Top 5 Reasons to Check Your Inflammation Levels (And How It Impacts Your Body)

Chronic inflammation causes most lethal conditions, which is why checking your inflammation levels is so important – here’s five reasons to check them and how inflammation impacts your bodyop 5 Reasons to Check Your Inflammation Levels (And How It Impacts Your Body)

Our immune systems are amazing – until they go haywire. Reacting to pollen or peanuts, the immune system triggers allergic responses that can cause noses to run and throats to close. Responding too aggressively to an infection, during a cytokine storm the immune system releases chemicals that  attack the body and can cause multiple organ failure. 

Yet our immune systems’ most consistently deadly reaction is also the one that’s often easiest to ignore. It’s chronic inflammation. Left unchecked, it’s a killer. It’s also insidious. Whether the result of an infection, diet, or stress, chronic inflammation in the body rarely disappears on its own. Instead it grows, eventually leading to diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.  Here are five reasons to check your inflammation levels and how untreated chronic inflammation can affect your body.

What’s The Difference Between Acute or Chronic Inflammation?

Inflammation gets a bad rap. In articles about diet, health, or longevity, inflammation in the body is attributed to everything from weight gain to cancer. Yet it’s important to distinguish between everyday, acute inflammation and long term, chronic inflammation. That’s because inflammation is your body’s natural response to infection or injury. Inflammation in the body starts immediately after an injury or as soon as your immune system is alerted to a foreign invader like a virus or bacteria. 

Inflammation is a call to arms for inflammatory mediators like histamine. These mediators are the foot soldiers of the immune system. If you’ve ever had an allergic reaction (and taken an antihistamine), that’s the result of your immune system overreacting to something that isn’t actually dangerous. Hormones like histamine or bradykinin widen your blood vessels. This allows more blood to reach injured or infected tissue. You’ll notice this because the affected area may turn red or feel warm to the touch. 

The increased blood flow caused by these inflammatory mediator hormones also delivers additional immune system cells to the affected areas. This helps it heal. The hormones involved irritate your nerve endings. This triggers pain signals, which are transmitted to your brain. That’s no accident. Your body wants you to be careful about touching an area that’s injured or infected. 

Inflammatory mediators also help immune system cells exit smaller blood vessels so more of them can go where they are needed. These cells often cause excess fluid to enter infected or injured tissues. This is why you’ll experience rapid swelling following an injury. In the case of an infection, your mucous membranes are also releasing more liquid – which is why you might have a runny or stuffed up nose when you are sick. The extra fluid helps your body flush out viruses. 

Whether it’s an infection or an injury, your body sends white blood cells from your bone marrow into the bloodstream. This is why high white blood cell counts are a general indicator for infection or inflammation in the body. Although generally benign, on rare occasions a high white blood cell count is symptomatic for cancers of the blood or disorders involving bone marrow. 

In the case of infection or injury, acute inflammation is your body’s healthy, healing response. It’s why you don’t suffer head colds forever. It’s why paper cuts heal. Sometimes acute inflammation persists long after the injury is healed or the infection has passed. This low-grade, persistent inflammation is called chronic inflammation. Unlike healthy acute inflammation, chronic inflammation damages your body’s tissues. 

Chronic inflammation is a precursor for some of the planet’s deadliest conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even some cancers. Researchers have also connected chronic inflammation to many allergies. It has also been linked to everything from Alzheimer’s disease and arthritis to anxiety and depression. Treating these conditions in the U.S. alone approaches $100 billion per year – which includes the cost for anti-inflammatory medicine. Worldwide, one out of two deaths have been linked to chronic inflammation.

Like when our immune system overreacts to an allergen, some experts believe chronic inflammation is also the result of an overreactive immune system. It could be stoked by a low-grade infection, pollution, or an unhealthy diet. It has been connected to smoking tobacco, inadequate sleep, and even stress. “Chronic inflammation is sometimes called ‘smoldering inflammation’ because it’s inflammation that never really resolves,” Eugene Ahn, MD, Medical Director of Clinical Research and Hematologist/Oncologist at City of Hope Cancer Center Chicago explains. “The more sedentary you are and the worse your diet is, the more inflammation you’re generating,”

What Chronic Inflammation Does To Your Body 

Inflammation in the body produces clear signals and symptoms. When you are sick or injured, for example, the immune system utilizes an enormous amount of energy. This is why you’re often fatigued during an illness. Fevers increase the body’s rate of metabolism. This increases production of the immune system’s antibodies. Blood tests can reveal this increase in immune system cells.

