy, agile and vigorous body, or a body that deteriorates more every day as it accumulates ailments and whose performance becomes insufficient.

Until relatively recently, inflammation began to gain importance because it was found to be the basis of some unexplained diseases such as fibromyalgia.

Acute inflammation is a natural response of the body and is positive because it activates all the body's mechanisms for healing, curative healing and recovery from any abuse that our body has suffered.

If you cut your finger, for example, you will see that the wound fills with water, which is plasma, that is, the body's first aid, which comes with its proteins and restoratives to repair the affected area. Little by little you will see that the inflammation is reduced to a concentrated part and then other proteins, the cytokines, arrive to check that there is no infection and that everything is in order to complete the recovery.

Now imagine that you have thousands of these cuts spread throughout your body, all over the place. The pain and exhaustion of a constant discomfort, often invisible because it is not on the surface of the skin, makes life impossible. This is what chronic inflammation is all about.

Causes

  • Feeding

Img.: Buffetcrush on Pixabay

The body may produce what are called advanced glycation end products (AGEs ). These byproducts are formed in situations of sustained hyperglycemia (permanently elevated sugar levels) and/or high oxidative stress, and are eventually eliminated, in part, by the kidneys. In addition, AGE levels increase with age, diabetes, kidney failure, heart failure (HF) or smoking, among many other processes. These products can accumulate in the skin, blood vessels, nervous system, heart and kidney.

How to prevent the occurrence of these advanced glycation byproducts:

  1. Stopping consuming sugars with proteins or sugars with fats.
  2. Avoiding consuming frozen (denatured) products
  3. Cooking at low temperatures. When heating and reheating processed foods at high temperatures, the amount of these by-products increases.
  4. Quitting smoking.

  • The size of fat cells

To do this, you need to lose excess fat stored in your body, as excess fat is one of the main causes of inflammation. We have both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory hormones that are secreted in a fat cell and normally live in harmonious proportions.

Humans have a finite number of fat cells and when there is an abnormality, they enlarge and secrete too many pro-inflammatory hormones such as Wnt5A (a hormone produced when fat cells enlarge) and which in turn triggers the release of a number of inflammatory components in said fat cell that will be absorbed into the bloodstream to travel through the body. 

This process also causes insulin resistance, as fat cells and all cells in general become insulin resistant. In other words, there will be high levels of sugar floating around the bloodstream, causing organic and cellular damage, and it is not surprising that those who suffer from this have a feeling of generalized and permanent fatigue.

  • Poor gut health

When there is an imbalance in the intestine, good bacteria begin to become scarce and bad bacteria to proliferate. When the “bad” bacteria die, they release molecules called endotoxins (lipopolysaccharides) that have a pro-inflammatory action.

Maintain gut health by eating probiotics, fermented foods, and avoiding excess sugar and artificial sweeteners.

  • Chronic stress

Cortisol is a hormone released in stressful situations and affects the immune system by preventing the production of inflammatory mediators. During chronic stress, cortisol is produced in excess, causing fewer receptors to be produced on immune cells and inducing chronic inflammation. The most serious thing about excess cortisol production is that insulin is produced, so the person starts eating to calm the anxiety.

  • Inadequate sleep

Inflammatory mediators such as histamines, cytokines, certain enzymes, and more are altered by sleep loss. One study shows that elevations of these mediators occur in rigorously examined healthy individuals undergoing experimental wakefulness of more than 24 hours, and have also been observed in response to various sleep durations restricted to between 25% and 50% of a normal 8-hour sleep amount.

According to this study , it is known that these subclinical changes in basal inflammatory cytokines are associated with the future development of metabolic syndrome disease in healthy and asymptomatic individuals.

Although the mechanism of this alteration of the inflammatory state in humans subjected to experimental sleep loss is unknown, it is likely that autonomic hyperactivation (disproportionate increase in the functions inherent to the autonomic nervous system such as increased sweating, tachycardia without any underlying heart disease, restlessness, nervousness and others), as well as metabolic changes (which not only modify our phenotype, but also loss of physical activity with desensitization of the tissues to insulin itself, and a decrease in the use and oxidation of glucose ( study )).

How to determine if you suffer from inflammation

Do you suspect that you have some kind of inflammation? Or would you even like to consult your doctor but don't know how to explain what you feel or fear? If you tell your doctor that you have body pain and other symptoms, you may be prescribed painkillers, so it's not that easy.

Inflammation is crucial for our recovery and for fighting off pathogens that enter our body. But the story is very different when it comes to chronic inflammation. Let's get to know the players involved:

  • White blood cells: These are the cells that fight in case of infection, for example.
  • Chemokines or chemotactic cytokines: this is the way white blood cells communicate with each other.
  • Cytokines: These are the ammunition that white blood cells use to fight pathogens.

In a healthy body, this is how our immune system works. The same thing happens when we subject the body to a short, scheduled period of stress, such as a vigorous exercise session or fasting, since there is an adaptation response (hormesis) that will temporarily activate these actors.

In the case of chronic inflammation, imagine a group of white blood cells rebelling and not wanting to be with the group, but actually attacking them (autoimmune response). Or cytokines exploding even though there are no pathogens (cytokine storm), so there is uncontrolled inflammation and a whole host of other symptoms like chronic fatigue, joint pain, upset stomach, headaches, lack of mental clarity, skin rashes, getting sick all the time, and many more.

You could say that chronic inflammation is at the root of any disease, but you can ask your health care provider to check the following indicators through laboratory tests:

  • C-reactive protein (CRP): This is a protein that is produced in the liver in response to some type of stress or pathogen present in the body. Your CRP levels only increase if there is something that is causing a disturbance in the body.
  • The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a type of test that measures how quickly red blood cells (erythrocytes) settle to the bottom of the tube containing your blood sample.

