How Inflammation Affects Our Body and its Significance to Alzheimer’s Disease

Are you caring for a loved one with dementia? You don't have to figure this out all on your own. Welcome to Truth, Lies Alzheimer's, the show that helps you reimagine a new relationship with your loved one, a relationship a little more free of stress and anxiety. Join host Lisa Skinner and her 30+ years of experience as she guides you on a new path to a better relationship with those you care for. Here's Lisa.

Hi everybody. Welcome back to another new episode of The Truth, Lies Alzheimer's Show. I'm Lisa Skinner, your host. Today I'm talking about how inflammation actually affects our body. And I mentioned this before, but I'm gonna say it again. There have been correlations found between inflammation in our bodies and our brain and our risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. So this is what I think is important for all of us to know. And part of it is how insulin resistance in other words, diabetes, fuels chronic inflammation. So pay attention to this, this is very important. That happens to be one of the biggest drivers of chronic inflammation, is insulin resistance. When your cells stop responding to insulin, and insulin is produced in our pancreas, our bodies compensate by producing more of it. This chronic elevation in insulin does more than affect just our blood sugar. It triggers the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and leads to the accumulation of visceral fat or especially— it's in parentheses here— especially around the belly. That's why we hear so many recommendations that belly fat is not a good thing to have for our health. That fat in turn secretes even more inflammatory chemicals, creating a vicious cycle. Over time, this low-grade inflammation silently contributes to number 1, heart disease. Number 2, type 2 diabetes. Alzheimer's, also known as type 3 diabetes in some circles. Cancer, joint degeneration, and autoimmune disorders. Common symptoms linked to chronic inflammation Just general fatigue, tired all the time, joint or muscle pain, bloating and puffiness, skin rashes, low-grade fevers. And the solution: address the root cause, reverse insulin resistance naturally, and then our bodies want to heal. Remove the interference and it will. Let's talk about how to calm the fire and restore balance naturally. So I'm gonna break this down for you, uh, and answer the question of how inflammation does affect our bodies. Inflammation is at the root of practically all known chronic health conditions. Wow. That's a frightening statement. This is how it impacts our brain. Pro-inflammatory cytokines cause autoimmune reaction to the brain. Which can produce autism, poor memory, Alzheimer's disease, and MS. It impacts our cardiovascular system with inflammation in the heart. Arterial and various walls contribute to heart disease, strokes, high blood sugar, diabetes, or anemia. It impacts our muscles. These inflammatory cytokines cause muscle pain and weakness and can manifest, like, for example, as carpal tunnel syndrome or any other issues related to our muscles. Bones. Inflammation interferes with the body's ability to repair bone mass. Increasing the number of fractures and leading to osteoporosis and osteoporosis. It impacts our skin. Chronic inflammation compromises the liver and the kidneys, resulting in rashes, dermatitis, and other conditions related to the skin. It impacts our thyroid function. Autoimmunity as a result of inflammation, reducing total thyroid receptor count and disrupts thyroid hormone function. It impacts our lungs. Inflammation induces autoimmune reactions against in the linings and a lot of what we call GERD or acid reflux. In the stomach is due to, in part, to inflammation. It impacts our GI tract. Chronic inflammation damages internal lining, resulting in GERD, Crohn's disease, and celiac disease. Then there's our kidneys. We can't forget about our kidneys. Inflammatory cytokines restrict blood flow. To the kidneys, creating complications such as edema, hypertension, nephritis, and other health conditions can result. And then there's our liver. Buildup of inflammation leads to an enlarged liver or fatty liver disease and an increased toxic load buildup. I want to read a couple of the comments about this. One doctor shares that sugar is toxic for our body. The industry pours it everywhere, and it's up to us to limit our intake. Yes, and regulating your blood sugar instead of putting your body into glycation creates hormonally balanced bodies, and they respond by boosting our metabolism shedding unnecessary weight, and reducing our risk for metabolic disease. And let's see, I'd say that pretty much sums it up, but I feel that this is something, because there is a direct correlation now being, you know, talked about predominantly in the media, about inflammation leading to Alzheimer's disease or increasing our risk of developing Alzheimer's disease is, you know, one of the things I think that we all should pay attention to, be aware of, and maybe implement some of the known lifestyle choices that we have in our daily lives to minimize inflammation. So, That's what I have for you this week. Again, I appreciate you all being here, spending part of your day with me. I hope you find this information at least interesting, if not valuable. Everybody's going to take it differently, but I will be back next week and each week thereafter with another new episode of the Truth, Lies Alzheimer's Show. I'm Lisa Skinner, your host, and I wish you all the best for a happy and healthy rest of your week. See you next week.

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