What is Chronic Inflammation?

Chronic inflammation results when acute inflammation fails to resolve and because of  poor choices in lifestyle, diet and/or environmental factors. It is a major cause of chronic diseases and premature aging. Internists, cardiologists, oncologists, and nutritionists continue to find evidence linking chronic inflammation with chronic diseases and the diseases of aging. The effects of chronic inflammation accumulate over a lifetime to manifest themselves in a number of disorders, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, pulmonary disease, arthritis, erectile dysfunction, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Chronic inflammation frequently begins when normal acute inflammation fails to resolve. Acute inflammation is the familiar beneficiary response of our healthy immune system to such stimuli as injury, infection, or shock. Chemicals called cytokines are released by our cells to trigger local reaction, including redness, heat, swelling, and pain. In acute inflammation, the cytokines trigger the immune, complement, kallikrein, and clotting systems, which cause discomfort but rapidly restore the body to health.