Inflammation-Aging-Cancer Link Confirmed
Inflammation is vital to healing. The heat, tenderness, swelling and redness surrounding a wound show us that the body is marshaling its healing response. However, in many people, inflammation has escaped its local, temporary boundaries and is happening throughout the body, all the time.
Inappropriate, chronic inflammation appears to result from eating processed food, getting insufficient exercise, and experiencing ongoing stress – all of which are common in the modern world. Scientists have long suspected that this kind of unfocused inflammation accelerates aging, leading to faster onset of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers, and ultimately to shortened lifespans. However, solid proof that high levels of inflammation is linked to accelerated aging and cancer are has been elusive – until recently.
In a paper published on June 25, 2014, in the journal Nature Communications, a team from Newcastle University described in detail how inflammation causes cells to undergo more rapid senescence – the deterioration of function leading to cell death, and, ultimately, death of the organism.
The researchers discovered this by studying mice in which a gene that normally modulates the inflammatory response was “switched off” so that the mice were prevented from creating inflammation-calming enzymes. The genetically altered mice were compared to normal mice that retained their ability to produce the enzymes.
The result? The researchers reported that the inflammation-prone mice underwent all aspects of normal aging twice as quickly as the non-genetically altered mice. The lack of key enzymes literally made them old before their time.
The researchers also found that giving the genetically altered mice ibuprofen helped restore their ability to age at a normal rate. This simple, cheap anti-inflammatory drug was able to “reverse the progression of cell senescence and restore the ability of tissues to regenerate,” said one of the researchers.
As human beings age, we – like those altered mice – begin to lose our ability to moderate inflammatory response, suggesting we begin aging faster than when we were young. However, I don’t recommend that older people take ibuprofen daily except for specific medical reasons, as it can be taxing – and ultimately toxic – to the liver and cause serious internal bleeding.
In a recent study published this past week (Jan. 18) in the journal JAMA Oncology researchers found that men and women who had a diet high in foods thought to increase levels of inflammation in the body were more likely to develop colorectal cancer during the study period, compared with men and women who had a different type of diet.
The researcher reviewed data from the long-running Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and the Nurses' Health Study — on more than 121,000 men and women who were followed for about 25 years. At the start of the study, women were 30 to 55 years old, and men were 40 to 75 years old. During the study period, about 2,700 participants developed colorectal cancer.
The results? Men who followed a proinflammatory diet (a diet high in food that can cause inflammation - e.g. high sugar, artificial sweeteners, processed meats, fried foods) were 44 percent more likely to develop colorectal cancer, and women who followed an inflammatory diet were 22 percent more likely to develop colorectal cancer, over about two decades, compared with those who had a different type of diet.
So, what can we do? An Anti-Inflammatory Diet is rich in foods that have been proven to reduce inflammation and protect tissues from it. These include:
Whole fruits and vegetables
Asian mushrooms such as shiitaki, enoki and maitake
Omega-3 rich fish, and fish oil supplements
Spices including turmeric and ginger
Green tea
Along with following this diet, you can also contain chronic, inappropriate inflammation via lifestyle changes. Moderate daily exercise – at least 30 minutes a day, at least five days per week – appears to confer anti-inflammatory effects, as do stress-reduction techniques such as meditation and conscious breathing.
Actively managing – and optimizing – our inflammation response can prevent unnecessarily rapid aging. In other words, an anti-inflammatory lifestyle appears to be one of the best ways to increase the likelihood of staying young and fit.