Photo: Stocksy/Lauren Naefe

1/3

Among yourwellness-savvy friends, you may have noticed that the wordinflammationcomes upa lot. Its linked to everything from acne to allergies to Alzheimersand now anti-inflammatory products areeverywhere, from the grocery store to the beauty counter. But, if you can believe it, there was a time when you got seriousblowback (and even ridicule) for linking the phenomenonwith disease and agingjust askNicholas Perricone, MD.

Nearly two decades beforehealthy tastemakersstarted using the term as frequently as they Google turmeric face masks, heput the topic on the (medical) map with his 2000 bookThe Wrinkle Cure.

During medical school and my three-year residency in dermatology, I made important connections between inflammation and disease, says Dr. Perricone (who you may recognizefrom his his eponymous skin-care line, which recently expanded its line of supplementsmany of which are anti-inflammatory, natch). To learn about hundreds of skin diseases we studied in books, we also needed to recognize them in clinical examination and under a microscope.

Inflammation has an unmistakable appearancehe describes them as dark blue dots, like confetti, although the presence of inflammation is nothing to celebrate. Quite the opposite. And that led to his discovery ofgroundbreaking intel thats still beingdissectedtoday.

2/3

Dr. Perricone quickly saw that inflammation wasnt only presentin skin diseasesthe same thing was showing up when he looked at aging skin, toowhich led him to question whether inflammation itself was causing these changes.

I began to consider wrinkles as a disease, since inflammation was present when damage to skin tissue resulted in wrinkles, he says. My professors insisted the inflammation was just part of the picture; a byproduct and not the cause.

Every disease I studied had a common theme: Whether it was cancer or aging, inflammation was present.

He kept looking further into these not-so-good particles, and found it to be tied to everything from arthritis to heart disease. Every disease I studied had a common theme: Whether it was cancer or aging, inflammation was present.

Dr. Perricone remained adamant that inflammation wasnt merely a secondary response, as everyone else was telling him. I believed inflammation to be the key to the whole process of disease of every type, he says.It may sound absurd now, but histheory was mostly dismissed. Since he published his book, however, other researchers have fallen in line, and today he notes that there have been tremendous strides in the field of anti-aging medicine. Now its accepted by mainstream science, which recognizes its validity and its serious threat to beauty, health, and longevity, he says.

3/3

As the wellnessworldnow knows, the conditionrears its proverbial head in a number of ways (all of which are pretty much unwelcome).

And to bust an all-too-common myth about the i-word: Just because you cant see it doesntmean its not there doing itsdamage, according to Dr. Perricone. Inflammation exists in a broad spectrum that ranges from low to high, he explains. On the low side, it occurs on a cellular and even a molecular level, invisible to the naked eye and possibly eveninvisible under the microscope. This inflammation is highly damaging to all organs including the skin. On the high side, the inflammation is visibly evident as redness and swelling such as seen in a wound or sunburn.

Just because you cant see inflammationdoesntmean its not there doing itsdamage.

So what in your everyday life could be causing this?

Sugar and starchy foods. Dr. Perricone notes that theytend to lead to skin damage. Foods and beverages that are rapidly converted to sugar are also pro-inflammatory, he says. That means soda, all kinds of sugar, pasta, bread, anything friedthe list goes on.

Processed foods and anything with trans fats.Not a surprise hereand there are lots of reasons to avoid the chips-and-dips aisle.Also be sure to avoid processed foods and foods containing unhealthy trans fats.

Stress. This is a big one,along with environmental stressors (and the hidden allergies they could be triggering), a weakened immune system, too much exposure to ultraviolet light, and hormonal changes.

Glycemic spikes.The single biggest thing you can do control inflammation, according to Dr. Perricone?Watch your blood sugar and insulin levels by followingan anti-inflammatory diet, hesays. To do so, youmust avoid foods that provoke a glycemic response in the body, which is a rapid rise in blood sugar, he says. This is the key to health, longevity, mental clarity, well-being, and beautiful, youthful skin.

In other words: It might betime to finally cut sugar after all.

To help out with your eating plan, this is what the ultimate anti-inflammatory meal looks like. For a delicious recipe, this turmeric fried rice is a major upgrade from takeout.

Read the original here:
The 4 skin-sabotaging triggers you should avoid, according to the OG of inflammation research - Well+Good