All posts tagged: Inflammation

The Medical Myth That Keeps People In Chronic Pain, And How One Expert Finally Helped

The Medical Myth That Keeps People In Chronic Pain, And How One Expert Finally Helped

Published by Jenni Sidey

For decades, maybe even longer, the medical establishment has told people that there are two kinds of pain: physical pain from a source that can be seen (like from a broken bone, a heart attack, or a laceration) and pain that starts in the brain, like psychosomatic pain. Now we know that this separation is a medical myth, and it always was. Mind and body are all one thing.  Pain, of all types, lives in the brain and nervous system. Whether you need stitches from a kitchen accident or your chest aches from grief or stress, these are all real types of pain. They are coming from the nerves and being processed by the brain. None of them is fake or “all in your head”.  With that in mind, Andrea Miller of Getting Open wanted to better understand an area of health, pain control, and physiology that pretty much nobody talked about: fascia. Research explaines that facia works, essentiallly as the regulatory system in health and disease. If you’ve heard about fascia or fascia release …

UCLA researchers discover key driver of fatty liver disease, inflammation and aging

UCLA researchers discover key driver of fatty liver disease, inflammation and aging

Published by Jenni Sidey

A small cluster of damaged immune cells can do outsized harm. That is the picture emerging from new research at UCLA, where scientists identified a rogue population of macrophages, the tissue-patrolling immune cells that normally clean up debris and help maintain order. In aging livers, and in livers damaged by fatty liver disease, those cells can slip into a senescent state. They stop dividing, refuse to die and begin sending out inflammatory signals that disturb the tissue around them. “Senescent cells are fairly rare, but think of them like a broken-down car on the 405,” said Anthony Covarrubias, senior author of the study and a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. “Just one stalled car can back up traffic for miles. Now imagine five or ten of them slowly accumulating. That’s what these cells do to a tissue: even a small number causes enormous disruption.” For years, scientists argued over whether macrophages could truly become senescent at all. Part of the problem was that …

The common fruit juice that could control blood pressure and calm inflammation

The common fruit juice that could control blood pressure and calm inflammation

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Most of us think of orange juice as a simple breakfast habit, something you pour without much thought. Yet scientists are discovering that this everyday drink may be doing far more in the body than quenching thirst. A recent study has shown that regular orange juice consumption can influence the activity of thousands of genes inside our immune cells. Many of these genes help control blood pressure, calm inflammation and manage the way the body processes sugar, all of which play an important role in long-term heart health. The study followed adults who drank 500ml of pure pasteurised orange juice every day for two months. After 60 days, many genes associated with inflammation and higher blood pressure had become less active. These included NAMPT, IL6, IL1B and NLRP3, which usually switch on when the body is under stress. Another gene known …

An inflammation expert says non-alcoholic wine is just as good for your heart as the real thing

An inflammation expert says non-alcoholic wine is just as good for your heart as the real thing

Published by Jenni Sidey

It’s no secret that drinking the odd glass of red wine can have positive health benefits, but did you know that a non-alcoholic equivalent could also do the same good? Non-alcoholic red wine could help lower cholesterol just as effectively as the regular stuff, according to an expert in cardiovascular diseases. Ioannis Zabetakis, associate professor in food chemistry at the University of Limerick in the Republic of Ireland, says both regular and non-alcoholic red wine contain polar lipids—molecules that contain fatty acid chains—that can help reduce inflammation, a key factor in cardiovascular diseases. Article continues below You may like Polar lipids do this by boosting levels of HDL cholesterol—often labelled as “good” cholesterol—which protects the heart and arteries. These lipids are also able to get into the bloodstream more quickly than other types of fatty lipids, to reduce inflammation. “People think cholesterol is bad, but that’s not the case,” says Zabetakis, author of Preventing Inflammation and Cardiovascular Diseases. He explains that while LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol can build up in the arteries and increase the …

The affordable tea that can boost gut health and reduce inflammation

The affordable tea that can boost gut health and reduce inflammation

Published by Daniella Wilson

Sign up to IndyEat’s free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our food and drink newsletter for free Get our food and drink newsletter for free Rooibos tea, a caffeine-free drink made from the leaves of a shrub indigenous to South Africa, is part of the country’s heritage. The rooibos plant (Aspalathus linearis) grows in the mountainous Cederberg region of South Africa’s Western Cape province. It has been traditionally harvested and consumed as a herbal tea by the Khoisan people. Beyond making tea, the plant has been touted for its potential health benefits. Rooibos has scientifically proven effects as an antioxidant. This is a natural substance that helps to protect your body’s cells from damage caused by harmful molecules. It’s also an anti-inflammatory: a substance that reduces inflammation (redness, swelling, and pain) in the body. It can help protect the heart and liver, regulate blood sugar and improve skin health. Commercial cultivation of rooibos began in the early 20th century. Scientific research into its health benefits started in the 1960s, when …

5 Ways Turmeric Can Benefit Your Health, From Easing Pain to Reducing Inflammation

5 Ways Turmeric Can Benefit Your Health, From Easing Pain to Reducing Inflammation

Published by Jenni Sidey

No herb’s health halo shines as brightly as turmeric. While the bright orange powder has long been a cornerstone of cooking and medicinal use in India, the US has become the biggest importer of the herb. Why? Tumeric’s health benefits. You may know someone who takes turmeric supplements for their arthritis or as part of their post-workout recovery plan. Or maybe your FYP on TikTok is getting flooded with ads for Dose turmeric shots. Perhaps you’ve had it in one of the cold-pressed bottled juices sold near the checkout stand at Whole Foods or clocked its presence in a bar of soap. Is it worth the hype? The benefits of turmeric are legit, but if you want to use the herb medicinally, it’s important to know how much to consume and the best way to do it. We talked to registered dietitians and clinical herbalists to learn about the five major ways you can benefit from consuming turmeric and how much it takes to make a notable difference on health. 1. It helps with arthritis …

Six-week boxing routine lowers blood pressure in young adults

Six-week boxing routine lowers blood pressure in young adults

Published by Jenni Sidey

A heavy bag swings, gloves snap against leather, and the rhythm builds, three minutes on, one minute off. After six weeks of this pattern, something quieter changed inside the body. There was a drastic decrease in blood pressure. That is the result of a randomized controlled trial conducted by scientists from the University of Texas in El Paso that examines short-term boxing training and how it changes the cardiovascular profile of young adults who have been found to be pre-hypertensive. “Hypertension is the foremost cause of heart disease and stroke and is also the leading cause of death in young people, and most do not know they have it,” says Alvaro Gurovich (PhD), the lead author of the study. Peripheral (a,d) and central blood pressure (b,c,e,f) changes following 6 weeks of boxing training in individuals with elevated blood pressure or stage 1 hypertension. Augmentation Index (AI) represents the central aortic pressure waveform, showcasing hoy a reflected pulse wave adds to the forward wave. (CREDIT: Sports) The Workout Hitting Several Systems The trial included 24 participants …

Scientists discover how gut inflammation can drive age-associated memory loss

Scientists discover how gut inflammation can drive age-associated memory loss

Published by José Betancourt

As organisms grow older, changes in the bacteria living inside the digestive system can directly cause the memory loss commonly associated with aging. By reversing these microbial shifts or stimulating the nerves that connect the digestive tract to the brain, researchers found that memory function could be entirely restored in aging mice. These results were recently published in the journal Nature. Timothy O. Cox, a graduate researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, led the research team. Christoph A. Thaiss and Maayan Levy, both pathology researchers at Stanford Medicine and the Arc Institute, served as senior authors on the paper. The team wanted to understand the biological mechanisms that dictate how memory changes over a lifespan. They focused on a concept called interoception, which is the way the brain senses the internal state of the body. Unlike external senses like sight or hearing, interoception relies on internal pathways like the vagus nerve. This long bundle of nerve fibers acts as a high-speed communication line between the internal organs and the brain. It transmits continuous updates from …

Undigested fruit sugar is linked to increased anxiety and inflammation

Undigested fruit sugar is linked to increased anxiety and inflammation

Published by José Betancourt

A recent study published in the journal Brain Behavior and Immunity reveals that an inability to properly digest fruit sugar is linked to increased anxiety and body-wide inflammation. The research suggests that unabsorbed fructose alters the community of bacteria in the digestive tract, which then triggers immune responses that can affect the brain. These discoveries offer new insights into how our modern, sugar-heavy diets might be influencing our mental health. Historically, human beings consumed very small amounts of fructose daily. This sugar was primarily obtained from seasonal fruits and honey. Today, modern food processing has made fructose incredibly abundant, and people now consume large amounts of this sugar through sodas, sweets, and processed foods. The human digestive system relies on specific transport proteins to absorb fructose into the bloodstream. Think of these transporters as specialized doorways lining the small intestine. These doorways can only let a limited amount of sugar through at one time. When someone consumes more fructose than their intestinal doorways can handle, the excess sugar continues moving down the digestive tract. It …

Frailty sets in far earlier than you’d expect, but you can reverse it

Frailty sets in far earlier than you’d expect, but you can reverse it

Published by skeptic

If we live long enough, many of us will eventually start to exhibit telltale signs of frailty, from unsteady feet to mental confusion. Yet not all. Think of Julia Hawkins, who set world records in the 100-metre sprint after taking up running at age 100. Or the journalist Leonard Barden, who still files weekly chess columns at the age of 96. Such people defy the odds and seem to dodge the destiny of frailty. The question is: why? The answer lies in new insights into frailty, which show that it is a far more complex and diverse condition than it first appears. Surprisingly, we are also discovering how it can start developing early in our life, with a significant number of people in their 30s or 40s unknowingly in a “pre-frail” state. The good news is that we have more control over our future frailty than we might realise. Many of the factors that lead to it are modifiable, and midlife is a great time to take action. What’s more, this new understanding of how …