ExRx.net : Chronic Low-grade Inflammation

Elevated markers of chronic low-level inflammation (eg: C-reactive protein, cytokines) have been associated with a higher prevalence of many diseases including autoimmune disease and diseases associated with metabolic syndrome.

Cardiovascular Disease
- Peripheral arterial disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, and coronary heart disease
- Singh 2011, Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration 2010
Certain Cancers
- Lymphoma, prostate, ovarian, pancreatic, colorectal and lung
- Aggarwal 2006, Kundu 2008, Balkwill 2009
Type 2 diabetes
- Pickup 2000, Nappo 2002, Ortega Martinez de Victoria 2009
Osteoporosis
- Cao 2011
Age-related macular degeneration - AMD
- Hong 2011
Depression
- Gimeno 2009, Copeland 2012
Cognitive decline
- Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia
- Singh 2011

Exercise
- Lowers inflammation independent of weight loss
  - Bruunsgaard 2005
- Induces Myokine secretion from muscles
  - > gp130 receptor cytokine Interleukin 6 (IL-6)
  - increases exponentially in proportion to
    - exercise intensity and duration
    - amount of muscle mass engaged during exercise
  - up to 100 fold increase
- Followed by:
  - > IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra)
  - > anti-inflammatory IL-10 (Interleukin 10)
  - < TNF-alpha production
  - Petersen 2006
Calorie restriction
- Decreases inflammation
  - Ahmadi 2011, González 2012
- Chronic calorie restriction of more than 30% in rats increased their lifespan by up to 50%.
- Calorie restriction is thought to activate the SIRT-1 gene
Diet
- See below...

Foods high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids
- Fatty Fish
  - Pischon 2003, Lopez-Garcia 2004, Zampelas 2005, Marik 2009, He 2009
Olive Oil (polyphenols and oleocanthal)
Tea
- Polyphenols (EGCG and Theaflavin)
  - De Bacquer 2006, de Mejia 2009, Cavicchia 2009, Singh 2010, Melgarejo 2010
- Black Tea was more effective than green tea
  - Galland 2010, Steptoe 2007, Bahorun 2010
Probiotics
- Eg: Yogurt, Miso, Sauerkraut
Vegetables
- Dark Leafy Greens (Vitamin E)
  - Eg: spinach, kale, broccoli, and collard greens
- Soys
  - isoflavones, particularly Genistein
  - Eg: soy milk, tofu, and edamame (boiled soybeans)
- Beets
- Garlic
- Onions (Quercetin and Allicin)
- Ginger
Fruits

Berries (Possibly anthocyanins)
Tart Cherries
Mulberry (Reveratrol)
Grapes (Reveratrol and Pterostilbene)
- Reveratrol and Pterostilbene
  - Khanduja 2004, Pan 2008, Clarke 2008, Jha 2010, Ghanim 2011
Pineapple (Bromelain)
- Animal Studies
  - Secor 2005, Fitzhugh 2008, Secor 2008, Onken 2008
- Human pain relief studies
  - Walker 2002, Akhtar 2004, Yuan 2006, Klein 2006

Magnesium
- Cavicchia 2009, Galland 2010, Chacko 2010
Selenium
- Human intervention studies are lacking
- Probable anti-inflammatory effect
  - Duntas 2009
- Observational studies showing relationships between low Selenium and diseased patients
- Maehira 2002
Vitamin D
- Human intervention studies are lacking
- Probable anti-inflammatory effect
  - Krishnan 2010
- Observational studies showing relationships between low Vitamin D and diseased patients
  - Guillot 2010, Awad 2012, Reid 2011
Vitamine E
- “the combination of [alpha-tocopherol] and [gamma-tocopherol] supplementation appears to be superior to either supplementation alone on biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation and needs to be tested in prospective clinical trials...”
- Devaraj 2008
Zinc
- Mariani 2006, Kahmann 2008, Prasad 2009, Duntas 2009, Bao 2010, Kelishadi 2010, Wong 2011
Carotenoids including Beta-carotene,
- Walston 2006, Cavicchia 2009
Oregon grape, Barberry (Berberis), and Goldenseal
- Berberine found in these plants
  - 1-2 g daily divided into 3-4 servings.
- May inhibit muscle growth
DHEA
- 50 mg/day
- Gordon 2001, Weiss 2011
Creatine
- Santos 2004

Chronic Low-grade Inflammation