Whether it's eczema, arthritis,
cancer, heart disease,
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digestive problems, diabetes,
asthma, even Alzheimer's,
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they all have
something in common.
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And that
something is inflammation.
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Inflammation is at the
root of these conditions.
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I'm Rise, and today we're
going to be looking at answers
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to some of the questions
I've had for a while, like,
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what is inflammation?
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What is it doing to my body?
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And how can we put it out?
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That's what we want to know.
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Why are we so fired up?
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We live in an
era of abbreviations.
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Social media and
texting is full of them,
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and medical talk
is not much different.
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We're going to hear some
crazy abbreviations like,
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CRP, IL-6, TNF-A.
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If you haven't heard of
those before, no worries.
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Dr. Sherzai refers to them
as markers of inflammation.
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Some of these are from a family
of molecules called cytokines.
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And you're going to
hear that word again.
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Think of cytokines as a
language of the immune system.
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They're chemical messengers
that your immune system
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uses to communicate.
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They have their place, but
they can get stuck on replay
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with the command to keep
the fire of inflammation hot.
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We have specialized cells
in our body and in the brain
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that are responsible
for the defense system.
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And they get activated
when they realize that there's
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something going on.
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Now they could be
erroneously activated by,
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you know, certain
products that have been
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injected or have been
introduced into that otherwise
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relatively healthy environment.
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And they just go haywire and
awry, and they start attacking
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not only the foreign
objects, the inciting element,
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but they start
damaging the healthier
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parts of the brain as well.
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And so there is this
crazy cascade that starts.
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And so it's the cells trying to
get rid of even healthy cells,
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and they start increasing the
secretion of certain chemicals;
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interleukin-1, 6; there's
different names for all these
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inflammatory markers.
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And this incredible process
starts where it's a downward
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spiral of cells damaging cells,
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and a result of that
breakdown products of cells,
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the chemicals that are
secreted damage other cells.
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And so it just continues
until one figures out what was
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the inciting event
and a plan is instituted
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to stop that cycle.
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While most people
think of acute inflammation
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in terms like a
sprained ankle, it swells up,
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it gets red, and it's
oftentimes very painful.
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But in health, oftentimes
we're talking about chronic
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low-grade inflammation.
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It's really, it's systemic;
it's throughout the whole body.
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And most of the time
there's not really a lot of
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indicators for that.
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Now you can do testing for it.
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You can do a sed rate,
erythrocyte sedimentation rate,
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which is a very common
test in medicine to look at
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if there's inflammation
in the blood, which means
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everywhere, right?
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You can also do what's
called a high-sensitivity CRP,
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or cardiac
C-reactive protein test
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that measures a
different type of inflammation.
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You can have a lot
of one inflammation
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and none of another
type of inflammation.
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So sometimes you
have to test broadly.
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You can do interleukin-6,
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you can do tumor
necrosis factor-alpha.
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All these are
different types of inflammation.
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Sometimes only one
of them is present,
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and that means
there's a problem.
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That there's this chronic
irritation to your entire body
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that has to be addressed.
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Because that means your brain
is potentially being inflamed
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through the blood-brain barrier,
your heart is being inflamed.
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In fact, inflammation is a much
bigger risk factor to the heart
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and cardiovascular disease
than is high cholesterol.
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In fact, having a high
cardiac CRP is at least twice
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as predictive of a
problem or a risk factor
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as a high cholesterol.
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So we need to make sure that
we're addressing the underlying
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issues that are driving
this irritant, inflammatory
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process throughout the body.
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We look at something called
the C-reactive protein, CRP.
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It's one of the better
markers for inflammation.
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And I will do this on a person
that, I do it rather routinely
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because I want to know is
their problem just related to
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a hearing loss, or dizziness,
or one of those thing,
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or do we have an
underlying inflammatory response
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going on in the body?
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Inflammation is disease.
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And so you need to
look at that to see.
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If you catch it early,
you can turn things around.
