INFLAMMATION - CAUSES & DIAGNOSIS

According to Dr. Christopher P. Cannon a professor at Harvard Medical School, causes of inflammation include obesity, genetics, family history, lifestyle, and stress.  He continues on to say, "The tricky thing with inflammation is that it sometimes has symptons, such as pain and lethargy, but often does not.  You won't know you have inflammation until you get tested."  Dr. Cannon says that people who are a little overweight, who have borderline high cholesterol, borderline high blood pressure - those are people who really need to be tested now.  "If you find elevated markers at that point, you can really help ward off inflammation-rooted problems in the future with aggressive prevention (as we discussed in the previous two posts, that includes your diet!).

There is a simple, easy blood test to measure inflammation called C-reactive protein.  CRP is a protein produced by the liver.  Dr. Cannon says, "Changes in CRP levels are often the 1st sign of inflammation.  Your CRP levels may rise even before you feel any effects of inflammation."  A New England Journal of Medicine study found the CRP predicted heart attacks and strokes better than any other lab tests.  Dr Cannon suggests tests showing high CRP levels be repeated in 2 to 3 weeks because, "Sometimes inflammation markers are high because you are fighting an infection and not because you have an underlying disease associated with inflammation."

As discussed in a previous post.  Do yourself a favor and drink some green tea daily.

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