I see lots of foods listed as anti inflammatory but what exactly is inflamed? Are human bodies regularly inflamed? I’m just worried that it’s a pseudoscientific term.
In: Biology
Doc here: inflammation is a natural response to an external or internal injury, lot of stuff happens. Cells work, attack and repair stuff. Blood vessels increase their flow – hence we have the redness (rubor in latin), swelling (tumor, which do not means cancer) and heat (calor). Plus some chemicals are produced that gives you the feel of pain (dolor)
Basically inti-inflammatory drugs inhibit those chemicals
Not to be confused with the word infection which is the colonization of a tissue by a bacteria/fungus/virus etc
Edit: typo
One of the reasons that it has become a current buzzword is the increasing appreciation that 1) inflammation, whilst an amazing and complex response of the body to any minor or major injury, does have unwanted consequences (the tissue that is repaired is sometimes never quite as functional as the original) and 2) it can sometimes, whilst being triggered by a minor injury such as a virus, develop a life of its own, carrying on long beyond what was required to heal the original threat – classically demonstrated by the so-called autoimmune diseases which are probably genetically mediated. So the inflammatory response doesn’t stop, and ends up (long story) damaging our own tissues.
The concept of inflammation (understood as a good thing in order to heal and repair) also potentially having a damaging effect, is the issue here. Both these things are true.
However, I’ve had experience of many buzzwords/fads in medicine and this is another one where the science is not fully settled and won’t be any time soon, so people are making money out of saying, ‘don’t listen to the doctors and scientists – they’re in the pocket of big pharma and won’t tell you they have the solution because they hate you, here, buy our product which will solve your currently poorly understood illness.’
Inflammation refers to hot swelling caused by some form of irritation.
The body creates this inflammation as part of the immune response, flooding an infected area with white blood cells that work overtime to kill the infection. The extra cells cause swelling as they crowd into the area and the excess work causes localized heating. Because viruses and bacteria can’t usually stand heat.
Sometimes, however, the body just gets inflamed. There could be a latent infection or an irritant or your body just overreacted. That’s when you need to take medicine to tamp down the swelling.
It’s not a psuedoscientific term but a medical term. It is a seeable, provable symptom of many illnesses.
Inflammation is a response to injury or infection. it’s usually good, because it helps you heal, but too much can be dangerous.
1. Blood vessels dilate (get wider). this increases blood flow, because you need a good blood supply to heal a wound. It also allows white blood cells to easily move into the injured or infected area. this is why the area around the wound gets hot and red.
2. The white blood cells fight the infection, and help remove damaged cells. They are the clean up crew. they produce lots of chemical signals to communicate with each other so they can all work together in an organized way.
3. The chemical signals tell your nerves to send pain and itch signals to your brain. this causes you to protect the wounded area.
Inflammation is very, very generally speaking, a localized state of alertness and damage response by the immune system (and local tissues). It’s definitely not pseudoscience.
However, loads of quacks love to push it as a vague scapegoat for all sorts of health issues, and something that *their products* can fix. Supplements and all that. You named turmeric, that’s a classic.
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