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If it's end stage,
then you've got a diagnosis.
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That's the
importance of inflammation.
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Inflammation is a condition that
can manifest in various ways,
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including heart disease.
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Dr. Wes Youngberg
touched upon this topic,
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and now Dr. Facemire
will discuss inflammation
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in relation to heart disease.
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Heart disease is the
number one killer of Americans.
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Every 34 seconds
someone has a heart attack.
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And according to the
American Heart Association
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one in three people
suffer from some sort of
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cardiovascular disease.
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And while heart disease is
the number one killer for men,
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one in three women
have heart disease.
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And so we are very aware
as women with breast cancer,
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but only one in every thirty-one
women die of breast cancer
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instead of one in
three of heart disease.
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So when you focus
only on cholesterol,
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you have a huge problem.
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And thankfully, I think
that research is catching up.
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Because we know that
it's not just one risk factor
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or one problem.
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50% of men and 64% of
women have a heart attack
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without having
any prior symptoms.
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And this is causing the
U.S. $109 billion annually.
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So cholesterol is
not just the issue.
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It's really relevant
at this time to understand
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that there is
something called inflammation
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that is coming to the front
line as one of the main problems
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in our heart disease world.
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And it starts in a cell
that I have a picture for it,
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which is called
the endothelial cell.
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And this endothelial cell,
as you see, is just beautiful.
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I have magnified it.
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You can see inside the blood
flow and the red blood cells,
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but the
endothelial cell has this
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fine, tiny, one-layer lining.
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And the endothelial
cells actually have tremendous
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impact on how
cardiovascular disease develops.
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So it's not just cholesterol.
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Lipids are only
a very tiny window
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to what is actually happening.
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We've been talking
about inflammation,
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we've been talking about
mitochondrial dysfunction,
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endothelial dysfunction,
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and the inflammation
that happens in the arteries.
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So those tests are very limited.
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What I try to do is I try to
do what's called a more extended
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and advanced lipid panel.
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Because they actually can give
you categories of each molecule.
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You know, for example, HDL,
some patients have a 90 HDL.
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"Oh my HDL is so good."
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And when I do the advanced
lipid, I see that the HDL
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that they have is
the less beneficial.
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So not all HDL is equal;
we have three or four types.
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And you know, there
is a lipidology actually.
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A specialty.
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So I cannot really go into
detail with this because it's
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just a vast subject.
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But I have to say that
just knowing the amount
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of cholesterol, you have, maybe
the size of your molecules,
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and the type is not enough.
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So thankfully we have
other markers of inflammation.
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And there is, I have requested
these labs to my patients
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that are really trying
to prevent a heart attack.
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It's a really good way
of looking at inflammation
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into a cellular level.
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And there is a lab
called the Cleveland Heart Lab
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that offers certain testing
that actually can measure
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your TMAO, it can
measure some byproducts
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of endothelial dysfunction,
it can measure apo-B
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which is actually more
important than LDL actually,
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which is another
lipoprotein, and CRP.
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So what I do for patients
that have a lot of risks,
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I do more in detail testing.
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But CPR, just high
sensitivity CPR is a very simple
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and very helpful marker.
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Because it can tell you
how inflamed your arteries are.
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There are urine tests
that can show you inflammation.
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So we talk about the
leaky endothelium, remember?
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And this endothelium, when
it leaks, it leaks proteins.
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And it leaks one of the proteins
in the bloodstream: albumin.
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And we measure
micro-albumin in the urine.
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And if it's high, we
know, uh-ho, this endothelium
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is not working well.
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We really need to focus
on repairing the endothelium.
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You get inflammation,
what is causing it?
00:10:02.16\00:10:05.00
So don't think, "Oh, I'm going
to take these ten supplements."
00:10:05.30\00:10:08.27
You know, "All these
vitamins are going to help,
00:10:08.30\00:10:10.11
these antioxidants."
