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INFLAMMATION: THE HEALTHY AGEING RESEARCH YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NOW

October 20, 2017 9 Comments

 

broccoli against apron

Inflammation is both our body’s friend, and its deadliest enemy.

Good inflammation heals cuts and grazes, or protects damaged muscles. It does its healing job, then goes away. problems come when we suffer long-term chronic inflammation, when the body turns on itself, causing everything from premature ageing to, er, death.

I’ve been thinking hard about inflammation – my husband suffers from psoriasis, an auto-immune disease caused by chronic inflammation. I worry that this is causing greater damage to his body than simply plaques on his skin. In recent years, oncologists and cardiologists have delved into the links between inflammation, cancer and heart disease. This deadly trio used to be treated as three entirely separate problems. But recent research has highlighted the links between all three. Not something any partner wants to read.

A decade ago, American cardiologists Peter Libby and Paul Ridker realised that immune cells which had been ‘switched on’ by inflammation were part of the process that allowed ‘plaque’ to grow and block arteries – leading to heart attacks. So they asked the obvious next question:  would a reduction in inflammation also reduce heart attacks?

This summer they published research showing just that. They gave a drug used to treat rare inflammatory diseases to 10,000 patients at risk of a heart attack. And found a demonstrable reduction in heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular death.  Along the way, they also found that patients taking the anti-inflammatory medication had a drop in all cancer mortality, but particularly lung cancer.

This is an extraordinary finding, but it doesn’t mean we should go out and start popping anti-inflammatory drugs in the hope of avoiding a heart attack or cancer. The cost, side effects and need for more trials mean that regular usage is a long way in the future.

So what can I do now? I’ve got lots of books on anti-inflammatory diets, and the internet is packed with advice on reducing inflammation in the body. No one’s saying that an anti-inflammatory diet is going to save me from cancer or heart attacks, but many of the key principles of Kale & Cocoa’s Age-Well journey might help keep inflammation at bay.

Top 10 inflammation busters (and links to our posts on each one):

  1. Look after your gut 
  2. Reduce stress
  3. Eat salmon and other oily fish 
  4. Drink green tea
  5. Include turmeric in your diet
  6. Get plenty of Vitamin D 
  7. Supplement with Coenzyme Q10
  8. Reduce sugar intake 
  9. Eat lots of wholefoods, fresh vegetables and fruit 
  10. Add nuts, especially almonds, to your diet

Look out for a great new recipe next week which is anti-inflammatory AND delicious!

Susan

  • Conditions: Ageing, Cancer, Heart, Inflammation
« HELP KEEP ALZHEIMER’S AT BAY: ITALIAN BEAN STEW
GRANOLA BAKED APPLES »

Comments

  1. Cassie says

    October 20, 2017 at 10:48 am

    Very interesting article, thank you for this!
    Regarding the Top 10 Inflammation Busters, just wondering if you consider White tea as beneficial as Green tea? (I much prefer the milder taste of white tea!).

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      October 20, 2017 at 7:53 pm

      Thanks Cassie! White tea has even more antioxidants than green tea as it is less processed (young tea leaves are steamed to make white tea, but part fermented to make green). Green tea is more easily available, and cheaper, so it has been studied more for its health-giving properties – which is why it is mentioned in research more than white tea.

      Reply
  2. hilary says

    October 20, 2017 at 7:20 pm

    I made turmeric butter: simply mashed about a teaspoon into about 40 grams of butter. Rather good spread on rice cakes with a boiled egg. Love the post, as usual, really useful information and accessible research, brilliant recipes.

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      October 20, 2017 at 7:49 pm

      Thanks so much, Hilary, both for your lovely comments and fantastic idea! I’ll give turmeric butter a try – I bet it’s very pretty too!

      Reply
  3. Mrs Barbara Head says

    October 22, 2017 at 9:56 am

    About inflammation I take rosehip syrup. I pick the rosehips in October and make enough to last the whole year recepi from web Katie’s kitchen garden. I drink about three tablespoons a day. Hip pain gone no arthritis. Been making it for about 10 years now 81 next week swim and play golf three times a week walking 5 miles per round.
    Another tip for anti aging spend lots of time socialising with YOUNGER FRIENDS

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      October 22, 2017 at 10:27 pm

      Thanks so much Barbara – that sounds brilliant, and great advice. I wonder what it is in rosehips that makes them so powerful? Have a fantastic birthday next week!

