The Medical Advisor

The immense majority of diseases have one common denominator: Inflammation. Considering how functional foods and nutraceuticals have inflammation-reducing benefits, these products can have an extensive range of applications. Inflammation is the body’s response to harmful stimulus such as injury, infection, or irritation. There are two main types of inflammation ; acute inflammation and chronic inflammation. Acute inflammation usually restores your body to its state before injury or illness. It often resolves in two weeks or less. Symptoms appear quickly.   Chronic inflammation is a slower and milder form of inflammation that usually persists for more than six weeks. Unlike acute inflammation, which occurs in response to an injury or illness, chronic inflammation can occur without any apparent cause and can continue even after the underlying cause has been resolved. It has been linked to several conditions such as autoimmune disorders and prolonged stress. ...

For most of the 20th century, scientists pictured the immune system as the body’s ever-vigilant army—standing guard against germs, viruses, and rogue cells. Yet one question remained: What keeps this army from mistakenly attacking the body itself? For millions with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as Type 1 diabetes or lupus, the question is personal—these life-long illnesses bring painful symptoms and harsh immune-suppressing treatments. This year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine honored the discoveries that transformed that understanding. Researchers Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi identified a rare class of immune cells— regulatory T cells, or Tregs . These cells help prevent our immune systems from going out of control through a specialized gene called FOXP3. Often called peacekeepers, these Tregs changed how scientists think about autoimmunity, inflammation, and balance in the immune system itself. “It [the Nobel award announcement] gave me goo...