You know the feeling: maybe you’ve fallen and smacked your ankle or by accident cut your skin, and suddenly the injured area is sore, swollen and painful. But that’s not just the injury you’re feeling- it’s also your body’s inflammatory response kicking in, as your body begins to heal itself. For a basic overview of inflammation, its causes and symptoms, lay back and read here.

The acute inflammation that arises in response to trauma is a necessary and appropriate biological mechanism that makes way for the body to heal. And while you can take an anti-inflammatory (such as aspirin or ibuprofen) to relieve pain involved in the inflammatory process (when swelling presses on sensitive nerves), the reality is that the pain should subside and the injury should heal once the inflammation resolves. The problem arises, however, when inflammation becomes chronic and persistent in your aging body (often called inflammaging). 

Chronic or low-grade inflammation is, in fact, a worldwide health problem that has been implicated in as many as 50% of all deaths. Instead of healing the body, low-grade inflammation is thought to be a causation of many chronic and fatal diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. There is even evidence now that implicates chronic inflammation in the development of amyloids in the brain associated with brain diseases like Alzheimer’s. As such, chronic inflammation is linked to accelerated aging and is attributable to lifestyle factors like poor diet, obesity, lack of exercise, and inadequate sleep, along with other environmental toxins and exposures.

So how can you fight chronic inflammation and put yourself on a path toward healthier aging? Diet is definitely one of the implicated factors, along with such common-sense solutions as more exercise and weight management. It’s thought that a diverse diet can be effective in mitigating chronic inflammation- and the recommended anti-inflammatory foods are likely familiar to anyone following such health-conscious diets as the Mediterranean diet. For a full list of anti-inflammatory foods, open your menu and look here.