Causes of Inflammation
Changes to our Food Supply and Activity Levels
Significant changes to our food supply, diets and lifestyles in recent generations are leading causes of inflammation. In Dr. Chilton's book, The Gene Smart Diet, he describes these causes of inflammation as a Perfect Storm of Five Low Pressure Systems. Together, these causes of inflammation have converged, resulting in dramatically increased levels of obesity and chronic inflammatory conditions.
Causes of Inflammation
Specifically, as a Nation, we have made the following changes in recent generation, that are individually and collectively causes of inflammation:
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Greatly Increased Calories
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Shifted our Omega Ratio, greatly increasing pro-inflammatory Omega 6s while reducing Omega 3s
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Decreased polyphenols – by eating less polyphenol rich foods
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Decreased Exercise
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Reduced Fiber in our Diets
Reversing the Causes of Inflammation with Diet & Exercise
The great news is that we can reverse the causes of inflammation naturally by making smart changes to our diet and lifestyles. Our Gene Smart Anti Inflammatory Diet & Exercise Program places special emphasis on proven diet principles and a specific approach to exercise proven to reduce whole body inflammation. Our other innovations, like the Living Abundantly Program and the Gene Smart Omega 3 Index Home Blood Test are also designed to empower individuals with new tools and knowledge to fight inflammation.
A Perspective on the Causes of Inflammation:
A Nation that is Overfed and Under Nourished
A Perspective from Dr. Chilton:
“The Gene Smart Diet book is dedicated to African children; their plight is a topic that moves me greatly. On a recent trip to southern Sudan in the Darfur region, I was pondering the concept of malnutrition, and thought back to the Latin root of the word. Mal means ‘bad’ – malnutrition, then, means bad nutrition. In Africa, the major problem is not so much the lack of food -- there are large trucks filled with corn-based cereals, sorghum, and maize everywhere – but the inadequate nutrition in that food (90% carbohydrates, 8% protein, 2-3% fat, and very few vitamins and nutrients). It is this lack of nutrition in the food these children eat that leads to profound stunting of growth, increased susceptibility to a host of diseases, as well as permanent learning and behavioral problems. This, in turn, gives way to huge implications for every individual child and family, as well as for the community and society at large.
Sad as that might be, what does it have to do with us? More than you might think, in fact. Food in America is also filled with empty calories. Although we eat all the time, we too are in a state of malnutrition: the foods we eat do not contain the ingredients our bodies require to properly regulate our immune, endocrine, our brain and emotional responses. Make no mistake about it: as in Africa, there is a severe price to be paid for this malnutrition. Ours is exacted in the form of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, allergies, skin disease, poor cognitive function, excessive depression and perhaps most of all, exaggerated aging.”
