Why You Need To Know About Silent Inflammation
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You have probably heard of diseases and conditions that involve acute inflammation. Arthritis, asthma and gout are all examples of inflammatory diseases. However, there is another type of inflammation that is not so obvious because it silently attacks the internal organs over a long period of time causing disease and degeneration. Silent inflammation is called "silent" because you can't feel it. On a day-to-day basis it doesn't rise up to the level of pain that you can feel.
Just because you can't feel it doesn't mean that it isn't a problem. On the contrary, because it's silent you don't know it's there and you can be suffering from it without knowing about it. After years of getting worse and worse it can eventually get to the critical point where it evolves into a chronic disease.
Inflammation is the bodys natural reaction to minor bruises and invading bacteria and viruses. Without this defense mechanism we wouldn't last very long in the world. However, when inflammation never goes away and lingers on for decades, some serious damage can take place in vital organs such as the brain and the heart. This is the condition known as silent inflammation and the effects take years to manifest themselves.
As with many diseases, your diet has a lot to do with the manifestation of silent inflammation. Poor nutrition and a diet that is rich in red meat, sugar, coffee, alcohol and processed food creates pro-inflammatory compounds in the body. A diet that contains a lot of fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish, olive oil and green tea creates high levels of a compound that has anti-inflammatory properties. Your level of silent inflammation depends heavily on what you put into your body.
How can you tell if you're suffering from silent inflammation? If you're overweight, have a poor diet and rarely exercise, you've got a good chance. Measuring the extent of silent inflammation in your body can tell you just how serious the problem is. To do that there is a simple blood test that can tell you if you have dangerous levels of silent inflammation. This blood test measures two clinical markers. The first one measures the ratio of two fatty acids called arachidonic acid (AA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). This ratio gives an estimate of the balance between the bad acid (AA) and the good acid (EPA). The second test measures the level of a blood marker called high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP).
Bringing down your level of silent inflammation requires a change in your diet. Start moving away from the white foods like bread, pasta, rice, sugar and salt and move toward fruits, vegetables and whole grains. You should also consider supplementing your diet with highly refined, pharmaceutical grade fish oil capsules. These supplements contain high levels of the long chain omega 3 fatty acids enriched with EPA/DHA. Because they are filtered, you will be avoiding the mercury, PCBs and dioxin contamination that you risk in a diet heavy in fish. Making these changes will positively affect both the AA/EPA and hs-CRP ratio and reduce or eliminate silent inflammation.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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