Module 8 - Inflammation: Taming and Repairing the Bodys Defense System

Dr. Vincent Pedre - Happy Gut App

Inflammation affects every function in the body and comes into flavors.

Acute inflammation, which is short-term and ends when the damaged tissue is repaired. Signs of acute inflammation, include redness, heat, swelling, pain, loss of function. This is not a bad thing because it saves us.

Chronic inflammation Which last years or a lifetime and comes in patterns. Signs of chronic inflammation include rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, allergies, asthma, hives, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative, and colitis.

Chronic bronchitis or asthma, where the activation and mobilization of inflammatory agents like cytokines and interleukins occur for long periods of time, and are the causes of the progression of other diseases from long-term damage of the tissue.

Chronic inflammation can take years to develop and most damage begins at the cellular level. It’s not always obvious. Most chronic inflammatory conditions result in excessive oxidative damage affecting all organs and tissues. This also makes you age.

How does chronic inflammation present?

Example: if you stub your toe or cut your finger, it becomes red and Swollen and the bodies response is capillary, small vessel, dilation, and influx of white blood cells jumping in to protect you. This is a good response. It alert you that something is wrong. The symptoms will go away once your body is healed.

Chronic inflammation sticks around and is mostly silent. People will get used to pain or other symptoms that are the result of inflammation. Examples of inflammatory markers include reactive, protein, or CRP, high sensitivity, CRP, Lipo protein PLA2, ferritin, CBC.

C reactive protein is a protein. Your liver makes, elevated levels can indicate chronic inflammation. Also, look at two key fatty acids omega six which doesn’t tell you where it comes from an omega three. The higher the omega-6 to the omega-3, the greater level of silent inflammation found in your organs.

Chronic inflammation is the cause of nearly every disease on the planet.

Example: obesity

Fat cells in the belly secrete inflammatory signals like immune system that keeps you fat and makes it easier to put on more fat. Reducing inflammation can help with losing weight. Obesity can make you more prone to blood clots.

Heart disease

Inflammation not cholesterol is the real reason heart disease is one of the top killers. Statins lower inflammation instead of cholesterol. You can get the same effect of the drug by following an anti-inflammatory diet. Environmental toxins are another big contributor.

High blood pressure

This is also known as hypertension. It’s created by endothelial dysfunction cells that line the inside of the arteries and an important role in regulating blood pressure by either contracting or relaxing the smooth muscle in the wall of an artery become dysfunctional.

This leads to inflammation and oxidative damage. This is the main calls of Arthro sclerosis or the plaque accumulating inside of the arterial walls. It leads to heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

CRP plays a direct role in vascular inflammation, also causes a decrease in vessel dilating signal nitric acid. Not just a marker, but a direct risk factor.

Inflammation clogs up your arterial walls and prevent optimal blood flow.

Metabolic Syndrome and type 2 diabetes

Metabolic syndrome is a precursor to type two diabetes or pre-diabetes. Stems from low-grade inflammation. Signs of metabolic syndrome are worsening blood sugar, control, increasing midline, obesity, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, or elevated cholesterol, or fatty lipids, imbalance, low HDL.

Insulin resistance – a hormone by the pancreas, shuttles glucose to cells for energy controls genes, one that stores fat in abdomen. When you become resistant to the signal your body stores more and secrete more. Causes an increase in circulating cytokines which lead to persistent low-grade Inflammation.

NA S H - nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Inflammation of the HEPATOCYTES or liver cells, is the main underlying calls. Can eventually calls fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Directly related to elevated levels of CRP. The fatty liver culprit is the sweetener, fructose particularly high, fructose corn syrup.

Arthritis

Inflammation of the bones and joints equals osteoarthritis.

Synovial inflammation – inflammation of the membrane inside the joints plays a major part in the pathogenesis of many types of arthritis.

Autoimmune conditions

Rheumatoid arthritis also involves the production of antibodies that attack healthy tissues, resulting in the deterioration of the linings of the joints.

Memory loss / Dementia

Beta-amyloid plaque is a major factor in Alzheimer’s disease and may be an anti-microbial peptide produced in response to a virus or bacteria invading the brain.