00:10:10.14\00:10:11.47
There are many companies
that promote so many products.
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My patients come
with different kinds of,
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offering, you know,
life-saving results.
00:10:16.78\00:10:22.18
But honestly, if we
keep eating the same foods,
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and not going to bed on
time, and being on the internet
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until midnight, not
exposing ourselves to the sun,
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not drinking
enough water, no rest,
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I mean, things are
not going to change
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no matter how many
supplements you take.
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Cardiovascular disease is
now an inflammatory disease.
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Yes, you can have plaque.
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Remember I talked
about fire, right?
00:10:47.61\00:10:50.11
For the fire you need
gas and you need the wood.
00:10:50.15\00:10:53.05
So you can have wood,
you can have cholesterol.
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And maybe no wood, right,
no wood, just very little.
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But if you have the
gas and you have the spark,
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you create a fire.
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So this is so important.
00:11:07.46\00:11:08.83
Heart disease is not
just about cholesterol.
00:11:08.93\00:11:11.27
The lining of the blood
vessels is composed of cells,
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endothelial cells.
00:11:13.87\00:11:15.30
The health of
these cells are crucial.
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When the cells
experience inflammation,
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the wall of the blood vessels
can actually become leaky.
00:11:19.61\00:11:22.68
That's what Dr. Facemire
was referring to when she
00:11:22.71\00:11:24.98
talked about leaky endothelium.
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I asked Dr. Facemire about
her approach with her patients.
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Well, I have a picture in mind
when I approach my patients.
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And it's a big iceberg.
00:11:37.59\00:11:39.89
And when I see a
patient, I see the little tip
00:11:40.83\00:11:46.10
when I have my first encounter.
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And I know that the
complaints or the symptoms
00:11:49.54\00:11:55.04
they are experiencing,
they're only the surface
00:11:55.08\00:11:59.41
of what is under.
00:11:59.45\00:12:00.85
So I like to go to the root.
00:12:01.62\00:12:04.25
That's my approach.
00:12:04.29\00:12:05.62
And the other
approach that I have,
00:12:05.65\00:12:07.82
which I have a
picture for it too,
00:12:08.12\00:12:10.63
is this thumb being
clamped with a wrench.
00:12:10.66\00:12:14.50
And I remember going to a
conference and giving this
00:12:15.76\00:12:19.10
presentation, and I
told the audience, I said,
00:12:19.13\00:12:22.00
I have this patient
with his thumb that is
00:12:22.50\00:12:26.54
clamped with a wrench.
00:12:26.64\00:12:27.98
And he comes to
you and tells you,
00:12:28.01\00:12:30.01
"Doctor, I've been
suffering pain, terrible pain,
00:12:30.85\00:12:35.15
and redness in my thumb."
00:12:35.18\00:12:36.72
And you tell him, "Okay, take
ibuprofen three times a day,
00:12:37.05\00:12:42.52
and come in a week."
00:12:42.56\00:12:44.29
And he goes home and takes
ibuprofen comes back, and says,
00:12:44.69\00:12:49.16
"It's not helping."
00:12:49.20\00:12:50.70
Now it's not just red,
it's starting to become blue.
00:12:50.73\00:12:53.97
And you say, "Oh,
maybe it's infected.
00:12:54.17\00:12:56.34
Go and take some antibiotics."
00:12:56.37\00:12:57.97
And another week passes
and he comes back and he says,
00:12:58.64\00:13:01.94
"It's not getting better."
00:13:01.98\00:13:03.31
And I keep telling them
the story about this poor man
00:13:03.81\00:13:08.38
that he's going
to lose his thumb.
00:13:08.58\00:13:10.42
And then finally the
doctor says, "You need surgery.
00:13:10.45\00:13:13.05
You need bypass surgery because
your thumb has no circulation.
00:13:13.09\00:13:16.93
So we need to put a bypass
for some circulation there."
00:13:17.16\00:13:20.43
I asked them, and I
said, "What should you do?"
