Controlling inflammation can increase life expectancy
(Originally published March 28, 2016)
Silent inflammation is one of the key points of any treatment in Functional Medicine. Discovering what may be causing inflammation and controlling it can be the key to decreasing many symptoms and even preventing several diseases.
Buck Institute research published in Cell Host & Microbe showed that age-related inflammation can lead to metaplasias that in turn subsequently lead to carcinomas.
The study was done in animals and it was found that inflammation leads to metaplasia of the stomach, which in turn alters the intestinal flora, leading to intestinal diseases and shortened life span. The researchers also found that this process was perfectly reversible by controlling inflammation.
The changes caused by the intestinal flora need to be better studied and perhaps interesting conclusions can be reached about probiotic therapy as a form of disease prevention. It is not yet known which strains could be beneficial and it is too early to make recommendations in this regard.
Either way, the main message is that controlling inflammation is a primary factor in the quality of life for all of us and that it impacts health and disease.
What you eat, how much or how little exercise you do, whether or not you smoke, whether or not you have a stressful life, whether or not you take medication, are just examples of factors that can affect inflammation.