Beta-amyloid was previously thought to be the cause of the problem. Maybe protein produced in response to the true underlying calls which is an infection invading the brain. Disappears to protect the brain, but simultaneously promotes the problem by acting in a pro-inflammatory fashion.

Neuroinflammation is inflammation restricted to regions within your brain.

Erectile Dysfunction

Elevated CRP and FIBRINOGN levels have been directly linked to ED.

FIBRINOGEN – soluble protein that is the source for a blood clotting protein called fibrin.

Endothelial dysfunction the root calls for high blood pressure and IBS have been directly associated with ED.

Nitric oxide is key to sustaining erections. It is depleted with elevated levels of CRP.

Causes of chronic inflammation

All starts with food, but there are many culprits. Anything that is an irritant to our system, which could be air pollution, smoke, or chemicals.

Bugs/infections can trigger and immune response that mobilizes the inflammatory cascade. This includes all organs.

Toxins or EDCs, which are endocrine, disrupting chemicals or hormone-like chemicals found in plastics lotions, sunblocks, and makeup pesticide solvents, can cause allergies and asthma.We are introduced to 80,000 toxins daily only 2% have been tested

Manifest and many gut-related conditions. Best example is leaky gut. Leaky gut is not a diagnosis, but a process of the underlying common pathology of numerous diseases treated but fail to find a cure.

Leaky gut is the condition where connections between the cells that line the inside of the intestines known as tight junctions become loose, allowing larger molecules, such as partially digested food to pass through the gut wall 70% of immune system is in the gut.

LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE concentrations are highest in the gut lumen were many trillions of commensal bacteria reside. Also known as an endotoxin. This is a lipid sugar molecule found in the cell membrane of Graham negative bacteria and most potent stimulator of our main system.

Vegal activation can influence metabolic response to food and inflammation.

Depression and stress also have negative effects on vagal activation.

Omega-3 intake, boost mood and vagal tone depending on important inflammatory pathways controlled by NF/KAPPAB activation. This is an internal cellular, signaling pathway that controls genes involved in inflammation and becomes chronically active in inflammatory conditions.

Oxidative stress occurs when free radicals attack cells and DNA. Created by POLYMORPHONUCLEAR neutrophils (pmns- White blood cells) At the site of inflammation causes endothelial dysfunction.

Leaky vessel – basically will cause the entrance of the vessel to open up and allow trash in.

Signs of inflammation

This is normally biochemical and can’t usually see it.

Chronic signs are:

  • Puffy face

  • Stiff joints

  • Morning stiffness that last longer than 10min

  • Difficulty removing rings

  • Muscle soreness

  • Body pain

Warning signs:

  • High blood pressure greater than 135/85

  • Increased waist circumference

    • Greater than 40 for men, greater than 35 for women

  • Obesity BMI

    • Greater than 25=overweight, greater than 30=obese, greater than 35=morbidly obese

  • Digestive/gut issues

  • Chronic fatigue

  • Depression/anxiety

  • Allergies/asthma

  • Insomnia

  • headaches

Inflammation & Food

Food can turn on/off good/bad genes.

Markers to look at: C-reactive protein, Interleukin 6(IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). Cell signaling molecules produced by white blood cells involved in systemic inflammation.

Foods high in antioxidants fight oxidative stress.

Essential Fatty Acid Ratio

Foods high in sugar, gluten, and vegetable oil will ramp up inflammation.

The key to fighting chronic inflammation with food is having the right balance of omega 3 (anti-inflammatory) to omega 6 (pro-inflammatory).

You can turn your inflammation on/off with the right balance. Example: egg yolks are high in arachidonic acid (promote inflammation, source of Omega 6).Corn and corn fed beef is also high in arachidonic acid. BUT grass-fed beef is full of omega 3 which reduces inflammation.

We should be 1:1 (similar to our ancestors), but instead we are more 50:1.

Soybean oil is used in almost every restaurant and deceased amounts of EPA/DHA (omega-3).

Foods that Increase Inflammation

Cut sugar to less than 20-40g a day. Average person gets 80g daily. Sugar = all sugar (including fruit)

White starches are sources of sugar. Even coconut sugar / agave breaks down into glucose/fructose with all the havoc they bring.

Agave can be just as bad as high fructose corn syrup and lead to insulin resistance.

