GFE Podcast #72: List of Inflammatory Diseases

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This podcast provides a list of inflammatory diseases and breaks down how inflammation is involved in these conditions.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• A brief explanation of what inflammatory cytokines are
• A brief explanation of what inflammation is
• A list of inflammatory diseases and how inflammation is involved with them
• Why diet is so important to reduce inflammation
• Info about our new Anti-Inflammatory Start Up Program

LISTEN

TRANSCRIPT

Conditions associated with inflammation include:

• Cardiovascular disease/ heart disease
• Dementia
• Osteoporosis
• Type 2 diabetes
• Atherosclerosis
• Alziemers disease
• Asthma
• Fatigue and chronic fatigue
• Fibromyalgia
• Obesity
• Depression
• Insulin resistance
• Rheumatoid arthrits
• Cancer
• Crohn’s
• Stroke
• Obesity
• Thyroid issus
• Celiac (gluten intolerance)
• Diverticulitis
• Inflammatory bowel
• Autoimmune dysfunction or disease
• Digestive issues and dysfunction
• And many more things

Inflammation is a serious issue and the reason why is because it compromises the function of our immune system, which is why it can contribute to the development of many conditions.

Research into inflammation still continues and I believe we are only beginning to uncover just how much inflammation really does contribute to ill health. When looking at scientific literature there are studies linking many conditions to increased systemic inflammation, the kind of inflammation that occurs in the body’s cells. We can’t necessarily see it but it’s happening all the same.

So recently I found this great table on the Mercola website that provides a short explanation of how inflammation is associated with many different conditions. So today I am going to share that information with you so you can get a better idea on how inflammation is affecting the development or symptoms of many conditions. I wanted to do this because it really gives us a much clearer picture and all too often people still think of arthritis when I mention inflammation but it is so much more than that.

Before we dig into each condition I just need to talk about inflammatory cytokines because I’ll be mentioning them quite a bit so it’s important that you understand what they are.

Cytokines are cell signalling molecules that act as communicators in the immune system. There are both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines but today when I mention them we are talking about the inflammatory cytokines. Examples of common pro-inflammatory cytokines include interleukin-1 and interleukin-6, and another one called tumor neucrosis alpha. These cytokines are released by cells in the body and they also have specific effects on the interactions and communications that occurs between cells. Cytokines sometimes act on the cells that release them but they can also impact distant cells. The thing is when these pro-inflammatory cytokines get stimulated, they up regulate inflammation, meaning they increase it.

This makes sense because inflammation is a natural response of the body trying to protect itself. Think about getting a cut or wound, how your immune system sends blood, heat, swelling, and extra resources to that area in order to heal it. There is always a balancing act occurring inside our body’s cells as far as inflammation goes because when things such as our diet, stress, our environment or our lifestyle stimulate an immune response, inflammatory cytokines can be called into action. These cytokines perform different roles but essentially they provide the signals between immune cells that coordinate the inflammatory response. So we all have them but as a result of ongoing stimulus from say a bad diet, the amount of cytokines being produced increases and systemic inflammation in our body increases too.

So I hope that makes sense. All you really have to remember is that cytokines are cell signalling molecules that act as communicators in the immune system.