00:13:20.93\00:13:24.07
And they all
laughed, of course, and said
00:13:25.53\00:13:28.44
the patient
didn't need antibiotics,
00:13:28.47\00:13:30.01
the patient didn't
need anti-inflammatory,
00:13:30.04\00:13:33.17
the patient didn't
need a bypass surgery.
00:13:33.21\00:13:35.21
We just need to get rid of the
wrench and unclamp the thumb.
00:13:35.31\00:13:39.11
So that's my approach.
00:13:40.15\00:13:41.52
I'm trying to find out if
there is something that I can do
00:13:41.55\00:13:46.42
as I talk to my patients
about how to get rid of the
00:13:46.52\00:13:51.89
cause rather than just
address the symptoms with drugs.
00:13:51.93\00:13:55.46
So what I hear her saying is
that inflammation at the lining
00:13:56.67\00:14:00.04
of our blood vessels is
what we need to focus more on.
00:14:00.07\00:14:02.84
To explain it better,
these endothelial cells have a
00:14:03.04\00:14:07.91
compound called nitric oxide.
00:14:07.94\00:14:10.25
They produce and
interact with this compound.
00:14:10.28\00:14:13.65
And nitric oxide actually
decreases oxidative stress,
00:14:13.85\00:14:17.69
decreases the
inflammation of smooth cells.
00:14:18.42\00:14:21.22
You know, because a smooth cell
is one that when it's inflamed
00:14:21.82\00:14:24.79
is like a scar, you know,
when you go and cut yourself.
00:14:24.83\00:14:27.46
All of these inflammatory
cells come to the rescue
00:14:27.56\00:14:30.53
and then
decrease the inflammation,
00:14:30.83\00:14:32.83
but then they leave something
there, which is a scar.
00:14:32.87\00:14:35.60
And that happens
over and over again
00:14:35.64\00:14:38.27
every time we
light up a cigarette,
00:14:38.31\00:14:39.87
every time we have fried food,
every time we're under stress
00:14:39.91\00:14:44.61
and our cortisone level is high,
00:14:44.65\00:14:46.45
every time that we have
a viral illness that comes.
00:14:46.65\00:14:49.82
All this inflammation
takes place and the body
00:14:49.85\00:14:52.85
keep repairing,
but when we repair,
00:14:52.89\00:14:55.59
we actually scar the artery.
00:14:55.62\00:14:57.46
So this nitric oxide is
vital and dilates the arteries.
00:14:57.86\00:15:01.50
So the health of the
endothelial cell is key
00:15:01.53\00:15:05.50
in preventing heart disease.
00:15:06.20\00:15:08.47
One of the ways we can
support healthy nitric oxide
00:15:09.04\00:15:11.67
production in the
blood vessels are by eating
00:15:11.71\00:15:13.58
green leafy vegetables.
00:15:13.61\00:15:14.94
You know, chronic
inflammation has always seemed
00:15:15.34\00:15:17.18
a bit nebulous to me.
00:15:17.21\00:15:18.98
A little bit hard
to put a finger on.
00:15:19.01\00:15:20.68
And I think maybe that's
because it's an important
00:15:20.72\00:15:22.92
part of our
design, so it's necessary.
00:15:22.95\00:15:25.12
We need inflammation when
we're fighting an infection.
00:15:25.15\00:15:28.26
We need some inflammation
which is designed to kill
00:15:28.29\00:15:31.53
the infecting bacteria or virus.
00:15:31.56\00:15:34.73
We need inflammation
when we've been injured.
00:15:36.10\00:15:38.07
Let's say we've smashed
our finger or sustained a cut.
00:15:38.10\00:15:41.00
There's some inflammation
that's necessary to bring
00:15:41.04\00:15:43.14
blood flow to that wound.
00:15:43.34\00:15:44.77
In fact, it helps the
skin to regrow and heal up.
