Inflammation And Your Health

Inflammation is one of the biggest concerns for many people's health.

Left untreated, chronic inflammation plays a role in almost every chronic degenerative disease associated with getting older. Arthritis is a prime example of inflammation run amok. It's also been linked to heart disease, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer's and asthma, just to name a few.

Unfortunately, the standard American lifestyle is full of land mines when it comes to inflammation.

We're living in a world that encourages an inflammatory high-carb, low-protein diet. When it comes to eating fats, most people tend to load up on omega-6 fatty acids, which promote inflammation. Yet they're not getting nearly enough anti-inflammatory omega3s.

Refined sugar and other foods with high-glycemic values knock insulin and sugar out of whack. Once again, inflammation occurs. I've addressed many of these problems previously in my blogs but there's also another cause of inflammation you may not have heard about yet. Lack of sleep.

That's right. If you're not getting a good night's sleep, it could be placing you in a state of chronic inflammation – which increases your risk of age-related disease.

This is a big problem, because so many of us cut corners when it comes to rest. We're under tremendous pressure to "do it all." As we pack more work and family obligations into the day, bed comes later and mornings come earlier.

Let me explain what happens… and exactly what you can do to cut down on this risk factor.

It turns out people who sleep less than six hours a night have higher levels of three inflammatory markers: Fibrinogen, IL-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP).

You've probably heard about CRP. This protein is a strong predictor of a first-time heart attack, even when cholesterol levels are normal. But, you might not know much about the other two.

Fibrinogen is an inflammatory factor that's been linked to stroke, arthritis, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and several types of cancer.

And, what about IL-6? It's pretty much the same story here. Cancer. Heart disease. Alzheimer's and other inflammatory diseases.

What is it about a lack of sleep that causes all of these inflammatory markers to rise? It all goes back to the natural rhythm of life, the circadian cycle.

At the cellular level, our circadian clock is intimately tied to the rising and setting of the sun. However, our time clocks are also controlled by a group of proteins. They function together in individual cells. These proteins capture light cues and use those cues to turn genes on or off.

Well, guess what happens when your sleep cycle gets disrupted, or if you're sleeping at the wrong times?

It turns out it might actually control the number of inflammatory cells that get produced! In particular, a disrupted sleep cycle appears to promote an overabundance of inflammatory TH17 cells. 

This may explain – at the cellular and genetic level – why there's such a strong link between sleep, inflammation and disease.

Given these risks, here are some important tips that can help you ward off inflammation and age-related disease…

To be cont'd.

Have a great day.