Add inflammation to the list of risk factors for disease. There's growing evidence that it plays a role in arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and other conditions. As with many risk factors, the power to reduce inflammation is in your hands...and in your diet.

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Inflammation is your body's response to an injury or infection. When your immune system is working right, your body's white blood cells attack viruses, bacteria, and other foreign substances. But sometimes the white blood cells get confused.

They see your body's tissue as an enemy and attack the wrong kind of cells.

When this happens, the body releases chemicals at the site of all that activity, the chemicals flow into body tissues, and tissue swells up.

New research suggests inflammation may play a role in heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, and diabetes. It may even contribute to Alzheimer's disease. Why's it so important to be aware of inflammation? Like many other risk factors for disease, inflammation may be tied to lifestyle choices - which means you can take steps to limit its impact on your health.


Many people associate inflammation with arthritis.The term arthritis is a general name for inflammation near a joint. Some, but not all, types of arthritis are caused by inflammation.

Symptoms of joint inflammation can include:

• Redness
  
  
• Swollen joints that are warm to the touch
  
  
• Joint pain and stiffness
  
  
• Reduced joint mobility
  
  

When inflammation occurs elsewhere in the body - like internal organs and blood vessels - the symptoms can feel more like the flu:

• Fever
  
  
• Chills
  
  
• Fatigue/loss of energy
  
  
• Headaches
  
  
• Muscle stiffness
  
  
• Appetite changes
  
  

Sometimes inflammation affects areas of the body that don't have pain receptors, so it doesn't cause any noticeable symptoms. But scientists have discovered that the body gives some clues … if you know where to look for them.

For example, doctors can test the blood for an unusual white blood cell count, high levels of an inflammation marker called C-reactive protein, or high levels of a substance called interleukin-6.