Inflammation Archive

Adopting healthy self-management strategies that focus on a healthy diet, physical activity, and achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, can improve the quality of life of people with gout. Many of these same strategies can help reduce the risk of developing gout to begin with.

First-line gout treatment focuses on reducing pain and inflammation. Ideally, treatment should begin within 24 hours of the start of the gout attack. Treatment is stopped once the attack is over, and symptoms have gone away.

Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night, but more than one-third consistently sleep fewer than seven. Reasons for poor sleep include pregnancy, menopausal night sweats, medication use, sleep disorders, and various illnesses. Sleep deprivation can raise the risks for such conditions as diabetes, certain cancers, obesity, dementia, depression, and heart disease. To promote sounder sleep, people can keep consistent sleep-wake schedules, reduce intake of caffeine and alcohol, and avoid using electronic devices before bed.

Infertility affects millions of people worldwide. Chronic inflammation has been linked to many health conditions and some research suggests it might be a contributing factor for some cases of infertility. And if true, would an anti-inflammatory diet or lifestyle boost fertility?

Certain healthy habits can fight chronic inflammation, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, maintaining good oral health, and reducing stress. If adopting all those habits seems daunting, taking little steps in their direction can help. For example, a person might eat fatty fish twice a week, since it contains omega-3 fatty acids known to reduce inflammation; or go for a quick daily walk, since exercise may increase the production of hormones that help keep inflammation in check. The combined effects of many little habits can eventually add up to keep people healthier.

Fermented foods and drinks such as kimchi, kombucha, and tempeh are increasingly popular, adding to mainstays such as yogurt, sauerkraut, and beer. Heat and bright lights during manufacturing can destroy some beneficial probiotics. Fermented products can ease digestion, dampen inflammation, boost nutrient absorption, and battle harmful bacteria. People should look for product labels that say "live and active cultures" and avoid shelf-stable versions, which don’t contain probiotics.

Inflammation is the hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis, and is also thought to play a role in the development of dementia. Could the inflammation-suppressing medicines for RA lower risk of dementia? Some research points in that direction, but more is needed.

After surgery unrelated to the heart, a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (afib) may be more common than previously thought. These cases, which may constitute 13% of new afib diagnoses, appear to be undertreated.

Not getting sufficient sleep may harm the cardiovascular system by triggering physiological and hormonal changes that increase blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood levels of substances that indicate inflammation. People who don’t regularly get at least seven hours of sleep a night should assess their daily habits to look for ways to improve, such as by establishing an earlier bedtime and turning off all electronic devices at least an hour before bedtime.