Inflammation: Putting Out The Fire

Inflammation is the body’s response to damage or trauma. When we receive a cut or bruise or we twist an ankle, the body’s healing responses automatically kick in, sending healing blood and fluids to the damaged area. This leads to the familiar sight of a raised bruise or swollen ankle.

Although we are suffering from the wound, the body is working exactly as it should, magically patching us back together until we are as good as new again. Once the damage is repaired, the inflammation gradually subsides.

But inflammation has a darker side. Sometimes the systems inside our body are out of whack and the repair process doesn’t happen as it should. Once the inflammation response is turned on, it stays turned on.

The result is continued, chronic inflammation in a particular part of your body such as your skin or joints.

These conditions, such as arthritis and psoriasis, are known as autoimmune conditions and they make life miserable for millions of us every day.

Even worse, our whole body can be inflamed. We may experience chronic tiredness, headaches, puffiness and water retention, skin complaints, moodiness and generally feel like shit.

What could cause our body to react like this? Why would our immune system continually be in fixing and repairing overdrive?

A big factor appears to be the health of our gut and the state of our microbiome.

Leaky Gut

Normally the food we eat is contained safely within our bowels during the digestive process, with our gut wall only allowing useful nutrients to pass through.

However, the gut wall can become damaged and leaky, the result being that partially digested molecules of food pass into our bloodstream where they are recognised by our immune system as foreign bodies to be defended against. This sets off inflammation.

Leaky gut also enables toxins produced by bad bacteria to pass into the body. One particularly nasty bacteria-produced toxin is known as LPS, short for lipopolysaccharide.

LPS is believed to trigger flareups of autoimmune conditions like Multiple Sclerosis and it’s also linked with obesity and brain disease, again because of the inflammation it provokes. We talk about this more in Brain Health Begins In The Gut.

Another thing that can trigger leaky gut and worsen inflammation is stress. Check out How Stress Wreaks Havoc On Your Microbiome

Over-Heated Immune System

High levels of chronic inflammation also go hand-in-hand with conditions such as Crohn’s Disease and Colitis, where the gut becomes inflamed, painful and unable to properly absorb food.

If you imagine our immune system like central heating with a thermostat, it needs to be set at just the right level. If it’s set too high or too low we feel uncomfortable.

When our immune system is set too ‘hot’ it will react to harmless stuff like pollen or peanuts as if they were threats. It can even attack our own organs, causing autoimmune conditions.

Scientist and doctors have struggled for years to understand why our immune system would attack our own body.

Recent studies have revealed a remarkable discovery: certain species of friendly bacteria in our gut are in communication with the cells of our immune system, guiding our immune system on when to react and when not to.

When we have insufficient numbers of friendly bacteria in our gut, it appears that our immune system is literally unable to find the right level of intensity and ends up ‘overheating’, attacking our own organs and creating rampant inflammation.

Experts aren’t yet sure in the case of Crohn’s and Colitis whether the immune system is overreacting to something harmless, such as friendly bacteria, or is attacking the gut itself.

Either way, there’s no doubt the immune system is confused and malfunctioning.

We talk about this more in Supercharge Your Body To Crush Autoimmune

Putting Out The Flames

The good news is that by making some changes to our food and lifestyle, our microbiome will gradually come back into balance and the gut wall is able to repair itself. This enables our immune system to find it’s optimal level rather than overheating, which in turn allows the body to heal.

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48 thoughts on “Inflammation: Putting Out The Fire”

  1. very interesting! I never knew how inflammation affects gut and, honestly, every time I read your blog I realize more and more how everything ends up being tied with guts

  2. With the possibility of inflammation in mind, I try to avoid taking antibiotics as much as I can. And also take certain food into consideration. You shouldn’t get used to drugs so that they work once you need them. Good food is key to so much improvement in life.

  3. MELANIE EDJOURIAN

    Having a continued inflammatory response can be difficult to deal with when it affects you every day. There are foods that can help reduce this response and ease symptoms.

  4. Such an important read. I’d be interested in reading a follow-up post outlining the food and lifestyle needed to heal one’s gut. I really enjoy reading about health-related topics.

  5. With having PCOS I suffer from inflammation a lot if I don’t watch what I eat. So I have to be mindful of what I am putting in my body. Sometimes I am not and suffer later for it.

  6. I’ve always been confused with inflammation but you’ve explained it clearly and now I have a better understanding of inflammation and how it’s connected to our diet and our gut. I always hear about leaky gut but I’m curious how the food “leaks” out of the digestive system and into the bloodstream.

  7. It is crazy how the human body works sometimes. There is a lot of useful info here! A lot of it I wasn’t aware of, thanks for sharing all of this.

  8. This is very informative, we need to read and learn health information especially now that health knowledge is very important. Stay safe.

  9. It’s amazing to see how the human body functions as one. When one part is not working and you have inflammation somewhere else.

  10. My gut was trashed in June 2019 by chemotherapy as part of stem cell transplant. Started daily 250ml home-made kefir (fermented milk). Within a week, poo was under control, easy, regular, not so offensively smelly. Transformation was remarkable. Making kefir at home is easy, just buy starter as freeze-dried probiotic culture. Got mine from thekefircompany.co.uk (others available). Like making yogurt, you use dregs of last lot to seed the next. I make it one litre at a time. Works at room temp, but just got yogurt incubator for birthday, making it even easier and a bit quicker too.

    PS to the Gut Geeks, thanks for your info, encouragement and enlightenment. Keep up the good work.

  11. For the first time since I was a teenager (now mid-thirties) I got really ill caused by a cold which moved to my chest and caused inflammation, making it really difficult to breath! Our bodies do so much for us and it was a stark reminder to take care of it. Thanks for this.

  12. Amazing information about stuff that we don’t pay attention to in our life. I always feel like my immune system need improvement and this might help. Thank you for sharing i.

  13. We usually “destroy” out gut through an unhealthy diet. When we change the way we eat and start following a healthy lifestyle, with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, we start feeling better.

  14. I have endometriosis and I know what means to have inflammation..most of the time. I have so many problems with my dowel systems. Every time when I have to eat something I am so scared. That’s why I follow a food diary, which helps me a lot.

  15. Just a question about detox and inflammation: Have you any experience with MSM detox and using sulfur to help cleanse your body of bad bacteria so micro can rejuvenate and good bacteria grow? I’m in German and Dr Probst is gaining popularity here, even though he has been a proponent of sulfur and raw foods for over 30 years.

  16. This was so informative and helpful, I’m really glad I checked this out; I’m always interested in more information about gut health and the immune system!

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