The Hidden Time Bomb Within You

Get ready for the health buzzword of 2011: inflammation. A key biochemical process inside every one of us, inflammation is the cornerstone of health and healing -- and yet -- unless you learn the secrets to managing it -- it will also probably eventually kill you.

The good news: As scientists slowly but surely uncover how the inflammatory response works, they're learning how we can influence it to our benefit.

Here, five surprising -- and life-changing -- facts.

Surprise #1: Inflammation is both your body's best friend -- and its worst enemy.

Inflammation is what happens when a bee stings, a paper cut slices your skin, or pollen or a virus land up your nose. Your body reacts. More specifically, your white blood cells issue a short-term response to defend your body against the assault and help it heal. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, sometimes this process goes haywire. In a classic "too much of a good thing," certain triggers create chronic inflammation -- the body's defense team doesn't quit. Immune cells never wind down, causing damage to various body systems and, ironically, leaving them more vulnerable to attack.

Why it's important: "Inflammation is the basic mechanism that maintains the well-being of our cells," says Janko Nikolich-Zugich, chair of the department of immunobiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and codirector of its Arizona Center on Aging. "But pretty much every disease is also connected to it."

Luck (good or bad) is a factor; some people are genetically prone to inflammation overload, Nikolich-Zugich says. But within the span of your genes, you have a lot of individual control, he adds. "The key is to have well-controlled inflammation, to keep it regulated so that it switches on when you need it and switches off when you don't need it anymore."

Action step: Consume healthier fats: Fats we eat are the building blocks of both proinflammatory hormones (needed to fight the invader) and anti-inflammatory hormones (needed to calm down the healing process after the wound or other threat is gone), says Beth Reardon, director of integrative nutrition at Duke University. We need both kinds.

The trouble: We live in such an inflammatory environment (from pollution, germs, diet, and other sources) that it's tough to keep the inflammation process in balance. The best way to do this is with diet: Decrease the inflammatory fats you eat (called omega 6s, found mostly animal fats from meat and dairy) while increasing anti-inflammatory fats (called omega 3s, found mostly in cold-water fish such as salmon and herring or in fish-oil supplements).

A tricky point: You need two kinds of omega 3s. There are long-chain omega 3s (from fish) and short-chain omega 3s (from flax, seeds, and fortified products, like omega-3 eggs or juice). The two types work in different ways in the body. "People think if they eat foods fortified with omega 3s, they're doing enough. But most people don't get enough long-chain omega 3 fats," Reardon says. Eating cold-water fish twice a week does the trick.

Surprise #2: Chronic inflammation contributes to almost every major disease.

Most people have heard of so-called autoimmune diseases, when the body turns on itself with a hyperactive defense mechanism. Common examples include hay fever, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, pelvic inflammatory disease, colitis, and bursitis.

You can add to this list cancer, Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, Parkinson's, osteoporosis, and even depression. "The one thing that unifies most major diseases is inflammation," says the Arizona Center on Aging's Nikolich-Zugich. "Whether inflammation is the root cause or whether these diseases are made worse by the inflammatory process isn't entirely clear yet -- but inflammation is almost always a factor."

Why it's important: Scientists believe that the key to extending lifespan and late-life well-being lies in figuring out how to manipulate and cut off chronic inflammation. While all the diseases listed above manifest themselves in the body in very different ways, they seem to share many commonalities down at the cellular level.

Action step: Eat a more anti-inflammatory diet. Because our bodies are exposed to more damage at the cell level than they can handle -- a process called oxidative stress -- shoring up defenses is key. And there's no easier way to do that than by carefully choosing what we eat and drink.

What foods contain the most antioxidants? You needn't be a chemist. Just think three words: color, taste, aroma. In whole (not processed) foods, these traits signal high-antioxidant chemical content, Duke University's Beth Reardon says. This means:

• Bright or deep-hued fruits and vegetables (berries, eggplant, purple grapes, sweet potato, dark green leafy veggies)

  o    Find Delish recipes for berries, sweet potatoesand dark leafy greens

• Foods with strong flavors (bell pepper, watermelon, tomatoes, cruciferous vegetables)

  o    Find Delish recipes including bell peppers, broccoli, tomatoand watermelon

• Foods with powerful odors (garlic, onion, chives)

  o    Find Delish recipes including garlic, onionsand chives

Other beneficial foods: the spices turmeric, ginger, cinnamon; curry; tart cherries; green tea; red wine; dark chocolate. These help inhibit the formation of inflammatory prostaglandins and COX inhibitors (the same enzyme-inhibiting substances in medications such as Vioxx or Celebrex).

At the same time, avoid highly processed foods full of sugar and saturated fats. These so-called high-glycemic index foods (chips, cookies, crackers, cakes) pour sugar into the bloodstream, upping inflammation.