Is Inflammation Bad or Good for You?

[Rianne]

I've often struggled with this since NSAIDS are very bad for me due to kidney issues. I'm reading that inflammation is helpful as the body's response to infection or injury. So a fever might be good and should not be treated (depends how high it is). And allow swelling due to an injury as it increases blood flow which brings nutrients and white blood cells to the injured area.

When I pull a muscle in my back or neck I put heat on it, not ice. It seems to work quickly, for me. But athletes always put ice on these injuries to stop inflammation. I thought this NPR article brings up important questions. This quote is about chronic disease. I apply it to injuries as well.

"It's also not clear whether targeting inflammation through drugs or lifestyle interventions will in turn reduce the risk of chronic diseases, says Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. That connection may be tough to parse out. Some anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs, can actually increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Drugs for diabetes (metformin) and heart disease (statins) seem to combat inflammation, but they have multiple effects, making it hard to tell what's causing improvements."

https://www.npr.org/sections/health...1/is-inflammation-bad-for-you-or-good-for-you

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Define inflammation. It is not a single thing, nor does there seem to be uniform agreement about what it really is.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

Too much of a good thing is bad for you. Inflammation is one example.

 

[Rianne]

Define inflammation. It is not a single thing, nor does there seem to be uniform agreement about what it really is.

The bodies response to infection or injury. Who said it was a single thing? And what does uniform agreement have to do with anything? That's the point of the thread.

 

[Aerides]

The bodies response to infection or injury. Who said it was a single thing? And what does uniform agreement have to do with anything? That's the point of the thread.

The term is broad, but you're talking about two different things.

Acute inflammation as a targeted response to an event, infection, injury: Good. The body is sending soldiers in for defense. Might they trample on good stuff in their quest to eradicate bad? Yes. this is why you get a red area on the skin around a cut while it heals. A mild fever with a flu is good too, but too high and collateral damage might occur.

Chronic General inflammation: Bad. Arthritis, reduced immune response, easier for cancers to grow, general malaise, etc.

 

[Nemo2]

Too much of a good thing is bad for you. Inflammation is one example.

In a word - sepsis.

 

[Amethyst]

There's no one easy answer.

Therapists tell me that ice is good on a fresh injury to reduce pain (thus keeping down the need for NSAIDS or other pain relief). After a day or so, though, heat is good to increase circulation in and around the injury. It also depends on the type of injury, though, so one size does not fit all.

Doctors have told me that fever is, indeed, a healthy response to a bacteria or virus...up to about (I think) 102 or 103 degrees, when the body is starting to cook itself as much as the invader. That's when the focus shifts to getting that fever down (via NSAIDs, ice baths, etc.) to avoid heat injury to the tissues.

Things get even more confusing (to me) when it comes to metformin and other drugs, developed to treat specific conditions - drugs which also happen to have anti-inflammatory effects. I'm in the camp that says "don't take any drug unless a good doctor says you absolutely need it."

I've often struggled with this since NSAIDS are very bad for me due to kidney issues. I'm reading that inflammation is helpful as the body's response to infection or injury. So a fever might be good and should not be treated (depends how high it is). And allow swelling due to an injury as it increases blood flow which brings nutrients and white blood cells to the injured area.

When I pull a muscle in my back or neck I put heat on it, not ice. It seems to work quickly, for me. But athletes always put ice on these injuries to stop inflammation. I thought this NPR article brings up important questions. This quote is about chronic disease. I apply it to injuries as well.

"It's also not clear whether targeting inflammation through drugs or lifestyle interventions will in turn reduce the risk of chronic diseases, says Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. That connection may be tough to parse out. Some anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs, can actually increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Drugs for diabetes (metformin) and heart disease (statins) seem to combat inflammation, but they have multiple effects, making it hard to tell what's causing improvements."

https://www.npr.org/sections/health...1/is-inflammation-bad-for-you-or-good-for-you

 

[ER Eddie]

As Aerides said, the important distinction is between acute and chronic inflammation. Acute is generally good, chronic generally bad. Chronic is bad not just because of the inflammation, but because it's associated with metabolic syndrome. Many people suggest that chronic inflammation is associated with the diseases of modern lifestyle -- heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, arthritis, etc. That's mostly a function of diet as far as I can tell, but as usual, the research is focused on drugs.

 

[Blueskies123]

Inflammation in response to a specific injury is part of the healing process. Chronic inflammation that develops over years due to pollution, allergies, out of control immune reponse, obesity, poor foods, alcohol, drugs, and other environmental causes is bad.

 

[John Galt III]

The latest buzz about inflammation is that inflammation inside blood vessels can invite plaque to adhere to the inflamed area. Get enough plaque and a blockage can occur. But what causes the inflammation? Fish oil is touted as being anti-inflammatory inside the blood vessels. But not proven, probably.

 

[Time2]

There's no one easy answer.

Therapists tell me that ice is good on a fresh injury to reduce pain (thus keeping down the need for NSAIDS or other pain relief). After a day or so, though, heat is good to increase circulation in and around the injury. It also depends on the type of injury, though, so one size does not fit all.

Doctors have told me that fever is, indeed, a healthy response to a bacteria or virus...up to about (I think) 102 or 103 degrees, when the body is starting to cook itself as much as the invader. That's when the focus shifts to getting that fever down (via NSAIDs, ice baths, etc.) to avoid heat injury to the tissues.

Things get even more confusing (to me) when it comes to metformin and other drugs, developed to treat specific conditions - drugs which also happen to have anti-inflammatory effects. I'm in the camp that says "don't take any drug unless a good doctor says you absolutely need it."

It is a bit confusing and there is ongoing testing (TAME) about Metformin.
I had read and heard so much positive about it I was going to ask my doc about it. But when it came time a shied from asking. Then through chit chat, he said a key term (m-tor), that was enough for me know know he was aware. So I ask him what he thought about Metformin, he said it was a great drug. I ask if he would put me on it. He said sure, and then I found he is also taking it, alng with MNM, Tumeric and Resveratol. All for healthspan/lifespan extension.
https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/502257

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

IMHO, bad.

 

[eytonxav]

I would imagine inflammation triggered by auto-immune conditions can be very bad for a person, so how to mitigate that may be important.