Q: My doctor says that because I’m overweight and have achy joints, I am contending with chronic inflammation. I don’t quite get what that means or what I should do about it. Can you help? -- Gary T., Denver
A: The World Health Organization says that chronic disease is the greatest threat to human health -- and chronic inflammation causes or promotes many chronic diseases and conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, heart, liver and kidney disease, osteoarthritis, dementia, a lousy sex life and depression.
What is chronic inflammation? It’s a welcome immune system response when it’s KO’ing an infection or helping repair an injury. But sometimes the body can’t turn it off, because of internal provocateurs like obesity and persistently high glucose levels, because the immune system goofs and thinks healthy tissue is a foreign invader, or when there’s an immune response to an environmental toxin.
One way to protect yourself from chronic inflammation is to shed excess weight -- the leading cause of arthritis -- and choose your foods wisely. The Arthritis Foundation says that regularly eating sugar; saturated fat; trans fats; omega-6s (in sunflower, safflower, soy, sesame, and corn oils); refined carbs; MSG; gluten (in wheat, barley and rye); casein (in dairy products); aspartame; and alcohol fuels chronic inflammation.
On the other hand, Harvard Health says that eating 1.5 to 2 cups a day of fruit cools chronic inflammation and reduces your risk for chronic disease.
- Berries contain fiber, vitamin C, and phytochemicals like anthocyanins and ellagic acid that may help lower the risks of heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.
- Apples -- along with pears -- lower the risk of diabetes, heart and cerebrovascular disease and diabetes according to observational studies.
- Stone fruits -- including cherries, peaches, and plums -- deliver vitamin C, potassium, and phytochemicals associated with their colors. They tamp down inflammatory, gene-damaging free radicals.
So, paint your plate with a variety of colorful fruits (and veggies). And check out the iHerb.com blog, “7 Anti-Inflammatory Foods and Supplements You Should Know.”
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Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global adviser to www.iHerb.com, the world’s leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