Chronic inflammation also causes fatigue, along with soreness in the muscles or joints. Just like when your body is battling infection, people suffering from chronic inflammation in the body often have a low-grade fever. They have trouble sleeping. When they’re awake, they often feel anxious or depressed. Gastrointestinal distress like acid reflux or an upset stomach may also be caused by chronic inflammation. Sudden weight loss or weight gain are other common warning signs. 

Because many other conditions can cause similar symptoms, accurate information is vital. Fortunately a simple, at home blood test can detect one of the warning signs for chronic inflammation. It’s called the C reactive protein blood test. Produced by the liver, C-reactive protein levels rise whenever there’s inflammation in the body. By downloading the Kyla app, you’ll be able to check your levels of this signaling protein along with many other health indicators. 

After downloading the Kyla app, you’ll be asked a few simple questions. Your answers help the app produce a risk analysis. This can reveal if you have an elevated risk for heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other conditions that can affect your longevity. You’ll also be able to input fitness levels and calorie consumption. It also offers the option to order an at-home test from Kyla. Just complete an easy two-minute, online health quiz and select the best test for you.

Some home-testing companies only provide a c reactive protein blood test. Many charge hundreds of dollars for this. Kyla offers the far more reactive, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) blood test. This blood test detects lower inflammation levels, which means you’ll be able to take action far sooner. Plus Kyla’s comprehensive tests cost just $99 – which may be covered by insurance. After ordering, you’ll receive the test kit in a few days along with easy-to-follow instructions for sample collection. Mail the sample back to Kyla postage free. 

Soon, you’ll receive the results which can offer valuable insights into your overall health – both current and future. Along with inflammation markers in the blood, you’ll learn if you have an elevated risk for heart, liver, or kidney disease along with blood sugar and hormone levels. Examining your test results, you may wonder about the high sensitivity c reactive protein meaning and how it affects your overall health. That’s why you can make an appointment with a Kyla doctor right from the app! You’ll be able to discover not only how inflammation markers can predict future health issues but also steps you can take to eliminate chronic inflammation in the body.

Kyla believes in empowering people to take control of their well-being, prevent chronic illnesses, and extend their healthy years with at-home blood tests and AI-driven action plans. Getting a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) blood test today can reduce your risk for major health risks tomorrow. Not convinced? Here are five reasons you should check your inflammation levels. 

Top 5 Reasons to Check Your Inflammation Levels

1.  You’ve Been Told You’re At Risk For a Heart Attack

One of the best reasons to get a high sensitivity c reactive protein blood test is because it can detect slight elevations in inflammation levels. Elevated inflammation levels often indicate an increased risk for coronary artery disease. This narrowing of the arteries surrounding the heart is often a precursor to a cardiac event. If your doctor has warned you that you have a 10% to 20% risk for a heart attack within the next decade, then getting the test and having the c reactive protein meaning explained to you by a qualified healthcare professional is vital. 

Even if you aren’t facing an increased risk today, if you have chronic inflammation you still could have heart disease in the future. Researchers have linked higher inflammation levels to ongoing arterial trauma. Hypertension and smoking tobacco can cause daily damage. This activates the immune system. Rather than healing a transitory injury or infection, the immune system triggers higher inflammation levels. This will continue for as long as the risk exists. Until this is resolved, the arterial linings will continue to be damaged even as plaque accumulates. Life-threatening blood clots may form as well. These are all major reasons for strokes and heart attacks. Continuing to smoke or ignoring high blood pressure means chronic inflammation will continue unabated. 

Lifestyle changes are often the best tool for lengthening longevity. Blood pressure, for example, can usually be reduced through diet and exercise. Quitting smoking delivers immediate benefits. You can also take anti-inflammatory supplements like curcumin (which is derived from the turmeric spice used in Indian meals), fish oil, and resveratrol. However, a healthy, plant-based diet is the best natural anti-inflammatory. Resveratrol, for example, can be found in red wine, grapes, and blueberries along with its anti-inflammatory supplement form. Whole grain, fiber-rich foods can improve your gut health and also have natural anti-inflammatory qualities.

2.  You Are Worried About Your Weight

Chronic inflammation increases insulin resistance. This means the hormone is no longer as effective at controlling blood sugar. Because your blood sugar levels are not well controlled, you’ll experience glucose crashes where you’ll go from full to light-headed and hungry very quickly. Having high inflammation levels can also reduce leptin production. Because this hormone creates a sense of fullness after we eat, an inadequate supply of leptin can trigger overeating. To make things even harder, chronic inflammation can actually trigger your body to store fat instead of burn it when you exercise. This fat storage also increases levels of C-reactive protein. If you’re concerned about chronic inflammation in the body, getting a high-sensitivity c reactive protein blood test from Kyla clinics is an important first step. You can even order an at-home test directly from the app. 