So now, let’s dig into how Inflammation Is Involved in various Conditions

Disease	Mechanism
Allergy	4 Immune Mediated Types + Sensitivities, all of which cause inflammation
Alzheimer’s	Chronic inflammation destroys brain cells
Anemia	Inflammatory cytokines attack erythropoietin production – this is a glycoprotein hormone that affects red blood cell production. So the inflammatory cytokines attack this hormone
Ankylosing Spondylitis	Inflammatory cytokines induce autoimmune reactions against joint surfaces
Asthma	Inflammatory cytokines induce autoimmune reactions against airway lining
Autism	Inflammatory cytokines induce autoimmune reactions in the brain arresting right hemisphere development
Arthritis	Inflammatory cytokines destroy joint cartilage and synovial fluid
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome	Chronic inflammation causes excessive muscle tension shortening tendons in the forearm and wrist and compressing the nerves.
Celiac	Chronic immune mediated inflammation damages intestinal lining
Crohn’s Disease	Chronic immune mediated inflammation damages intestinal lining
Congestive heart failure	Chronic inflammation contributes to heart muscle wasting
Diabetes	High blood glucose increases the productions of inflammatory cytokines, increased inflammation promotes dyslipidemia with increased VLDL and decreased HDL, inflammatory moelcules act on the liver promoting insulin resistance, macrophage immune cells invade the pancreas and contribute to the destruction of pancreatic beta cells
Eczema	Chronic inflammation of the gut and liver with poor detoxification and often antibodies against Transglutaminase-3.
Fibromyalgia	Inflamed connective tissue, which is often food allergy related and exacerbated by secondary nutritional and neurological imbalances.
Fibrosis	Inflammatory cytokines attack traumatized tissue
Gall Bladder Disease	Inflammation of the bile duct or excess cholesterol produced in response to gut inflammation
GERD	Inflammation of the esophagus and digestive tract nearly always food sensitivity and pH driven
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis	Autoimmune reaction originating in the gut triggered by antibodies against thyroid enzymes and proteins
Heart attack	Chronic inflammation contributes to coronary atherosclerosis
Kidney failure	Inflammatory cytokines restrict circulation and damage nephrons and tubules in the kidneys
Lupus	Inflammatory cytokines induce an autoimmune attack against connective tissue
Multiple Sclerosis	Inflammatory cytokines induce autoimmune reactions against myelin
Neuropathy	Inflammatory cytokines induce autoimmune reactions against myelin and vascular and connective tissues, which irritate nerves.
Pancreatitis	Inflammatory cytokines induce pancreatic cell injury
Psoriasis	Chronic inflammation of the gut and liver with poor detoxification
Polymyalgia Rheumatica	Inflammatory cytokines induce autoimmune reactions against muscles and connective tissue
Rheumatoid Arthritis	Inflammatory cytokines induce autoimmune reactions against joints
Scleroderma	Inflammatory cytokines induce an autoimmune attack against connective tissue
Stroke	Chronic inflammation promoted thromboembolic events
Surgical complications	Inflammatory cytokines (often pre-dating the surgery) slow or prevent healing

 

We haven’t covered everything but as you can see inflammation is far more than just arthritis. It is involved in loads of other conditions, and as you can see, in many cases those inflammatory cytokines are inducing and promoting inflammation to occur.

Although inflammation is a natural and normal response of the body, it’s not good if we have ongoing stimulus promoting systemic chronic inflammation in our body’s cells.

The reason I’m so passionate about sharing information about inflammation is because nutrition plays a major role in modulating our immune response and therefore our inflammatory response as well.

We can greatly decrease the amount of inflammation in our body through what goes in our mouths. That’s right, the food we eat can act like an inflammatory stimulus, provoking those inflammatory cytokines into action.

No matter what your condition or your symptoms, an anti-inflammatory diet can assist you in feeling better by supporting your immune system and by supporting body to function better.

Yes, the food we eat really is that powerful. As Hippocrates said back in 400BC: Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.

Yes, they even knew it back in the times before Christ, somehow with the development of modern times we have forgotten the importance of such as message and we have lost the belief in the body’s amazing capacity to heal itself. I am a big believer that most health conditions can be conquered, if not completely then symptoms can be reduced a great deal and the quality of life can be greatly improved.

One simple tool we have at our fingertips to help us do that is what we eat. If we eat a standard American or Australian diet filled with processed and packaged foods, and take out, what kind of response can we expect?

We can expect a pro-inflammatory response and more sickness and disease. Whereas if we eat an anti-inflammatory diet, we can expect a calming of the immune system, and anti-inflammatory response, and healing.

Along side that we can also expect a reduction in pain and symptoms, increased energy, better clarity of mind, and most importantly increased happiness.

All it takes is to eat better and the changes that can occur can be profound.

That’s why I’m so passionate about nutrition because I’ve seen it transform people’s lives and I just love that!

That’s why I do these podcasts, write on the GFE blog, and it’s also why I’ve spent a few months writing my new Anti-Inflammatory Start Up program. I want to see as many people as possible improve their health and I want to help make that process easier and more enjoyable.

We’re opening the doors to that new program in just a few days so head over to the GFE website and find out all about it. It’s a 12 week program, it’s delivered online so you can attend from anywhere in the world, there is loads of interaction with our Q&A calls and private community forum. You’ve got plenty of access to both myself and Beth, the dietitian on my team. And most importantly the Anti-Inflammatory Start Up program can help support you to decrease inflammation, get healthier, increase your energy, and just feel great about life.

Sounds great right?

That’s because it is.

I’ve put plenty of hours into researching and writing this program and I look forward to sharing some of the great success stories that come out of it on this podcast in the not too distant future.

I hope one of those stories is yours. Head over to the GFE website for more info.

That’s all I’ve got for you today. Take care of your health because it really is your wealth.

Bye now.

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