Inflammation: The Cause of Aging
Aging is one of the certainties in life, something that is unavoidable and unstoppable.
At a certain point our bodies just start to become more brittle and our minds less sharp.
It turns out, however, that much of what we have come to know about the process of aging is wrong.
Many of the diseases associated with old age may be caused by some sort of trigger and thus avoidable and maybe even treatable.
Recent research has suggested that chronic inflammation may be the main culprit for several of the diseases once thought to be caused by aging.
What is inflammation? Inflammation is a biochemical response by our bodies immune system to harmful stimuli.
The inflammatory process occurs as a reflex, triggered by specific parts of the process of an injury or infection.
Some of the signs of the inflammatory process include increased blood flow to the tissue causing increased temperature, redness, swelling and pain.
You can visualize inflammation every time you get a cut or a scrape.
On your skin's surface, you can see the bleeding being stopped by coagulation factors, which manifests itself as a scab.
This prevents germs from spreading from the wound site.
Underneath your skin, your body works overtime to destroy pathogens and bacteria in the infected area.
The whole process is quite a complex one that occurs all over the body to fend off disease.
Although this process is a necessity, it is unfortunately also inherently destructive and may cause damage to healthy tissue.
In cases of local infection, such as cuts and scrapes, prolonged inflammation will eventually manifest itself as scar tissue.
The problem with the inflammatory response is that it can occur even though no harmful stimuli is present.
The body turns against itself and begins to attack the skin, central nervous system, musculoskeletal system, etc.
This is known as chronic inflammation, and one example of this is in the disease, atherosclerosis, in which many of symptoms of atherosclerosis are governed by the inflammatory response.
Other inflammatory diseases are:
You may be wondering why inflammation occurs if it is so damaging to the body.
This is because infectious disease has historically been the number one killer of human beings, and evolution has changed out biology in order to combat this threat.
Chronic inflammatory diseases may be caused due to regulation of our immune system becoming less efficient.
Historically, children born during years of high neonatal mortality did not live as long as those children born during healthy years.
This was most likely due to early exposure to childhood infection leading to exposure to inflammation in adulthood.
A lower occurrence of such diseases leads to less inflammation and longer lives.
The inflammatory process produces free radicals as a tool to attack bacteria.
These free radicals cause constant cellular damage that may also help to explain how inflammation and aging go hand in hand.
Treatment for inflammation There are several things you can do to treat inflammation without the need for medication.
At a certain point our bodies just start to become more brittle and our minds less sharp.
It turns out, however, that much of what we have come to know about the process of aging is wrong.
Many of the diseases associated with old age may be caused by some sort of trigger and thus avoidable and maybe even treatable.
Recent research has suggested that chronic inflammation may be the main culprit for several of the diseases once thought to be caused by aging.
What is inflammation? Inflammation is a biochemical response by our bodies immune system to harmful stimuli.
The inflammatory process occurs as a reflex, triggered by specific parts of the process of an injury or infection.
Some of the signs of the inflammatory process include increased blood flow to the tissue causing increased temperature, redness, swelling and pain.
You can visualize inflammation every time you get a cut or a scrape.
On your skin's surface, you can see the bleeding being stopped by coagulation factors, which manifests itself as a scab.
This prevents germs from spreading from the wound site.
Underneath your skin, your body works overtime to destroy pathogens and bacteria in the infected area.
The whole process is quite a complex one that occurs all over the body to fend off disease.
Although this process is a necessity, it is unfortunately also inherently destructive and may cause damage to healthy tissue.
In cases of local infection, such as cuts and scrapes, prolonged inflammation will eventually manifest itself as scar tissue.
The problem with the inflammatory response is that it can occur even though no harmful stimuli is present.
The body turns against itself and begins to attack the skin, central nervous system, musculoskeletal system, etc.
This is known as chronic inflammation, and one example of this is in the disease, atherosclerosis, in which many of symptoms of atherosclerosis are governed by the inflammatory response.
Other inflammatory diseases are:
- Asthma
- Allergies
- Cancer
- arthritis
- psoriasis
- diabetes
You may be wondering why inflammation occurs if it is so damaging to the body.
This is because infectious disease has historically been the number one killer of human beings, and evolution has changed out biology in order to combat this threat.
Chronic inflammatory diseases may be caused due to regulation of our immune system becoming less efficient.
Historically, children born during years of high neonatal mortality did not live as long as those children born during healthy years.
This was most likely due to early exposure to childhood infection leading to exposure to inflammation in adulthood.
A lower occurrence of such diseases leads to less inflammation and longer lives.
The inflammatory process produces free radicals as a tool to attack bacteria.
These free radicals cause constant cellular damage that may also help to explain how inflammation and aging go hand in hand.
Treatment for inflammation There are several things you can do to treat inflammation without the need for medication.
- Eat a Healthy Diet - Dietary restrictions have been shown to inhibit the inflammatory response.
For this reason low calorie diets have been shown to increase the lifespan of many creatures.
Also you should avoid pro-inflammatory foods such as trans fats, fried foods, sugar and grains, foods cooked at high temperatures. - Omega 3 Fatty Acids - Foods high in omega-3's have been demonstrated to lower the inflammatory state of the body.
- Regular Exercise - Researchers aren't sure exactly how exercise lowers inflammation, but studies have shown that those who get regular exercise show less inflammatory markers.
- Eat foods high in antioxidants - Antioxidant rich foods such as berries can help neutralize the free radicals produced during inflammation.
