Inflammation is a normal reaction of the body to infections and injuries. Normally, the inflammation leads to the immune system dealing with the issue and then it returns to normal functioning. Inflammation leads to disease if this process doesn’t work properly or is not self-limiting anymore.
While we now know that abnormal Inflammation causes may diseases you might wonder: What causes abnormal inflammation in the first place:
There are several reasons:
- Inflammatory Foods: Processed Food, Food additives
- Disturbance in your gut microbiome: Certain Infections and certain medications like antibiotics, NSAIDs or even the popular stomach pills can lead to an imbalance which causes chronic inflammation and “leaky gut” syndrome
- Stress: There are several sub-types of stress:
- emotional stress (we all know this kind of stress…)
- physical stress (e.g. over-exercise, chronic over-use))
- chemical stress (e.g. toxins)
- Infections with certain microorganisms (e.g. Lyme disease, Candidosis…)
- Hormonal Imbalances
- Blood Sugar Imbalances (high-low, insulin resistance)
- Environmental toxins (smoking, flame retardants…)
Once chronic inflammation is triggered, it maintains itself in a vicious cycle. Allergies manifest, which lead to even more inflammation.
