Chronic low-grade inflammation can smolder silently within your body for decades without causing any immediately recognizable problems. But it is causing damage nonetheless. This 'silent' inflammation, present in many people in some degree or other, has become a very hot topic recently.
Consequences of Silent Inflammation
In the brain, silent inflammation increases production of soluble amyloid protein and increases its conversion in insoluble amyloid fibrils, which kill neurons. If the brain cells do not remove these amyloid fibrils immediately the dead and dying cells stick together to form pleated sheets of crytilline debris called plaque. The inflammation in the brain generates free radicals that can destroy neurons as well.2
How to Measure Silent Inflammation
The marker of silent inflammation is C-reactive protein (hs-CRP or CRP). CRP is a protein made in the liver and released into the bloodstream in response to inflammation. You can ask your regular physician to include this in your blood test. But don't get the test done if you have an infection or even a cold, conditions which will cause inflammation in your body and greatly elevate your CRP levels. Typical laboratory 'normal' is less than 5, but we recommend < 1.3 for optimal levels.
Reducing Inflammation
If your CRP scores are under 1.3 then you probably to not need to make any lifestyle or dietary modifications in the interest of reducing inflammation. If not, there are a number of things you can do:
- Eat less pro-inflammatory foods like red meat, eggs, coffee, alcohol, sugar and foods with a high glycemic index.5
- Emphasize foods and spices which decrease inflammation like cold water fish, turmeric, rosemary and ginger.
- Lose weight,6 exercise more and reduce stress.7
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