Connection Between Inflammation and Diet

What's the link between inflammation and diet, and why is it so important for your health that you need to be aware of it? Well, as to the second of these questions, how about the fact that modern research has led many doctors and scientists to believe that all cancers begin with excessive inflammation? In addition to this, it is linked to arthritis, gout, joint decay, back problems, and lost flexibility. It is one of the prime causes of heart disease (while cholesterol is not). In short, inflammation causes you pain, can diminish your longevity, and can give you cancer or a heart attack.

However, let's look at the first question in greater detail. What is the link between inflammation and diet? Well, let's face up to the facts: the majority of us today eat without much thought. As a civilization, we have come to care more about taste, convenience and cost in relation to our food, than we do about its nutritional value and possible ways of affecting us medically and health-wise. Now, that might sound crazy to you. Perhaps you're thinking of course you know that you're supposed to eat your vegetables and not eat rancid or undercooked meat. You know that you are supposed to eat "three square meals" each day and not overdo the pudding and pie.

Yet, the connection between inflammation and diet goes far deeper than these basics. For instance, what really makes for a healthy "square meal"? How much really is too much in the way of sweets and desserts? What about the idea that one of the most ubiquitous of all of our modern foods, grains, seems to have a strong connection with inflammation flare-ups in a great many people?

We all have inflammation to some degree within our bodies. This is natural. To a certain extent, we need inflammatory reactions. The reason that we become feverish and experience high bodily temperature when we are sick, for instance, is because our body is deliberately creating an inflamed, hostile environment to drive away or kill off the pathogens in the body. Likewise, if we sustain a physical injury, such as to a knee, the inflammatory response is a natural reaction that sends in a rush of white blood cells while also cushioning and preventing normal movement of the injured knee so that healing can take place.

But, just as cancer is caused by an out-of-control natural process of the body (cell division), excessive inflammation causes suffering and disease. The connection between inflammation and diet is made strong by the fact that our modern diets tend to be acidic, and high acid content within the body increases the chances of inflammatory responses. Our modern diet also tends to be lacking in sufficient nutrition which, if this need were fulfilled would keep the body healthier and the immune system stronger so that inflammatory responses would not be as frequent or as strong.

With today's typical diet, the best way that we can ensure ourselves of reducing inflammation within the body is by way of dietary supplementation. Anti-inflammatory supplements help put the body back into a healthy balance. Some people, including doctors apparently, believe that the best "supplement" for meeting this end is aspirin. However, aspirin has a few very negative and potentially harmful side effects. So, many researchers have found that the best anti-inflammatory supplement may be fish oil.