Normally, red blood cells settle relatively slowly. A faster than normal rate may indicate inflammation in the body. Inflammation is part of the immune response system and can be a reaction to an infection or injury. However, inflammation can also be a sign of a chronic disease, immune disorder, or other medical condition.

  • The white blood cell differential is a blood test that measures the percentage of each type of white blood cell to diagnose a disease, but it can be misleading because while your white blood cells are low, your cytokines may be extremely high and that won't show up on the test.
  • Fasting insulin. Inflammation is one of the pathophysiological mechanisms by which insulin resistance can be conditioned. In proinflammatory conditions, the insulin signal is inhibited, which decreases the action of the glucose transporter 4 (GLUT-4) to the cell membrane, decreasing the uptake of blood glucose. In response, insulin hypersecretion occurs, which explains the typical hyperinsulinemia in individuals with insulin resistance. For this reason, a cell exposed to an inflammatory environment is an insulin-resistant cell.
  • Serum ferritin because it is one of the proteins that begins to rise in response to acute inflammation, infection or trauma.
  • Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) is a cytokine, a key regulator of inflammation. Abnormal regulation of TNF-α function plays an important role in the development of chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and infections.
  • An immunoassay that you can order from your health care provider if you are having stomach problems is fecal calprotectin, which indicates inflammation in the small intestine and colon.
  • Nuclear factor kappa β (NF-k β ) is a group of proteins that help control many functions within the cell, including growth and survival (it's the immune system's plan of attack, telling the cells where to go). These proteins also control immune and inflammatory responses by being overactive or present in higher than normal amounts, which can lead to cancer cell growth. High levels or overactivation of NF-kβ can lead to inflammatory disorders such as asthma and ulcerative colitis, as well as autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis.
  • The NLRP3 inflammasome is a multimeric protein complex that initiates an inflammatory form of cell death and triggers the release of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 (it's like the brain of the operation). Elevated levels of the NLRP3 inflammasome are implicated in a wide range of diseases such as Alzheimer's, prion diseases (degenerative, progressive, fatal and untreatable brain disorders), type 2 diabetes and some infectious diseases.

What you can do directly

  • Your diet plays an important role in reducing inflammation. While highly inflammatory foods like sugar, refined oils and gluten increase this risk, an anti-inflammatory diet helps you overcome chronic inflammation and improve your health. Anti-inflammatory foods include tomatoes, olive oil, green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale and Swiss chard; nuts like almonds and walnuts; and fruits like strawberries, blueberries, cherries and oranges.
  • Beets are welcome because they contain Betanin, a powerful anti-inflammatory. They also contain Betaine, a substance related to liver function, cell division and which acts in the synthesis of Carnitine.
  • Pineapple contains bromelain, which is a glycoprotein from the cysteine ​​protease group, which acts on the basic and aromatic amino acids of proteins. Pineapple can be especially beneficial if you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis or even osteoarthritis. It also helps reduce cytokines and chemokines that are precursors of inflammation.
  • Omega-3 fatty acids. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) help reduce inflammation in the body as a whole.
  • Ginger. Its component, gingerol, reduces inflammation, helps digestion, and has other important benefits.
  • Turmeric. Turmeric is a cox-2 inhibitor, meaning it selectively blocks cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzymes. Interestingly, there are also cyclooxygenase-1 enzymes that are important for the formation of kidney and digestive tract tissues, but it does not block these.
  • Perform ketogenic cycles. A study has shown that ketones (β-hydroxybutyrate) produced through this diet block and prevent the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome where ketones play an important role in modulating inflammation.

Add these 3 delicious anti-inflammatory recipes to your diet:

 Blueberry smoothie

4 ¼ cup servings

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy coconut milk

½ cup frozen blueberries

½ cup filtered water

Stevia to taste

A pinch of Himalayan salt

Extra blueberries for garnish

Preparation

  1. In a high-speed blender, first add the blueberries, salt, Stevia and water. Then, the creamy coconut milk.
  2. Beat until you achieve a creamy texture.
  3. Divide into 4 portions and add the blueberries to garnish.

Nutritional information per serving (1/4 cup):

Calories: 430.  Total fat: 44 gr.; total carbohydrates: 19 gr.; dietary fiber 13 gr.; sugars 6 gr.; protein 4 gr.

Spinach with mushrooms

4 servings

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons of olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

390 gr of sliced ​​mushrooms

300 gr fresh spinach

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

½ cup white wine

Salt and black pepper to taste

Chopped fresh parsley to garnish.

Preparation:

  • Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Add the mushrooms and fry until they reduce in size (3-4 minutes). Add the spinach and fry, stirring constantly, for a few minutes until cooked through.
  • Add the vinegar, stir until well absorbed, then add the white wine. Reduce the temperature and let it cook until the wine has been completely absorbed.
  • Adjust seasoning and serve garnished with parsley.

Nutritional information per serving:

Calories: 200. Fat: 14.2 gr.; Total carbohydrates: 10.3 gr.; Protein: 5.6 gr.

Smoothie with matcha tea

1 serving

Ingredients:

¾ cup fresh spinach

½ avocado

1 teaspoon of matcha tea (comes in powder form)

Stevia to taste

1 tablespoon of chia seeds

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Preparation:

  • Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until creamy.
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2 comments

Interesante artículo, como todos. Me fascinaron las recetas deliciosas y muy saludables ….gracias

Rocio Ariza

Muy importante, difícilmente un médico nos hará esos análisis, Nuestra Salud está en nuestras manos. Deli las recetas :)

Birna Avila

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