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Inflammation is a defence mechanism of the body. When a wound swells up, turns red and hurts, it may be a sign of inflammation. Generally speaking, inflammation is the body’s immune system’s response to an irritant. The irritant may be a germ but it could also be a foreign object, such as a splinter in your finger.
This means that inflammation doesn’t only start when, for instance, a wound has already been infected by bacteria, is oozing pus or healing poorly. It starts when the body begins to fight the harmful irritant.
Studies show that inflammation contributes to a wide range of chronic diseases. Examples of these are metabolic syndrome, which includes type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), arthritis and other joint diseases, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. People with these conditions often have higher levels of inflammatory markers in their bodies.
(Read more: Inflammatory disease)
How our body reacts to inflammation:
- Fever, exhaustion and feeling ill - these are signs that the immune system is very active and needs a lot of energy, which may be lacking for other activities. If the rate of metabolism is higher due to a fever, more antibodies would be produced.
- Changes in the blood, such as an increased number of immune system cells.
- A very rare but dangerous complication is an infection is called septicemia (blood poisoning). The possible signs of this complication include chills, feeling very ill and a very high fever.
If you are suffering from acute or chronic inflammation, following are five anti-inflammatory recipes that could improve your condition.
