While a critical and necessary part of our immune system, inflammation is the root cause of many chronic conditions that plague the modern western world. Heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, arthritis — all share chronic inflammation as a main ingredient.

Cholesterol. The culprit of heart disease. Or is it?

Did you know that one half of all heart attack patients have normal cholesterol levels? In fact, atherosclerosis is a disease caused primarily by inflammation of the arterial lining brought about by the oxidative damage from homocysteine.

For many cancers, the inflammatory mechanism is an underlying cause of the growth of tumours. In essence, the body’s own immune defences can be diverted to promote cancerous growth.

Alzheimer’s is thought to be partly attributable to neuroinflammation. Arthritis is the painful inflammation of joints.

Inflammation plays a role in Type II Diabetes as insulin promotes the inflammatory process.

How do you create a body with low inflammation? Personally I’d steer clear of the aspirin a day advocated by many in the medical community. Regular ingestion of synthetic chemicals just doesn’t make sense.

As usual, it comes down the oft-heard mantra: fight inflammation with good nutrition, regular exercise, and emotional balance. Funny how the solution to so many complex problems are solved by simple habits often learned the hard way — after a serious health scare.