Chronic inflammation is a hallmark of chronic health conditions, whether it’s a neurodevelopmental disorder like autism or ADHD, an autoimmune disorder, a mood disorder, diabetes, allergies, asthma, gastrointestinal disorder, heart disease or other condition. Think of all of the chronic health conditions you know of that end in “-itis”, which means “inflammation of”.
Acute inflammation is seen in symptoms such as pain, itching, burning, redness or swelling. In the case of allergies, these would be seen with symptoms of anaphylaxis, which are IgE mediated. This is the body’s way of protecting against pathogens.
The problem is when inflammation becomes chronic. This type of immune dysregulation is typically mediated with IgA or IgG antibodies, meaning that the symptoms are different and can sometimes take two to three days to appear.
Symptoms of Chronic Inflammation
Chronic inflammation shows up in a variety of symptoms such as:
- Fatigue
- Joint pain
- Muscle pain
- Focus, concentration and cognition problems
- Headaches
- Stomach aches or other gastrointestinal issues
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Psoriasis
- Eczema
- Skin irritations
- Skin rashes
- Elevated anxiety or depression
- Moods swings
- Meltdowns or irritability
- Hyperactivity
- Non-compliant behaviors
- Aggression
- Sleep problems
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
Causes of Chronic Inflammation
Anything that causes stress on an ongoing basis can cause chronic inflammation; common causes are:
- High blood sugar
- Reactive hypoglycemia
- Consumption of inflammatory foods such as vegetable oils and processed foods
- Excess bodily fat
- Toxicity from environmental toxins such as heavy metals
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Unintegrated (retained) primitive reflexes
- Poor lighting
- EMFs
- Chronic stress
- Trauma
- Gut dysbiosis
- Immune dysregulation
- Pathogenic infections such as those seen in PANS/PANDAS and Lyme disease
- Faulty sensory issues such as vision processing and/or auditory processing
- Hidden food sensitivities and intolerances
- Other factors that contribute to the total load of stressors
Testing for Chronic Inflammation
Chronic inflammation is typically not tested for by most mainstream healthcare practitioners. Here are some more-common tests you can ask your practitioner to order for you; if your practitioner won’t, we recommend working with a functional or integrative practitioner that will.
- CRP (C Reactive Protein)
- HbA1C (Hemoglobin A1C)
- Fasting insulin
- Serum ferritin
- Homocysteine
In addition, fasting glucose levels above 85, and especially those above 100 are more indicative of high inflammation, as glucose (sugar) is highly inflammatory. The HbA1C test mentioned above is an average of blood glucose over a three-month period. You have the ability to check these levels at home on a daily basis with a home glucose monitor that you can get at a local pharmacy or online.
For more information on these lab markers and more, we recommend visiting this page from Dr. David Jockers on inflammatory lab markers and their optimal levels.
Lowering Chronic Inflammation
One of the best ways to lower inflammation is to implement an elimination diet to check for hidden food sensitivities and intolerances, which are a very common cause of chronic inflammation.
By removing common inflammatory foods such as gluten, dairy, corn, eggs and soy for a week and then reintroducing them one a time every few days while keeping a food diary that tracks any of the symptoms listed above, you’ll better be able to understand what’s driving chronic symptoms. Many people are able to keep symptoms at bay simply by avoiding these inflammatory foods.
For more ideas on lowering chronic inflammation, be sure to visit our page on how to reduce inflammation.
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Resources
Articles
Dr. Jockers: Top 12 Inflammatory Lab Markers and Optimal Ranges
Books
Bock, Kenneth. Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders. New York, NY. Ballantine Books, 2008.
Brogan, Kelly. A Mind of Your Own. The Truth About Depression and How Women Can Heal Their Bodies to Reclaim Their Lives. New York, Harper, 2016.
Herbert, Martha, Weintraub Karen. The Autism Revolution: Whole-Body Strategies for Making Life All It Can Be. New York: Ballantine Books; 2012.
Hong, Maria Rickert. Almost Autism: Recovering Children from Sensory Processing Disorder, A Reference for Parents and Practitioners. 2014.
Hyman, Mark. The UltraMind Solution: Fix Your Broken Brain by Healing Your Body First: The Simple Way to Defeat Depression, Overcome Anxiety and Sharpen Your Mind. 1st Scribner hardcover ed. New York: Scribner; 2008.
Lambert, Beth, et al. Brain Under Attack: A Resource for Parents and Caregivers of Children with PANS, PANDAS, and Autoimmune Encephalitis. Answers Publications, 2018.
Whittaker, Faye. Rheumatoid Remedies: A Collection of More Than 70 Pages of Nutritional and Drug-Free Options to Promote Recovery from Rheumatoid Arthritis and Associated Inflammatory Diseases. 1st ed. Kaitaia, New Zealand: Dancing Lion Press; 2009.
