9 Surprising Symptoms Related to Inflammation
After tons of research and working directly with so many who report feeling pain, depression, escalating health issues, and other sneaky symptoms that don’t relate to anything that typical medical science can explain away, I was able to connect the similarities and boil it down to one root cause for it all.
Chronic systemic inflammation.
“...nearly every modern disease — everything from autoimmune diseases, heart disease, and cancer to obesity, diabetes, and dementia — is caused by inflammation!” — Dr. Hyman
Let’s define what this means and ways to see if this is what’s causing your issues, too.
What Is Inflammation?
Inflammation is a process that our body typically uses to fight infections, irritants, and injury. It helps our bodies to repair and eliminate damaged cells and tissue all while fighting the infection that caused it.
The word inflammation comes from a Latin word that means "to ignite."
Although Inflammation is meant to heal our bodies, it can stick around and become chronic. That’s when you start to feel long-term aches and pains, which is the first symptom I have listed.
“A lot of chronic pain is the result of chronic inflammation, and the evidence is quite strong that your diet can contribute to increased systemic inflammation.” — Dr. Fred Tabung
Let’s take a quick look at one way chronic inflammation can contribute to persistent pain.
Specialized nerve cells and tissues play an essential role in the inflammatory process, including your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia. What’s fascinating is that cells can release both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators and nutrition can be a determining factor.
If your lifestyle has been “unhealthy” for too long with trouble sleeping, low movement, poor nutrition, or excess stress, you will notice an increase in the symptoms. And the opposite is true as well… you can reduce and eliminate the symptoms when you’re on track with healthy choices.
When you have no other reasons for the discomfort you feel and experience some or all of the other listed symptoms such as excess mucus production, stomach issues, fatigue, and/or rashes, you should consider lifestyle changes to reduce inflammation to eliminate those symptoms.
“Depression should be categorized with other inflammatory disorders including heart disease, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, cancer, and dementia.”— Kelly Brogan, A Mind of Your Own
Depression should be categorized with other inflammatory disorders including heart disease, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, cancer, and dementia.
Inflammation has been on the mind. Why? Because recently, I've been working with A LOT of people who are struggling with chronic pain and depression. No surprise that those two who up hand-in-hand. But the truth is. They're not alone. Nearly all of these people are also struggling with diabetes and heart disease. All of these chronic conditions' lifestyle factors increase the risk and seem to be associated with systemic inflammation. These include psychosocial stressors, poor diet, physical inactivity, obesity, smoking, altered gut permeability, and sleep deficiency.
Depression is a complex disorder that isn't just in your head. It involves a variety of bodily systems, including the immune system. According to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability that impacts more than 120 million people worldwide.
A growing body of research suggests that depression is associated with a low-grade, chronic inflammatory response. Much of this research revolves around the "Immune Cytokine Model of Depression." This theory views depression as a "multifaceted sign of chronic immune system activation" rather than a disease in and of itself.
The Inflammation - Body Fat Connection
“Inflammation is both the cause and the result of diabesity.” — Chris Kresser
Obesity means excess body fat, especially the white fat in the abdomen and around the internal organs, is linked with both diabetes and heart disease. Excess body fat also increases the body’s need for insulin, and negatively affects insulin-producing cells.
But that’s not all.
Body fat itself can promote the activation of immune cells. The fat tissue can even produce its own inflammatory markers. This is particularly true for internal fat around the belly, liver, and heart. Plus, excess body fat can change the biomechanical loading of a joint, which may accelerate degenerative joint diseases such as osteoarthritis.
But it’s the inflammation aspect of increased body fat that might explain why high levels of body fat are associated with osteoarthritis in non-weight bearing joints such as hands, where biomechanical loading isn’t weight-related as it is in the knee.
Losing weight (i.e., excess body fat) reduces inflammation in belly fat as well as the rest of the body, and can help you to change the way that you move.
Remember, inflammation can be healthy if it is fighting an infection or healing a wound. We need it to survive. But chronic inflammation is associated with many serious conditions. The good news is that your lifestyle can go a long way towards pushing the inflammation dial towards a healthy state.
9 Surprising Signs of Chronic Inflammation, The Full List:
Body Aches and Pains
Obesity
Stress and or Anxiety
Fatigue
Rashes
Depression
Trouble Sleeping
Excess Mucus Production
Stomach Issues
Tests for Chronic Inflammation
One of the inflammatory molecules that can be measured with a blood test is known as CRP, which is considered a “marker” for inflammation. Simply stated, when found in a blood test at high levels, that means there’s inflammation in the body which is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.
But the tests are not always super reliable and even people with severe inflammatory diseases don’t always get an accurate result.
This may sound daunting or overwhelming, but be assured - you can HEAL most inflammation symptoms through lifestyle changes. Some even like to start fresh with a 5 Day Detox.
Check out my FREE eBook download about Juice Detoxes to learn more!