Unfortunately, chronic inflammation sends your body into survival mode. It incorrectly believes it is starving and begins to store as much fat as possible. It also triggers overeating. If you’ve struggled to lose weight, chronic inflammation in the body may be the culprit. Lifestyle changes, including adopting an anti-inflammatory diet are essential. Some foods to consider adding to your plate include fatty fish like tuna and herring, wild-caught salmon, olive oil, peppers, kale and broccoli. 

Sugar is by far one of the biggest inflammation triggers. Even if you’ve cut out sugar-sweetened treats, yogurt, cereal, salad dressing and tomato sauces can have high levels of the sweetener. Just one 12-ounce can of sugar-sweetened soda can trigger an inflammatory response.

3.  You’re Dealing With Anxiety 

Anxiety disorders and conditions caused by chronic inflammation are on the rise. Are the two connected? Research suggests they are. Initially, studies examined inflammation levels in participants who met the criterion for having an anxiety disorder. When a high sensitivity c reactive protein blood test was conducted, both men and women who had anxiety also had higher than normal levels of the inflammation marker. In a study involving women with diabetes and anxiety, the authors wrote in Diabetes Care that, “High levels of phobic anxiety are associated with increased levels of leptin and inflammatory markers.”

Of course chronic inflammation might follow anxiety’s onset. Some who are dealing with the condition may overeat to cope or abuse alcohol – two behaviors with a clear link to higher inflammation levels. In a more recent study designed to determine if chronic inflammation can actually trigger anxiety, researchers injected study participants with the inflammation-inducing compound lipopolysaccharide. Participants reported increased anxiety which matched their rising inflammation levels.  A host of depressive disorders, including Seasonal Affective Disorder and bipolar depression have also been linked to chronic inflammation.

4.  You Want To Improve Your Gut Health

Numerous digestive disorders have been linked to chronic inflammation and the way it affects the gut microbiome. This collection of trillions of divergent bacteria works to maintain a healthy digestive system. Disruptions in the makeup of the bacteria dwelling in the microbiome can lead to growth in harmful bacteria like Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) which can increase your risk for stomach cancer. 

Imbalances in the gut microbiome can actually increase inflammation levels which can lead to disease of the bowels like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Eating a diet high in fatty red meats, full fat dairy, refined flour, ultra processed foods and sugar can not only lead to chronic inflammation but also leaky gut syndrome. This is when the intestinal barrier becomes so weak that it no longer prevents harmful material like waste products from passing through the small intestine and into the rest of the body. 

One way of reducing chronic inflammation and improving gut health is to eat an anti-inflammatory diet loaded with fermented foods like yogurt, kombucha, kimchi, and kefir. Although most cottage cheese is produced by adding an acid like vinegar to it, you can find cottage cheese that is fermented or cultured – which means it’s a probiotic food, loaded with good bacteria. Eating these types of food has been shown to reduce inflammation levels. Along with improving gut health, eating foods with live and active cultures can also reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. 

5.  You’re Concerned About Cancer

Chronic inflammation increases your risk for numerous cancers. Studies suggest one out of five cancer deaths can be linked to elevated inflammation levels. When inflammation is ongoing, it not only damages healthy cells but actually encourages the types of cellular mutation that can lead to tumors. The changes in the body that occur as the result of long-term, chronic inflammation may also produce an environment that not only cultivates cancer but actually encourages its spread. That’s because of cytokine molecules that by stimulating the growth of blood vessels also provide increased oxygen for developing tumors. These molecules also deliver nutrients. 

Chronic inflammation also encourages the generation of free radicals – molecules that occur as a byproduct of digestion but in large quantities can actually damage healthy cells. Colorectal cancer has been linked to the chronic intestinal inflammation suffered by people with inflammatory bowel disease. Other cancers including liver and throat have been linked to inflammation. If you have a family history of cancer, it’s even more important that you take immediate steps to reduce chronic inflammation.

Kyla cares about longevity. One of the best ways to extend your lifespan is by reducing chronic inflammation. A healthy diet, exercise, and getting enough sleep can reduce inflammation in the body while improving the way you look and feel. Taking an aspirin a day may also reduce inflammation – although it’s important to speak with your healthcare provider before taking this step. 

“I always tell patients that there are certain things they have control over in their lives, and there are certain things they don’t, and they should only worry about the things they have control over,” Dr. Ahn, the Medical Director of Clinical Research and Hematologist/Oncologist a City of Hope Cancer Center Chicago points out. “That’s where lifestyle comes into play.”

Change your lifestyle, change your life, and embrace a long and healthy lifespan. Download the Kyla app and learn how to reduce chronic inflammation today!

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