Inflammation: The Body’s Natural Healing Response

Inflammation is the reaction your body makes to fight infections or injury. It’s a healthy and necessary part of our lives. But sometimes inflammation can become long term, such as from ongoing exposures to toxins (like cigarettes) or chronic disease (like diabetes or obesity). Chronic (long-term) inflammation can lead to other problems down the road. Read on to learn more about inflammation and what happens when it works against you.

What is inflammation?

Inflammation is when your body’s immune system reacts to something that could be a threat, such as a toxin or infection. The immune system is made up of many cells that work throughout your body to identify and fight threats. Immune cells trigger the release of inflammatory chemicals that then activate additional cells and processes in your immune system. 

Signs of inflammation

When you have an injury, your body releases inflammatory substances, such as histamine and bradykinin. These cause blood vessels to dilate, which increases blood flow and sends immune cells to the area for healing. 

Inflammation will often lead to symptoms that can include:

• Redness

• Pain

• Warmth

• Swelling

• Fatigue

• Fevers

But sometimes inflammation happens in your body without causing any noticeable symptoms.

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How does inflammation help the body fight off infection?

Inflammation helps fight off infection by increasing blood flow and immune cells to a specific area. The immune cells then identify and attack intruders, such as germs or toxins. This process leads to the production of memory cells antibodies — these remember and identify threats so that they can more quickly fight future exposures.

What are the main causes of inflammation?

There are many possible causes of inflammation. Common causes of inflammation include:

• Infections with bacteria, viruses, or fungi

• Injuries with a foreign body (like a splinter), a cut, or other injuries like tendonitis

• Exposure to chemicals in the environment or radiation 

There are also health conditions that can cause inflammation (often these end in “-itis”), such as tendonitis (inflammation of the tendons) or dermatitis (inflammation of the skin). It’s also possible to have chronic inflammation, which is often related to inflammatory conditions or chronic diseases like heart disease or cancer.

Inflammation or infection

Infections from microbes like bacteria or viruses will lead to inflammation — that’s how your body fights the infection. But there isn’t always an infection where there’s inflammation. 

What is chronic inflammation?

Sometimes immune function and inflammation can go wrong in the body and lead to chronic inflammatory conditions. Your immune cells can attack your own healthy cells and lead to autoimmune disease and chronic inflammation. Some examples include:

• Rheumatoid arthritis

• Inflammatory bowel disease, like Crohn’s disease

There are also some chronic medical conditions that are associated with chronic inflammation. These include:

• Heart disease

• Diabetes

• Allergies

• Sleep apnea

• Some types of cancer

What are my risk factors for inflammatory disease?

There are some risk factors that can lead to inflammation over time, including:

• Increasing age

• Obesity

• A diet high in sugars, trans fats, and saturated fats

• Smoking

• Low levels of estrogen or testosterone 

• Stress

• Sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea

• Trauma or adverse childhood experiences

Is my diet inflammatory?

It could be. It’s worth looking at your diet to see if there might be any inflammatory triggers that you are ingesting. Common triggers are processed meats, dairy, soda, and sugary foods. 

There are also foods that have anti-inflammatory properties, which may help if you have chronic inflammation. An anti-inflammatory diet includes:

• Healthy omega-3 fatty acids, including fatty fish

• High fiber

• Fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants

• Herbs and spices, including turmeric, ginger, garlic, and cinnamon

Am I being exposed to inflammatory toxins?

It’s possible. There are many chemicals in our environment that can lead to inflammation. Environmental toxins can lead to chronic inflammation. Common environmental toxins include:

• Air pollution

• Industrial chemicals

• Bisphenol A (BPA)

• Cigarette smoke 

How do you measure inflammation?

It can be challenging to measure inflammation because it has a lot of causes and many of the tests we have aren’t specific enough. Testing can tell you if you have certain abnormal lab values that suggest inflammation, but it doesn’t tell you the location or source of inflammation. It’s important to talk with your healthcare provider about what testing might be right for you.

The lab tests that can be markers of inflammation include:

• Complete blood counts, including white blood cell count

• High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) 

• Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)

• Fibrinogen

It’s also possible to measure inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-alpha, IL-1, IL-6, and IL-8. But this testing is usually expensive and isn’t common.

How do you treat chronic inflammation?

Treatment for inflammation depends on the cause. The good news is that there are many changes you can make in your diet and lifestyle that can help with inflammation. Lifestyle changes include:

• Decreasing your intake of sugar and foods with high glycemic index

• Increasing your intake of fruit and vegetables high in antioxidants and polyphenols

• Decreasing your consumption of saturated and trans fats

• Increasing your intake of fiber

• Eating enough omega-3 fatty acids, includings nuts

• Drinking green and black tea

• Exercising regularly

What supplements might help with inflammation?

There may also be some supplements that can help with inflammation and boost your immune function. These include:

• Vitamin D

• Vitamin C

• Probiotics

• Zinc

• Turmeric 

• Omega-3 fatty acids

What about medications for inflammation?

Since some chronic conditions can cause inflammation, treating the ongoing condition can help lower your inflammatory levels. Medication options might include:

• NSAIDs

• Leukotriene inhibitors

• DMARDs

• Biologics

• Steroids

You and your healthcare provider can discuss if any medications might be right for you.

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Written by:

Christina Palmer, MD

Christina Palmer, MD, is a board-certified family physician with a special interest in chronic care management, women’s health, mental health, and preventive care. She has over 10 years of experience in primary care research, innovation, and practice.

Edited by:

Sophie Vergnaud, MD

Sophie Vergnaud, MD, is the Senior Medical Director for GoodRx Health. An experienced and dedicated pulmonologist and hospitalist, she spent a decade practicing and teaching clinical medicine at academic hospitals throughout London before transitioning to a career in health education and health technology.

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