Inflammation might be responsible for more health problems than we care to think about! Research suggests cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, asthma, eczema, and possibly more all have one, underlying cause: Inflammation!
What effect does Inflammation have on our Bodies
Wikipedia explains inflammation as follows:
Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecular mediators. The function of inflammation is to eliminate the initial cause of cell injury, clear out necrotic cells and tissues damaged from the original insult and the inflammatory process, and initiate tissue repair.
Inflammation might be responsible for more health problems than we care to think about! Research suggests cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, asthma, eczema, and possibly more all have one, underlying cause: Inflammation! Inflammation itself isn’t a bad thing. It’s our bodies natural way to respond to stress or foreign intruders. The problem is when this response is persistent, our body feels the effects.
Recently I have been more aware of Inflammation in myself & even my kids.
These chronic issues are usually the LAST symptom! Inflammation begins long before actual disease or worse death. And in the case of asthma and eczema we could all likely identify children we know who suffer from these ailments. I have always believed our diet has the biggest impact on our health.
Diagnosis of metabolic syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is not a disease, but a collection of risk factors that often occur together. A person is diagnosed as having metabolic syndrome when they have any three or more of:
- central (abdominal) obesity – excess fat in and around the stomach (abdomen)
- raised blood pressure (hypertension)
- high blood triglycerides
- low levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) – the ‘good’ cholesterol
- impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or diabetes. IFG occurs when blood glucose levels are higher than normal
Throw in conditions such as –
Gout & Type 2 Diabetes and you have a range of conditions that could apply to a large number of the population.
All of these conditions are shown to be interlinked in complicated ways and it is difficult to work out the exact cause. Which condition – if any – is the main trigger? Some researchers consider that obesity could be the starting point for metabolic syndrome.
Reducing your body weight and participating in regular physical activity may improve your triglyceride and cholesterol levels, lower your blood pressure and increase your body’s response to insulin. This may help prevent you from developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
A rather startling fact is that over half of all Australians have at least one of the metabolic syndrome conditions.
Researched suggestions for reducing your risk
Incorporate as many positive lifestyle changes as you can – eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and losing weight will dramatically reduce your risk of diseases associated with metabolic syndrome, such as diabetes and heart disease.
Make dietary changes
Increase your physical activity level
Manage your weight
