Food for Thought

Inflammation is a hot topic in the popular press. It’s all over the health and wellness news at the grocery store checkout lanes.  

I first learned about inflammation in nursing school a long time ago, but the weight, the impact, the whole universe of issues surrounding inflammation has grown since then. It has 20x’d in importance. Now, it is intertwined with almost every aspect of health and illness. So much so that it feels like what I thought I knew is no longer accurate, valid, or even useful. Because of that, I must admit, this article is as much for my own understanding as it is for sharing in this month’s newsletter. It is an invitation to dig into the fiery-hot subject of inflammation.  

What is Acute inflammation? 

In nursing school, I learned the most basic definition: Acute inflammation is an immune response that causes pain, redness, swelling, and warmth of an area of the body as a result of irritation or injury¹. The injury may stem from:

• Sharp trauma like cutting oneself with a sharp object,  
• Blunt trauma, like dropping something heavy on your foot,  
• Burns, like you laid out in the sun too long 
• Infection, like a middle ear infection 
• Or a combination of any of the above, like you dropped a log on your foot, which cut the skin, which was already blistered from sunburn. After that, the area became infected. 

This is an example of an acute situation with acute inflammation. We have all experienced acute inflammation. That is, unless you have spent your life in a bubble that excludes hot, hard, heavy, and sharp objects. Stubbing your toe, smashing your finger, being scratched by a cat, or eating your soup while it is still too hot all send a 911 call to the immune system. The system’s emergency response starts with inflammation. 

Inflammation is a simple and complex process, which includes pain, heat, redness, and swelling, among other things. “But why?” we ask. Great question. 

1. Pain? Because we have nerve cells that detect the threat or truth of tissue harm and injury and register them as pain, we are motivated to avoid or remove the cause of pain. Removal of the stimulus will protect the area or help it heal. 
2. Heat? Because the body increases the flow of blood and a few other immune response chemicals to the injured tissues. This facilitates the cleansing of the area and promotes healing. Sometimes, we develop a fever, too, to help fight off microbes that could cause more damage. 
3. Redness? Because blood is rushing to the area. In the case of an open cut or wound, this helps form clots to prevent excessive blood loss. 
4. Swelling? Because the damaged tissues release histamine and other chemical signals, blood vessels are stimulated to bring additional fluids to the area. It is also interesting that the swelling acts as a natural splint, limiting the range of motion at the joints and decreasing the use of the injured area. 

Therefore, pain, redness, swelling, and heat are the familiar outward signs of an immune system that knows what to do. OK! That’s easy to understand. Thank goodness it happens without our having to think about it. 

What Is Chronic Inflammation? 

Chronic inflammation results from a longstanding psychological, emotional, or physical assault where the immune response continues for months to years¹. That’s way too long, by the way. 

“What are the causes?” you may ask. Excellent question.   

• Negative relationships at home or work that lead to protracted stress, depression, or unresolved anger.
• Toxin exposures, such as living with mold in your home, frequent contact with harsh chemicals in your environment, or consuming ultra-processed foods on a daily basis. 
• Illnesses or conditions that continuously damage body systems or tissues, like arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, and some blood disorders, to name a few. 
• Habits that cause organ and system injury, such as excessive intake of alcohol or other addictive substances.  

In chronic inflammation, the immune response has shifted into a sustained state of overdrive, with all the above-mentioned physiological processes, but multiplied. Additionally, other compensatory systems kick in and amplify the response. This is where the problem begins.   

It makes me think of a nightmare where you are driving straight down a tall, steep mountain. The drive starts out slow and pleasant and gradually picks up speed. At first, just light taps on the brake pedal are sufficient. After a while, though, you find you’re on the brakes the whole time. You’re trying to slow the vehicle down, so you don’t crash or go off the edge. Unfortunately, before you know it, the brakes are heating up, smoking, squealing, and grabbing.

You try downshifting, but the car’s automatic transmission keeps slipping. You don’t really know what else to do. So, you keep your foot on the brakes. You know the pads are wearing. You even smell them starting to burn. You try pumping the brakes, but realize it’s too late for that. You’re still going downhill fast. There are two solutions: stop the car by getting to the bottom of the mountain safely or stop the car by crashing. Either way, you have to stop the car. Then you wake up with your heart pounding. 

Of course (except for the risk of crashing off the side of a mountain), cars are way simpler to manage than the human body. In the human body, chronic inflammation can lead to systemic problems that develop gradually, with the issues often remaining barely noticeable for years. Still, all the while, the body is recording the impact.  

Inflammatory processes stimulate the production of immune cells to help fight infections. Some immune cells, such as neutrophils and macrophages, produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), also known as free radicals. In addition to helping clear out invaders, the ROS can also damage healthy cells.

Stress, a component of every disease process, is also responsible for free radical production. ROS production is a normal part of the process. The challenge arises when the conditions in the body allow ROS to accumulate, further damaging healthy cells and causing the body to sustain increasing oxidative injury. This leads to an imbalance between ROS production and accumulation in the body, or oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress is associated with damage to our DNA, accelerated aging, formation of plaque in coronary arteries, cancers, organ damage, atherosclerosis, and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. The longer the ROS production/accumulation imbalance persists, the more our body systems become decompensated^2,3. 

Inflammation is our body’s way of getting our attention. Sometimes it speaks with a gentle nudge, other times with a blaring alarm. Acute inflammation is that quick burst of help, rushing in to protect and heal. However, when it lingers and develops into chronic inflammation, it quietly erodes our health, often long before we even notice. 

The beautiful part? We have so much power to turn the tide. One of the simplest and most effective ways is through the food we eat every single day. In the next article, we’ll explore delicious, anti-inflammatory foods, especially whole, colorful, plant-based options that can help cool that internal fire and bring our bodies back into balance. 

1. Inflammation. Cleveland Clinic. Published March 22, 2024. Accessed August 31, 2025. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21660-inflammation

2. Conner, E. M., Grisham, M. B. (1996). Inflammation, free radicals, and antioxidants. Nutrition, 12(4), 274–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0899-9007(96)00000-83. Shull Clayton J, Bonnet J. Foundations of Lifestyle Medicine Board Review Manual. 4th Edition. American College of Lifestyle Medicine;121-179.