The scary new factor you probably don’t know about

By Rosie Schwartz

Rosie Schwartz sheds light on a chronic health factor that can raise your risk of heart disease, cancer and more

No
one likes inflammatory situations. They usually spell trouble. And when
it comes to those related to your health, inflammation can indeed be
risky - and probably not in the way you're thinking.

While
the word may call to mind joint pain or skin issues, inflammation is
now a hotbed of research as it is emerging as a major factor in a whole
range of chronic ailments from heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's and
some cancers. Serious stuff indeed.

Short term or acute
inflammation is something we're all familiar with - a cut finger can
become inflamed and turn red. It can be a sign that the body has revved
up its healing process and sent out compounds to mend the wound. In this
case, a good thing.

But science is now showing that there
is something called chronic inflammation and that it's anything but
healthy. It appears that certain lifestyle elements put the inflammatory
process into overdrive so instead of just reacting to a situation
requiring healing like a cut, the body continues to release these
compounds. Obesity, high blood pressure and some foods are among those
factors. And blood levels of these substances can now be measured.
C-reactive protein (CRP), and cytokine readings are just two that can
signal that trouble may be brewing.

The potential cost to
health is now coming to light. For example, research shows that
inflammation in the arteries can lead to a greater chance of plaque
build up and a narrowing of the arteries. It can also lead to plaque
instability meaning that portions of the plaque can break off from the
artery and lodge in the heart or brain, resulting in a heart attack or
stroke.

And it's not just affairs of the heart involved. A
study published earlier this year in the journal Diabetes Care looked
at the levels certain compounds in the blood that measure inflammation
and their link to the development of type 2 or what used to be called
adult-onset diabetes. And across all ethnic groups, high levels of
inflammatory readings went hand in hand with the odds of developing
diabetes.

Research shows that while some cancers or
malignancies may be caused initially by exposure to a carcinogen or
cancer causing agent, other tumours may occur when inflamed cells mutate
or become abnormal and then cancerous.