‘Inflammation is wonderful’: Are the health zealots right or wrong?

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According to wellbeing zealots, we cause inflammation in our bodies by consuming sugar, gluten, foods with saturated fat, dairy, or meat, coffee and alcohol. This state of inflammation puts us at risk of everything from injury to arthritis, allergies to Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes to cardiovascular disease.

The same people who tell us how toxic inflammation is, also often encourage us to “boost” our immune system, the very system which mounts an inflammatory response to stressors, like injuries, irritants and infections.

Inflammation: The source of all pain and illness? Maybe, but it’s not all bad.Credit: Getty

So, what is it? Is inflammation good or is it the culprit responsible for all our health woes?

If we take the view that all inflammation is bad, then we also ought to avoid exercise. During an intense workout and immediately afterwards, a person’s inflammatory markers spike dramatically.

Yet, exercise reduces our baseline inflammation the rest of the time.

Short or acute bouts of inflammation are the first step in the tissue repair process, explains Tony Blazevich, a professor of biomechanics at Edith Cowan University.

“It drives blood flow to the repair site, allowing important repair cells and growth factors to attend the area, and it increases nutrient and oxygen delivery,” Blazevich says. “As the site is repaired, we’re repaired.”

This is one reason exercise is such a potent driver of good health, Blazevich explains: “The stress of exercise on our muscles, tendons, bones, heart, vasculature, lung linings, and other tissues triggers a short burst of repair work, which is, of course, led by the inflammatory response.”

A similar process occurs when our body is exposed to a contaminant or injury.

“Inflammation is wonderful. It is the most important thing keeping us alive in a very, very dangerous world,” says Bryce Vissel, the head of the Centre for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at St Vincent’s Hospital.

“[We have] a very sophisticated ecosystem of cells in our bodies that basically fights off any infection and sets up the environment for repair… And that’s keeping us alive every second of every day.”

The process ignited through inflammation also helps to maintain the integrity of our body, Vissel explains: “You’ll have had a bit of damage to something like a finger, and it grows back, and it’s got the same fingerprint and the same shape.”

Ultimately, as Blazevich says, short bouts of ‘good stress’ trigger short bouts of ‘good inflammation’ that keep us healthy.

Chronic inflammation, as the name suggests, is not temporary but continues for weeks, months, or years. It is not localised to a specific part of the body, but can cause collateral damage to organs and tissues throughout the body.

In fact, more than half of all deaths globally have been attributed to inflammation-related diseases including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and autoimmune and neurodegenerative conditions.

So, how do we become chronically inflamed?

Exposure to heavy metals and pesticides, unresolved infections in the body, smoking and air pollution are all known contributors to chronic inflammation and the diseases it can lead to.

As for specific dietary factors, for instance, Vissel acknowledges that the science is evolving, and some factors are harder to tease out than others – but we can rest assured medicine picks up the serious factors.

Regardless of what the food is, every time we eat, we trigger inflammation, at least in the short term.

There is no good evidence that, for those without an allergy or intolerance, eating dairy, fat, lean meat, or even sugar in small amounts causes chronic inflammation.

“If you eat a lot of sugar all day, every day you are at risk of various conditions and this is well known,” Vissel says. “But if you have a little bit of sugar during the day, I can’t see how that causes great harm.”

Nor does drinking coffee or moderate amounts of alcohol (heavy drinking contributes to systemic inflammation).

There are two caveats to this. Firstly, consuming anything in excess is problematic, and excess calories create more fat tissue, which produces inflammatory molecules called adipokines. Secondly, diets that are high in ultra-processed foods contribute to low-grade chronic inflammation. So while the zealots are overreaching, diet is important. But, the specific type of diet doesn’t seem to matter in terms of inflammation, so long as it primarily healthy, fresh or minimally processed foods.

Healthy foods – along with exercise – flood the body with antioxidants, the compounds that help to mop up free radicals, which are molecules that can cause inflammation by damaging healthy tissue in the body.

Exercise also triggers the release of anti-inflammatory molecules that help to dampen excessive inflammation and improve immune function, explains Blazevich.

While diet and exercise are two front-line defences against chronic inflammation, becoming dogmatic about them may be counterproductive.

If we cannot enjoy our life and socialise with others, then a pristine approach to diet and physical activity may not give us much advantage.

Psychological stress is associated with inflammation, in part because the perception of threat activates the body’s defence system. Social isolation is also a risk factor for low-grade chronic inflammation.

And, as Vissel points out, while there is good evidence for sleep, stress management, being socially engaged, a good quality diet and exercise, our genes are what may “ultimately determine our fate”.

He uses 92-year-old businessman Warren Buffet as an example: “He’s socially active, he’s mentally active, he doesn’t overeat, but he has a steak and a Coca-Cola once a day. And he’s OK. But, the next person over the street who did the same thing might end up not making it as long and may end up with dementia.

“You can spend your life obsessing about these issues. And in fact, your life may be less fulfilling.”

His advice? For people with, or at clear risk of, chronic health issues, he says a more personalised approach put together by a specialist is beneficial to help reduce risk and slow decline. For the rest of us who are in good health like Buffet, he suggests we move, eat as well as we can, avoid excess, and pay attention to sleep and stress levels, including being overly stressed about diet or inflammation.

“Live your life to the fullest because you just don’t know if you’re going to be hit by a truck tomorrow or die of a heart attack at 50 or 60. You just do your best and get out there and live.”

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