KEY TAKEAWAYS:
• Chronic inflammation happens when the body’s normal defense system stays switched on for too long.
• Everyday habits — including sleep, stress, diet and exercise — can influence inflammation over time.
• Small, sustainable lifestyle changes can support your long-term health and lower your risk for chronic disease.
SUMMARY:
Chronic inflammation is a long-lasting immune response that may contribute to heart disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions. Understanding what causes it — and the healthy habits that can help reduce it — can support your overall well-being.
When you hear the word inflammation, an image of a swollen ankle may come to mind. But inflammation isn’t always something you can see.
Chronic inflammation can develop quietly. It may not cause obvious symptoms at first, but over time, it can affect your overall health. The good news? Making healthy habits and lifestyle changes can help reduce chronic inflammation.
What is chronic inflammation?
Inflammation is your body’s natural defense system. When you get sick or injured, your immune system sends white blood cells and other chemicals to help fight infection and repair damaged tissue. Called acute inflammation, this response is healthy and temporary.
As OhioHealth family medicine physician Jennifer Middleton, MD, explains, “Inflammation is a normal body response to any threat.” Typically, that threat is something like an infection or injury, and the body’s response helps you heal.
Chronic inflammation is different. It develops when the body’s inflammatory response never fully shuts off.
Instead of responding to a short-term problem and then settling back down, the immune system stays active even when there isn’t an infection or injury to fight or heal. Dr. Middleton says that’s when inflammation can begin working against you, rather than for you.
“If there’s no invader, then some of these proteins and cells can actually damage our own body,” she explains.
Over time, that ongoing damage can increase your risk for chronic disease.
What causes chronic inflammation?
There’s no single cause of chronic inflammation. Instead, it often develops due to several contributing factors — such as poor sleep and not enough exercise.
Common causes of chronic inflammation include:
- Certain medical conditions
- Diets high in ultra-processed foods and added sugar
- Obesity
- Ongoing stress
- Physical inactivity
- Poor-quality or insufficient sleep
- Smoking
Because many aspects of the modern lifestyle can contribute to chronic inflammation, Dr. Middleton says willpower alone won’t work. Instead, she recommends relying on one or two realistic habits you can maintain.
What are the symptoms of chronic inflammation?
One of the biggest challenges with chronic inflammation symptoms is that they’re often subtle and easy to dismiss.
You may notice:
- Brain fog or trouble concentrating
- Fatigue
- Feeling like “something just isn’t right”
- Frequent aches and pain
- Poor sleep
The tricky part is that these symptoms are common and often have multiple possible causes. Feeling tired after a busy week or having occasional brain fog doesn’t automatically mean you have chronic inflammation. But if symptoms linger or begin affecting your daily life, they’re worth discussing with your doctor.
“It’s that sense of, ‘I never feel rested, I can’t turn my mind off, something just doesn’t feel right,’” Dr. Middleton says. “Don’t ignore those symptoms. They deserve to be evaluated.”
How does chronic inflammation affect your long-term health?
Researchers still don’t understand everything about the effects of chronic inflammation, but evidence shows it plays a role in many common conditions, including:
- Certain cancers
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Kidney disease
- Some autoimmune diseases
- Type 2 diabetes
Chronic inflammation isn’t usually a diagnosis on its own. Instead, it’s one of the underlying processes that can contribute to chronic disease over time. Dr. Middleton says you’re much more likely to be diagnosed with conditions like heart disease, Type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure than with chronic inflammation itself.
While doctors can order blood tests that measure inflammation, these tests are generally more helpful for identifying acute inflammation caused by an infection or injury. They’re often less useful for detecting the low-level inflammation associated with chronic disease. That’s why your doctor will typically focus on evaluating your overall health, identifying your risk factors and helping you make lifestyle changes that can lower your risk over time.
How can you reduce chronic inflammation?
Even though lifestyle changes can lessen inflammation, it’s not a quick fix. Focusing on consistency is typically best.
You don’t have to make any of these changes overnight. In fact, trying to overhaul your whole lifestyle all at once can backfire. Dr. Middleton recommends choosing one change that’s meaningful to you and building from there. Whether that’s taking a daily walk, eating more vegetables or getting to bed a little earlier each night, small, consistent changes are much more likely to become lasting habits than dramatic overhauls.
Also, if a habit isn’t sticking, don’t panic.
“Use it as an opportunity to learn,” Dr. Middleton says. “Maybe you started with something that wasn’t realistic, or maybe you need to go in a completely different direction. That’s a conversation you can have with your family doctor to work out what your next step can be.”
Listen to Dr. Middleton discuss inflammation on our podcast and schedule a wellness visit with an OhioHealth provider.
FAQs
Q: Can chronic inflammation be reversed?
A: Healthy lifestyle changes may help reduce chronic inflammation and lower your risk for chronic disease. Your doctor can recommend the best approach for your specific health needs.
Q: What foods may help reduce chronic inflammation?
A: Whole foods — including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, healthy fats and lean proteins — can help support your overall health. Limiting ultra-processed foods and added sugars can also help.
Q: Should I take anti-inflammatory medications every day?
A: You shouldn’t take anti-inflammatory medications without talking to your doctor. They can help you determine if one might help.