You Asked: What Is Inflammation, And Why Should I Care About It?

Your body can heal itself, which is pretty miraculous when you sit back and think about it. If you suffer a cut or infection—or if a disease, allergen or virus finds its way into you—your immune system reacts by sending specialized white blood cells to the affected area. These white blood cells can repair damage, stop the spread of infection or illness and in some cases eradicate the intruder. This whole response is called inflammation. “Inflammation is an activation of cells and cell-derived components that have the job of fighting invasions, and in some cases just sponging up or clearing out damaged cells,” says Valter Longo, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Southern California and author of The Longevity Diet, a book that partly explores inflammation’s role in gut diseases. Your body transports its immune cells primarily through your blood. And as blood rushes to the site of an injury or issue, that accumulated blood can produce heat, swelling and redness—all of which are hallmarks of inflammation, says Dr. Jason Ken Hou, an assistant professor of gastroenterology at Baylor College of Medicine. Without inflammation, your body would be largely defenseless when faced with injury or illness. But not all inflammation is helpful. “In disease states, the good inflammation becomes chronic, or at least dysfunctional,” Longo says. Inflammation either sticks around when it should dissipate, or the immune system...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthytime medicine Source Type: news