Currently, there is a lot of interest in the subject of inflammation. Every day, a plethora of new scientific papers are published, making it increasingly evident that inflammation plays a role in a wide range of degenerative diseases. Aging is one of the factors which puts us at risk of inflammation. In this article, let’s see how inflammation and aging are related. First, let’s get a brief idea about inflammation.
What’s inflammation?
Inflammation is one of the main protective mechanisms of our body. It is the procedure by which the immune system identifies, eliminates, and kick-starts the healing process after fighting foreign stimuli. Inflammation to be acute or chronic.
Acute inflammation can be brought on by toxic substances, microbial invasion, or tissue injury caused by trauma. It starts quickly, gets severe pretty fast, and the symptoms could linger for a few days.
Whereas chronic inflammation, also known as long-term inflammation, is slower and can persist for months or even years. Acute inflammation frequently goes away without doing any harm, but chronic inflammation can be blamed for a range of dangerous health outcomes.
Relationship between aging and inflammation
Aging and inflammation are intricately correlated. Aging increases inflammation through known and unknown mechanisms and elevates your risk of developing various degenerative diseases.
The immune system’s dysregulation, which results in a persistent inflammatory condition throughout the body, is one of the most significant changes that take place as we age.
Cytokines and chemokines (inflammatory markers) are among the dysregulated proinflammatory mediators that play a significant role in the emergence of chronic inflammation and immunosenescence (retardation of immunity due to aging).
Have you ever stumbled upon the term “Inflammaging”? According to the inflammation theory of aging, inflammation is characterized as an age-related rise in pro-inflammatory marker levels in blood and tissues. It is a significant risk factor for several diseases in older adults. This pro-inflammatory situation in the blood and solid tissues is mainly because of damage to macromolecules and cells over time.
An increased risk of chronic illness, disability, frailty, and early death is associated with elevated levels of blood inflammatory markers.
Cell senescence, immunological senescence, circulating mitochondrial DNA (cmt DNA), pro-coagulation factors, cell debris, gut dysbiosis, and cell debris buildup are the main contributors to inflammaging.
Inflammaging symptoms commonly include fatigue, fever, pain, swelling, higher blood pressure, etc. In the long run, it might manifests as
Studies have revealed that healthy individuals’ serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines (including interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor) start to rise around the age of 50.
Additionally, when oxidative phosphorylation, a vital step in energy production, is impaired, which happens as we age, reactive oxygen species are generated more rapidly. This causes macromolecules to suffer oxidative damage, resulting in cellular dysfunction and subsequent inflammation.
Perhaps, you might be wondering how to reduce age-related inflammation, aren't you? Alas! A miracle solution to prevent inflammaging at a snap does not exist.
However, improving your general health with a three-pronged strategy of intensifying your exercise, eating nutritious food, and maintaining a healthy weight will be advantageous. Let’s now have a look at some of the most potent anti-inflammatory foods that would help you combat inflammageing naturally.
5 most potent anti-inflammatory food you must have
Green leafy vegetables
Due to their high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory components, dark green vegetables and fruits like spinach, asparagus, kale, bok choy, lettuce, avocado, and collard greens can help to reduce inflammation. Nuclear factors that cause inflammation are suppressed by vitamin K found in spinach and kale.
Furthermore, it guards against oxidative stress. According to a recent study, eating a lot of dark green leafy vegetables over time is linked to lower systemic C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Lower CRP levels are consequently linked to a decreased risk of diseases induced by chronic inflammation, including several eye conditions.
Mussels
Marine mussels, the green-lipped mussel, in particular, are a highly potent source of natural anti-inflammatory compounds, especially eicosatetraenoic acid. Leukotriene and cyclo-oxygenase, two substances that cause inflammation, can be considerably decreased by consuming enough green-lipped mussels daily or using green-lipped mussel extracts.
Diabetes, arthritis, and other chronic inflammation-related diseases have all been successfully managed with green-lipped mussel oil. Omega 3 fatty acids and chondroitin sulfate, both of which have anti-inflammatory properties, are also abundant in these.
Honey
Since ancient times, honey has been utilized to promote health. Consuming honey regularly can assist in reducing the generation of undesirable pro-inflammatory inflammation markers.
Consuming raw honey, particularly raw natural manuka honey, is preferable to pasteurized honey for lowering inflammation. Manuka honey has significantly more antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities than regular honey, making it far more effective. This is due to its highly impressive methylglyoxal concentration.
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Cruciferous vegetables
There is mounting evidence that certain dietary ingredients found in cruciferous vegetables have powerful anti-inflammatory capabilities. Cruciferous vegetables have high concentrations of different indole derivatives, which can activate aryl hydrocarbon receptors and alter the intestinal microbiota in a way that is effective at reducing inflammation. Sulforaphane, an isothiocyanate chemical found in cruciferous vegetables, has anti-inflammatory effects on immunological functions.
Curcumin
Turmeric and some other herbal powders contain an active polyphenol, curcumin. According to extensive research, curcumin has a wide range of biological functions that are promising at regulating inflammation. Curcumin has been shown to limit the synthesis of inflammatory mediators and diminish the synthesis of reactive oxygen species.
There we are! Hope this article was helpful. Have a doubt? Comment below!