Is Inflammation the Root of All Disease?

Acute inflammation is characterized by the redness, heat, swelling, and pain that is the immune system's normal response to infection or injury. Immune cells congregate at the site so that they can overwhelm and dispose of infectious organisms or debris from injury. Thus healing takes place.

But there is another kind of inflammation - low-grade, chronic, and systemic. Many researchers now believe that low-grade inflammation is associated with everything from heart disease, diabetes, and asthma to Alzheimer's, arthritis, and cancer.

When there is inflammation, the liver produces a protein in the blood known as C-reactive protein (CRP). Elevated levels of CRP often accompany coronary heart disease and stroke.  There is an easy way to test for inflammation. The CRP test has been in use for some time but so far is not routine. It costs less than $50 and can be done together with the cholesterol blood tests.

Diet

• Animal meats (grain-fed animals have more omega-6 than grass-fed animals) 
• Dairy (grain-fed cows have more omega-6 than grass-fed cows)
• Eggs (chickens fed on corn and soybeans have more omega-6 than those fed a diet of greens and insects)
• Peanuts
• Polyunsaturated vegetable oils (made from corn, soy, sunflower, safflower, and cottonseed oils), margarine, and shortening

Ingredients in processed foods, snack foods, cookies, crackers, sweets, and fast foods are heavily skewed towards omega-6 EFAs.

Sources of omega-3 EFAs (EAT MORE)

• Oily fish (such as salmon, sardine, herring, lake trout, butterfish)
• Flax seed, chia seed, pumpkin seed, and walnuts
• Soy products
• Dark greens