Why you should care about inflammation (and what to do about it)
What causes depression?
For decades, a common treatment for depression has been to correct an imbalance of serotonin in the brain with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Yet?new research published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry?asserts that there is no connection between levels of serotonin and depression.
I have several friends and family who’ve struggled with depression. I’ve led research projects on emerging treatments for depression, from?transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)?to?psychedelic therapy.
Lately I’ve been reading up on the link between the immune system, inflammation and depression. One of the most important medical discoveries in recent years has been that the?immune system and inflammatory processes are involved in a wide variety of mental and physical health problems, from depression to heart disease and cancer.
On one hand, inflammation is important for the body. It’s our main defense from infection.?But inflammation is supposed to be a short-term assault.?When our immune system goes awry, depression-inducing inflammation can be the result.
In this piece I’ll review the link between inflammation, immune health and chronic disease, and what doctors suggest we can do to support immune health. Finally, I’ll explore how new digital tools can help us measure and control inflammation.
The role of chronic inflammation and immune health
I spoke to?Dr. Jenna Macciochi, an immunologist who specializes in understanding how nutrition and lifestyle interact with the immune system in health and disease.
Dr. Macciochi said:
“Inflammation is our immune system’s weapon against infection, danger or damage. But inflammation can become chronic, and is now considered a proxy for nearly all non-communicable diseases, as well as poor mental health and poor outcomes from infection.?When our immune system goes wrong or misfires then it can wreak havoc on our health.?
To care about immune health is to care about the core of our whole well-being, both physically and mentally.”
The anti-inflammatory diet
The most important things we can do to support immune health are a balanced diet, regular physical activity, getting adequate sleep and managing stress.
Dr. Macciochi said:
“There are some things affecting immune function we cannot control: Genetics, where we live, our socioeconomic status.?The big things we have some control over include things like an anti-inflammatory diet pattern,?body composition, physical?activity levels, blood sugar balance, and?gut health.”
Following an?anti-inflammatory diet?is one part of a balanced lifestyle to support immune health, said Dr. Macciochi:
“Ensure your diet is minimally processed and includes optimal protein, healthy fats and fiber. Focus on movement and muscle mass rather than short bursts of intense exercise and break up sedentary periods.?Ensure consistent sleep and wake time, building in time to wind down and get good quality sleep. Build in time for nature exposure.”
Be Golden for managing inflammation
I spoke to Sneh Patel, CEO and co-founder of?Be Golden. The YC-backed startup aims to helps people measure and manage their inflammation levels, and find ways to reduce inflammation with lifestyle changes.
Sneh pointed to research studies that demonstrate a link between chronic inflammation and lifestyle behaviors:?nutrition,?exercise,?stress, and sleep.
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Sneh said:
“We all make lifestyle choices daily: What we eat, how much we exercise, etc. But we don't have a great feedback mechanism on how our choices impact our health. We may go to the doctor once a year to get some blood work done, but so much happens in between that it’s hard to tell what made an impact.
We wanted to change that so you better understand how your lifestyle is impacting your health to help you make better decisions.”
How it works
Using Be Golden starts with measuring your baseline inflammation levels using an at-home, finger prick based, blood testing kit.
Inflammation can be measured via a blood marker called high sensitivity C Reactive Protein (hsCRP). Lower levels of hsCRP are better. Higher levels of hsCRP are known to be associated with increased?IBS incidence?and symptom severity,?IVF failure rates?and?chronic disease.
You send the sample back to the lab, and then receive your lab results. You also receive data on how your levels compare to other people like you. From there, you can try a new habit from their list of scientifically backed options (or something else). Their current list includes the following:
Once you choose a habit (for example, adding ginger to your diet), Be Golden will help you track how often you do it. Their digital platform will text you daily and ask you: Did you have ginger yesterday? Then you will re-measure and receive insights. For example, you may get an insight like: You have had ginger 15 of the last 30 days and your inflammation levels are down 10%.
Based on?data from clinical studies, some interventions can change inflammation levels (as measured by hsCRP) within weeks and others show changes within months.
Sneh, founder of Be Golden, started to track her inflammation scores after learning she was at high risk of breast cancer and having a bilateral lumpectomy. She said:
“I started making healthy changes (like exercising almost daily) and seeing an impact on my inflammation levels. I decided to start a startup to help manage inflammation because I wanted more tools, data and analytics to help me make healthy lifestyle choices.
Be Golden is in early beta. As we learn more about what our customers want and need we will continue to evolve our offering.”?
Do we need routine inflammation testing?
One challenge of managing inflammation is that it’s often “silent”; it doesn’t cause specific symptoms. Yet healthcare leaders have mixed views as to whether routine testing for inflammation is helpful for everyone.
“Looking for evidence of inflammation through a blood test without any sense of why it might be there is much less helpful than having routine healthcare that screens for common causes of silent inflammation, including excess weight, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hepatitis C and autoimmune disease,” said?Robert H. Shmerling, MD of Harvard Medical School.
An ideal screening tool for inflammation would look at more biomarkers than just hsCRP. Medical doctors collect a host of lab data to make informed decisions about their patients’ health and which treatments may be helpful without causing harmful side effects.
With improved education on immune health, and new digital tools that help us measure and control inflammation, the hope is that we’ll empower more people to take control of their health early and avoid disease.
For more information
You can learn more about Be Golden on?their website.?Important?disclaimer:?Be Golden does not provide medical services or advice. The information, including but not limited to text, graphics, images and other material contained on Be Golden’s website and provided through Be Golden’s services are for informational purposes only and do not contain or constitute, and should not be interpreted as, medical advice or opinion.
To learn more about Dr. Jenna Macciochi and her work: