Inflammaging Series: PART I - Learn about the Health Effects of Inflammation + Aging
Imagine yourself 10, 20, or 30 years from today. How do you feel? Can you do anything even better than you can right now? What personal goals have you reached? How many lives have you touched? Perhaps you’ve completed the course you always dreamed of? Maybe you’ve taken that trip that’s been on your wishlist forever? Or possibly you’ve been a changemaker, improving lives using your passions.
Building up to your personal long-term goals is supported by your day-by-day, step-by-step actions, including the things you do for your health. Without your health, how many of these would be possible? We all get older at the same rate: one year, every year. Know that the journey doesn’t have to be filled with aches, pains, and medications.
The reality is that for many people, physical abilities change with age. Some of us may need to start wearing glasses to read. We may feel more aches and pains while losing energy and strength. We may even wonder if our memories aren’t as good as they used to be.
You probably know that your risks for many health concerns like falls, fractures, frailty, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and dementia increase as you get older. And you’ve likely wondered why this happens and if there is anything you can do to slow down or even halt this (possibly inevitable) process.
Spoiler alert: Yes, there are a lot of things you can do!
Let’s talk about the process of inflammaging (inflammation + aging) and what you can start (or start doing more of) right now to slow it down and keep it as low as possible for as long as possible.
What is inflammaging?
The term “inflammaging” was coined in 2007 by a group of Italian researchers led by Claudio Franceschi at the University of Bologna. As they describe it, “a large part of the aging phenotype . . . is explained by an imbalance between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory networks, which results in the low grade chronic pro-inflammatory status.”[1]
Aging is a complex process that occurs within all of our cells as we get older and involves inflammation.[1,2] This means that aging and inflammation go hand-in-hand, increasing together over time.
There are two kinds of inflammation: acute and chronic.
Acute inflammation is part of the natural healing process whereby our immune systems respond to infections or injuries by sending white blood cells to help out.[3] This beneficial inflammation helps your body fight the cold virus or heal that sprain or cut. Acute inflammation is usually intense, located in the area where it’s needed, and subsides once the infection or injury is dealt with. It looks and feels like the temporary heat, redness, swelling, and/or pain of when you get a papercut or a sunburn. When the healing is complete, the inflammatory response stops but continues to be “on call” for the next infection or injury. Inflammatory responses (ones like these that speed up the healing process) are strongest when we’re young and decrease as we age.[4]
Acute inflammation as described above is not the kind associated with chronic disease risk and aging. The inflammaging type of inflammation is the longer-term, lower-level, insidious kind of inflammation known as chronic inflammation (the “bad” kind). When you experience chronic inflammation, your immune system doesn’t stop, but rather keeps fighting indefinitely. This longer-term inflammatory response can end up negatively affecting healthy tissues and cells.[3]
Health effects of inflammaging
When the balance tips toward higher levels of chronic inflammation with age, so do the increased risks for falls, fractures, frailty, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and dementia.[5] As time goes on, our cells accumulate small bits of damage that can make us more susceptible to these health concerns.[2]
One thing that impacts inflammaging is another natural age-related process called sarcopenia—loss of muscle. Sarcopenia impacts millions of older adults.[6] Starting at 40 years of age, we all tend to lose about one percent of our muscle mass and strength every year due to declines in hormone levels, lack of physical activity, and less-than-ideal nutrition.[6] That’s why it’s important to build your muscle strength and mass as a younger adult and stay physically active throughout your life.[7] I have a number of tips/strategies to help you reduce sarcopenia in next month’s blog post.
Falls, fractures, and frailty
Having muscles that allow us to keep doing everything we want to is so important to healthy aging. Whether we want to continue competing in our favourite sports, dancing, or simply enjoying life without worrying about falls, fractures, or needing help, we must maintain our muscles’ strength and ability. To do this, we need to continue to use our muscles so they remain strong and healthy. Chronic inflammation compromises aging muscles and is thought to be one of several contributors to sarcopenia.[7]
One way inflammation may negatively affect our muscles is by decreasing their ability to retain protein (muscle protein balance).[8] For our muscles to stay strong, they need both protein and movement (particularly resistance exercises, like lifting weights). So, when our muscles can no longer effectively retain protein, their ability to do what they’ve always done can be reduced.
You can preserve your muscle mass by eating enough protein and keeping physically active. Recommendations for protein and physical activity are coming in Part II.
Heart disease
Inflammaging increases risks for many aspects of heart disease, such as atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. A recent study from Harvard University published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found a connection between eating inflammatory foods (processed meats, refined grains, sugar-sweetened beverages, etc.) and risk of heart disease.[5,10] The authors say, “Reducing the inflammatory potential of the diet may potentially provide an effective strategy for CVD [cardiovascular disease] prevention.”
You can maintain your heart health by eating nutritious foods that don’t fan the flames of inflammation. My favourites are green leafy vegetables/dark-yellow vegetables/whole grains. Tips to help you enjoy more anti-inflammatory foods will be in my next blog, Part II.
Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
Increased inflammaging and sarcopenia are also associated with insulin resistance, which leads to type 2 diabetes. That’s because muscle tissue is responsive to insulin (the opposite of being resistant) and helps remove excess glucose from the blood. This means that the more muscle we have, the less risk we have for becoming resistant to insulin.[6]
We can reduce our risk of diabetes with a healthy lifestyle that promotes muscle tissue and reduces blood sugar spikes as you’ll see in my next post.
Dementia (Alzheimer’s disease, etc.)
Both inflammation and aging are two factors that underlie risk for dementias like Alzheimer’s disease. Other risk factors include heart disease and diabetes (which are also linked to inflammaging).[11] Research shows that changes such as the buildup of compounds called beta-amyloid and tau start occurring in the brain years before any symptoms of dementia appear.[11]
Researchers have found these brain changes in adults may be triggered by inflammaging, and inflammaging may even play a central role.[12] In addition to inflammaging, lack of enough quality sleep is also associated with increased risks for dementias.[13] While it’s unclear whether it’s these brain changes that affect sleep or vice versa, we can still try to prioritize sleep as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Independence and quality of life
Inflammaging and sarcopenia can threaten our independence and quality of life.[8,14] When our muscles become smaller and weaker over time, we can experience loss of strength and balance. The longer sarcopenia continues, it can result in frailty, falls, and disability. These can sometimes result in institutionalization, hospitalization, and even death.[6]
By working on your balance and muscle strength, you can keep your independence and quality of life for as long as possible.
Stay tuned for my next article for strategies to make these healthy “anti-inflammaging” lifestyle changes work for you!.
Krista
xo
Medical Disclaimer
All information contained in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent health problems. For all serious health issues, please contact a medical or nutrition practitioner. The information provided in this program is based on the best knowledge of the author at the time of writing, and we do not assume liability for the information within this program, be it direct or indirect, consequential, special, exemplary, or other damages. In all circumstances, it is always wise to consult your physician before changing your diet, taking supplements, or starting any exercise or health program.
REFERENCES
1 - Franceschi, C., Capri, M., Monti, D., Giunta, S., Olivieri, F., Sevini, F., Panourgia, M. P., Invidia, L., Celani, L., Scurti, M., Cevenini, E., Castellani, G. C., & Salvioli, S. (2007). Inflammaging and anti-inflammaging: a systemic perspective on aging and longevity emerged from studies in humans. Mechanisms of ageing and development, 128(1), 92–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2006.11.016
2 - Huynh, Hahn. (2018, August). What is the relationship between aging, nutrition, and inflammaging? University of British Columbia Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Magazine. https://file.pathology.ubc.ca/Newsletter_web_Summer2018/What_%20is_the_Relationship_between_AGING.html
3 - Harvard Health Publishing. (2020, April 1). Understanding acute and chronic inflammation. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-acute-and-chronic-inflammation
4 - Cannon, R. and Cooper, O. (2020, September 17). Inflammaging: The Side Effect of Age You Haven’t Heard of.
5 - Li, J., Lee, D. H., Hu, J., Tabung, F. K., Li, Y., Bhupathiraju, S. N., Rimm, E. B., Rexrode, K. M., Manson, J. E., Willett, W. C., Giovannucci, E. L., & Hu, F. B. (2020). Dietary Inflammatory Potential and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Among Men and Women in the U.S. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 76(19), 2181–2193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2020.09.535
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33153576/
6 - Santilli, V., Bernetti, A., Mangone, M., & Paoloni, M. (2014). Clinical definition of sarcopenia. Clinical cases in mineral and bone metabolism : the official journal of the Italian Society of Osteoporosis, Mineral Metabolism, and Skeletal Diseases, 11(3), 177–180.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4269139/
7 - Strasser, B., Wolters, M., Weyh, C., Krüger, K., & Ticinesi, A. (2021). The Effects of Lifestyle and Diet on Gut Microbiota Composition, Inflammation and Muscle Performance in Our Aging Society. Nutrients, 13(6), 2045. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13062045
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8232643/
8 - Lavin, K. M., Perkins, R. K., Jemiolo, B., Raue, U., Trappe, S. W., & Trappe, T. A. (2020). Effects of aging and lifelong aerobic exercise on basal and exercise-induced inflammation. Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 128(1), 87–99.
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00495.2019
10 - Tabung, F. K., Smith-Warner, S. A., Chavarro, J. E., Fung, T. T., Hu, F. B., Willett, W. C., & Giovannucci, E. L. (2017). An Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Pattern Score Enhances Prediction of Circulating Inflammatory Biomarkers in Adults. The Journal of nutrition, 147(8), 1567–1577. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.117.248377
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5525108/
11 - National Institute on Aging. (2019, November 27). What do we know about diet and prevention of Alzheimer's disease? https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-do-we-know-about-diet-and-prevention-alzheimers-disease
12 - Więckowska-Gacek, A., Mietelska-Porowska, A., Wydrych, M., & Wojda, U. (2021). Western diet as a trigger of Alzheimer's disease: From metabolic syndrome and systemic inflammation to neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Ageing research reviews, 70, 101397. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2021.101397
13 - National Institute on Aging. (2019, September 12). Poor sleep in middle age linked to late-life Alzheimer's-related brain changes. https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/poor-sleep-middle-age-linked-late-life-alzheimers-related-brain-changes
14 - Bilodeau, K. (2021, May 11). 5 inflammation-fighting food swaps. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/5-inflammation-fighting-food-swaps-2021051022570