What is Inflammation?

In the past few weeks, we discussed Metabolism – how the body produces and uses energy.

But to understand many diseases, it's crucial to understand another important process: Inflammation.

1. What is Inflammation? Inflammation is the body's defence response. When the body senses an infection, injury, or metabolic stress, it initiates a repair process.

Blood flow increases, immune cells become active, and the repair process begins. This short-term process is essential for the body.

2. When does the problem arise? The problem occurs when this process doesn't stop. This means that chronic low-grade inflammation continues in the body for a long time. Gradually, this leads to the development of many diseases.

3. The common thread behind many diseases Diseases frequently seen in OPD today, such as Diabetes, Heart disease, Fatty liver, Obesity, PCOS, and some cancers, often have chronic inflammation as an underlying factor.

4. Metabolism and inflammation When Metabolism is disrupted, fat storage increases, insulin resistance rises, and inflammatory signals increase. This means Metabolic disease and inflammation perpetuate each other.

5. Where does inflammation occur in the body? It can occur in fat tissue, liver, blood vessels, gut, and mitochondria (the energy factories of cells).

6. Why this series? In OPD, people often say, 'Doctor, I have no problems.' But silent inflammation can be ongoing in the body for years, and diseases often develop even before symptoms appear.

In the next posts, we will discuss: Mitochondria and energy production, Oxidative stress, Inflammation caused by belly fat, Gut inflammation, The relationship between diet and inflammation, The relationship between sleep and inflammation. All in simple language, but with scientific basis.

Understanding inflammation opens a new door to understanding lifestyle diseases.

What are your thoughts on this new 'Inflammation Series'?

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Spreading health information to as many people as possible is true prevention.

Dr. Ravindra L. Kulkarni, MD, DNB, FSCAI (Cardiology), Just For Hearts.