Sugar triggers the release of large amounts of insulin and damages mitochondria. Sugar also puts a toxic burden on your liver/pancreas.

Sugar can stun your white blood cells into inactivity for up to 6 hours.

Stay away from white flour foods or highly processed, low nutrient foods.

Trans-fat (partially hydrogenated fat) increases the shelf life, but will decrease yours. Trans-fat is mutated fats like hydrogenated oils and they trigger inflammation.

High inflammatory foods

  • Gluten

  • Wheat

  • Dairy

  • Soy

  • Corn

  • Legumes

  • Added sugar

Oligoantigenic Diet - a diet low in foods that may cause immune response.

Nightshade veggies may cause a response, but not in everyone. Nightshades are a group of vines, herbs, and trees that include mandrake, belladonna, and tobacco.

  • Tomatoes

  • Tomatillos

  • Eggplants

  • Potatoes

  • Bell Peppers

  • Pepinos

  • Sweet & Hot peppers

  • Pimentos

Nightshades most affect people with arthritic conditions or autoimmune disorders.

Plants in the nightshade family produce alkaloids, a natural insect repellant that can be toxic to humans in large amounts. There isn’t a large enough amount in these, but some people are sensitive to tiny amounts in their diet. Cooking will lower alkaloid content by 40-50%.

Nightshades also harbor an anti-nutrient called lectin which can activate the immune system and cause pain in the body.

If someone has arthritic or other inflammatory conditions it’s good to temporarily remove from your diet.

Foods that fight inflammation

Omega 6- messenger molecules involved in inflammation.

  • Corn

  • Soy

  • Corn-fed beef

  • Butter

Omega 3 - anti-inflammatory messenger molecules.

Goal is to balance omega 6 to omega 3.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

  • Wild caught fish

  • Grass-fed meats

  • Pasture-raised eggs

  • Fresh flax/chia seeds

  • Almonds

  • Walnuts

  • Berries

  • Avocados

  • Leafy greens

  • Cruciferous veggies

  • Bone broth

Cheat sheet

  • Eat organic/non-GMO

  • Focus on healthy fats like nuts/seeds

  • Eat high-fiber, low-glycemic foods like sweet potatoes

  • Non-starchy veggies, leafy greens

  • Hypoallergenic proteins - grass-fed, antibiotic/hormone free, free range, wild-caught cold water fish

  • Hydrate with water and green tea (high flavonoid)

Dr.Pedres Top Inflammation Fighting Foods

  • Wild-Caught Salmon

  • EVOO

  • Flaxseeds (ground)

  • Cabbage (red)

  • Onions (quercetin)

  • spinach (quercetin)

  • Strawberries and other berries

  • Ginger

  • Tumeric (pair with pepper)

  • Fish oil (2-4g) - look for antioxidants like tocopherols

  • Curcumin (500mg, 2x/day) - look for one that contains soy or sunflower lecithin to increase absorption. This is not fat-soluble and absorbed poorly.

  • Resveratrol (grapes, red wine, chocolate) - 50% trans-resveratrol

  • Holy basil, tulsi (500mg, 2x/day)

    You may be able to find a mix of these supplements.

Inflammation & Keto Diet

Keto diets contain high amounts of quality fats, moderate-quality protein, and small quantities of low-glycemic carbs. This helps keeps insulin low which keeps inflammation low.

Useful with metabolic syndrome and can also benefit someone with cancer, epileptic or neuro disorders.

Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle

90% of chronic disease stems from non-genetic.

  • proper sleep - Deep sleep is very important. 7-8 hours allows your body to repair and restore. Goal is to get to stage 4 REM. Wear blue light blocking glasses and remove tech an hour before bed.

  • adequate water

  • stress reduction - slow down/journal which will reduce stress lowering your main stress hormone cortisol.

    • Meditation/yoga/deep breathing. Try for 5 min when you wake up.

  • physical activity - exercise less than 1 hour

    • Anything over can lead to overtraining/inflammation

    • Changes the circulating levels of insulin/insulin related pathways, inflammation and immunity.

  • healthy relationships

  • natural sunlight

Annual labs:

  • High-sensitivity C-reactive protein

  • fasting glucose insulin

  • hemoglobin A1C

You can prevent or reverse most all chronic illness.