Your body has a secret weapon that you may have mistaken for a defect: inflammation. This natural response is part of the body’s defense system, helping your cells heal and repair when faced with injury, stress, or trauma. Inflammation can look like your foot swelling due to an injury, your throat feeling sore as you fight off a virus, or indigestion when you eat something you’re allergic to. We’ve all experienced inflammation at some point in our lives, and luckily, it usually doesn’t last longer than a few days to a week.

But our bodies don’t always work exactly as we’d hope they would. Chronic inflammation, a condition in which the body sends out inflammatory cells and substances over the course of months or years, can cause long term damage, and lead to more serious health conditions. Chronic inflammation is caused by physical or psychological stress, poor diet, alcohol, and/or poor sleep – all things that trigger your body’s inflammatory response. If you’re experiencing chronic inflammation, you might feel fatigued or depressed, have more frequent issues with indigestion, become sick more often, or gain or lose weight without trying.

The link between inflammation and aging

As we age, our bodies naturally stop producing the same levels of inflammatory fighting substances, like glutathione, that keep inflammation in check. The receptors in our immune system that are able to measure threats that cause inflammation also weaken, and are less able to differentiate between various threats, triggering a more frequent inflammatory response even when it’s not necessary. As a result, most older adults will develop a condition that’s been coined “inflammaging” – a measurable increase in inflammation that’s been connected to higher morbidity rates. 

Across the world, 3 out of 5 people die from chronic inflammatory diseases, like stroke, diabetes, heart disorders, cancer, and Alzheimers. Even when inflammatory diseases aren’t deadly, like in the case of arthritis and allergies, they can be a major disruption to daily life and healthy aging.

Chronic inflammation isn’t always obvious. The changes it makes to our bodies is gradual, so it’s important to prevent and catch it as soon as possible. Alongside noticing physical symptoms (like fatigue), inflammation can be detected through blood work at your doctor’s or with more comprehensive tests, like those offered at Modern Age. 

The inflammation related biomarkers that matter

CRP (C-Reactive Protein) is a protein made by the liver that increases with inflammation. When measuring biomarkers, high levels of CRP can be indicative of chronic inflammatory diseases. 

Homocysteine is an amino acid that works with vitamins B12, B6, and folate to create methionine, an essential amino acid and antioxidant, and cysteine. Cysteine is synthesized from methionine and reduces inflammation. Your homocysteine levels are typically low because of the process that breaks it down into cysteine and methionine. However, high homocysteine levels (more than 50 mcmol/L) can cause inflammation in the arteries, causing blood clots, blood vessel blockages, and other heart related diseases. 

Discover if you’re at risk for chronic inflammation

The majority of doctors' offices won’t run tests for these biomarkers unless they’re ruling out a specific chronic inflammatory condition. However, if you’re experiencing signs of chronic inflammation, it might be difficult to pinpoint what exactly is happening in your body. 

That’s one of the reasons we developed the Aging Wellness Assessment, a holistic look at your body’s unique health that includes a measurement of 55 key biomarkers – including CRP and homocysteine. You’ll work 1:1 with a licensed clinician to review your results, and come up with a treatment plan for underlying conditions. Popular treatments for inflammation, along with exercise and a balanced diet, include IV Therapy and N-Acetylcysteine (NAC), an amino acid that increases glutathione and your ability to fight inflammation.