      Reply
  4. Lizzie King says

    October 24, 2017 at 8:11 am

    Such a great piece Susan thank you.
    The more research on chronic inflammation response the more fascinating. Vegetable oil is also meant to be a high inflammatory food. Fried foods etc with higher concentration of Omega 6 and less Omega 3.
    Was lovely seeing your husband last year and so interesting to find out what you were doing. I’ve loved reading your interesting articles ever since. Thank you. Lizzie

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      October 24, 2017 at 11:45 am

      Thanks so much, Lizzie

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR BODY AS YOU AGE, AND A BRAIN HEALTH MASTERCLASS - The Age-Well Project says:
    January 16, 2021 at 2:00 pm

    […] speed the ageing process by pumping out inflammation. This inflammation, as we’ve written about here and here, is one of the key drivers of the ageing process, making us frail as we get […]

    Reply

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Susan was lucky enough to spend a day at the olive Susan was lucky enough to spend a day at the olive harvest at Bidni Extra Virgin Olive Oil @bidni_evoo in Malta in late September. Fresh from the press, the oil was pretty peppery! That’s the polyphenols at work.

Polyphenol levels in olive oil also play a vital role in its brain boosting properties. They help reduce neuroinflammation and slow cognitive decline.

A study presented at a conference this summer by Harvard School of Public Health looked at the cognition of more than 90,000 people over 30 years. It found that those who consumed half a tablespoon of olive oil each day, as opposed to mayonnaise or margarine, had a 28%  lower risk of dying from dementia. Interestingly, this research found that the brain benefits of olive oil held up, regardless of the quality of the rest of the participants’ diet. So even those who didn’t adhere to other guidelines of the Mediterranean diet still got the benefits from the oil.

There’s more on the blog - link in bio

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Two new pieces of research you need to know about Two new pieces of research you need to know about if you want to age well: 

1️⃣ the kynurenine pathway. It’s complicated but high levels of it don’t bode well for ageing well. Several studies have found that older people, those who’ve had hip fractures, the frail, as well as the depressed have higher circulating levels of kynurenine.  Indeed the more kynurenine in your blood, the greater your chances of dying sooner rather than later. High levels of kynurenine also seem to be associated with low levels of melatonin and serotonin – meaning both poorer sleep and a greater risk of depression.

New research has identified a very simple way of blocking the accumulation of kynurenine (and its toxic by-products) in our blood and tissues: regular, heart-beat-raising movement.

2️⃣ Platelet Factor 4 (PF4). This compound appears to keep our brains and memories sharp. And it too is released when we move. Discovered by a team from the University of Queensland Brain Institute, PF4 is a protein secreted by the tiny blood cells that prevent blood clotting (known as platelets). This protein rejuvenates brain cells (neurons) in ageing mice, and researchers now think it may be the reason that exercise  and movement amplify the production of new neurons in the brain.

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In today’s Observer: Check out our top tips for In today’s Observer: Check out our top tips for caring for ourselves and our parents. Take a multi vit for 50+, persevere with technology and/or try something new every day, walk daily, stay social, consume sufficient protein, supplement with vits D and B12… 

#agewell #healthyaging
Autumn giveaway! 🍂 We’ve got a bundle of two Autumn giveaway! 🍂

We’ve got a bundle of two books to give away here on Insta - one copy of The Age-Well Project and one of 52 Ways to Walk. 

To win, simply leave a comment below letting us know your favorite landscape for autumn and winter walks. Do you like hills, mountains, flatlands, canals, rivers, coastlines, cities, cemeteries, your local park, moorland...? Just a few words to tell us where you’d most like to be walking in the next few months to help you age well. 

The competition closes at midnight BST on 18 October and a winner will be selected at random.

And in case you’re wondering why Annabel’s interested in your favourite landscape, it’s because she’s writing a new book about the places we choose to walk in and how they affect us. So she’d love to get a rough idea of the best-loved locations… all in confidence, of course.

Good luck!

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Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock access to a sauna. But Susan found one in a hotel she was staying at recently, there’s one in our local gym and Annabel found plenty on her summer holiday in Finland. 

A growing number of studies attest to the longevity-enhancing benefits of routine forays into a sauna. Much of the research has been instigated in Finland where sauna (pronounced to rhyme with downer) has existed forever.

So how does sauna help us age well? The extreme heat activates heat shock proteins which researchers think can maintain the healthy functioning of our cells.  As we get older, the proteins in some of our cells start to misfold and collapse. They then clump together forming plaques, including the plaques thought to cause Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Heat shock proteins – triggered by a sauna stint and possibly by hot baths – appear to prevent the misfolding and collapsing of cellular proteins, as well as clearing out those that have already misfolded. Which is to say they keep our cells in good shape. 

There’s more on the blog - link in bio 

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
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