00:15:46.11\00:15:50.88
So inflammation is
part of that and necessary.
00:15:50.91\00:15:54.35
Yeah, inflammation
is so crucial to life.
00:15:54.45\00:15:56.95
Inflammation, when we
have an insult or injury,
00:15:56.99\00:16:00.76
the body calls in all the
troops to come in and repair
00:16:01.46\00:16:04.46
tissue or repair the damage,
00:16:04.49\00:16:06.46
or repair
something that's happened.
00:16:06.49\00:16:07.96
So from that perspective,
inflammation is crucial to life.
00:16:08.43\00:16:11.83
Inflammation has a
very important role
00:16:12.23\00:16:15.27
in brain health in general as
it pertains to the development
00:16:15.30\00:16:20.78
of neurodegenerative conditions.
00:16:20.81\00:16:22.68
So inflammation is a
condition where certain cells
00:16:22.71\00:16:26.21
and neurochemicals
are produced by cells
00:16:26.25\00:16:29.25
in the supporting
structures to get rid of
00:16:29.28\00:16:32.55
any offensive material,
whether it's an infection,
00:16:32.59\00:16:36.62
bacteria, fungus,
or a foreign body.
00:16:36.66\00:16:40.43
The body has the
capacity to start attacking it
00:16:40.46\00:16:43.43
and allow for the body to slowly
and gradually heal itself.
00:16:43.53\00:16:46.77
So we need inflammation
for life and for sustenance of
00:16:46.87\00:16:50.41
our functions.
00:16:50.44\00:16:52.01
However, with the kind of
lives that we are leading,
00:16:52.04\00:16:55.08
we are exposed to way
too much inflammation.
00:16:55.44\00:16:57.88
And it's not even bouts
of inflammatory reactions,
00:16:57.91\00:17:02.55
but there is
constant inflammation.
00:17:02.58\00:17:04.59
We need inflammation
in performing sensitive
00:17:04.95\00:17:07.26
operations and missions.
00:17:07.29\00:17:08.62
But as we heard, when it
becomes chronic, it's damaging.
00:17:08.66\00:17:11.83
So we know four mechanisms
that actually damage the brain.
00:17:12.03\00:17:15.26
Inflammation,
oxidation, lipid dysregulation,
00:17:15.30\00:17:19.27
and glucose dysregulation.
00:17:19.30\00:17:20.77
What does that mean?
00:17:20.80\00:17:22.14
Glucose dysregulation means
that you have insulin resistance
00:17:22.17\00:17:24.67
or diabetes that's not
taken care of or treated.
00:17:24.71\00:17:27.31
Or even elevated sugar
levels on a repeated basis
00:17:27.41\00:17:32.05
has been shown
to damage the brain.
00:17:32.25\00:17:34.25
We did a study, one
of the large studies,
00:17:34.28\00:17:36.05
NHANES, a large database,
looking at insulin resistance
00:17:36.08\00:17:39.89
and cognitive decline
in younger people, 50's.
00:17:39.92\00:17:42.56
And we excluded diabetics.
00:17:43.02\00:17:45.69
So people who
have insulin resistance
00:17:45.73\00:17:47.50
which usually
doesn't get treated.
00:17:47.53\00:17:49.03
And they had
lower cognitive state.
00:17:49.23\00:17:50.73
So glucose
dysregulation is a pathway.
00:17:50.77\00:17:52.90
Inflammation is a big pathway.
00:17:53.77\00:17:55.50
People who have
traumatic brain injury,
00:17:55.54\00:17:57.47
people who have
infections repeatedly,
00:17:57.51\00:17:59.14
even gingival
disease on a chronic basis.
00:17:59.17\00:18:01.91
~ That's oral health.
00:18:01.94\00:18:03.28
Oral health, we don't
even think about that.
00:18:03.31\00:18:04.68
But it does. That
creates inflammation.
00:18:04.71\00:18:07.32
And also inflammation is
always usually a later pathway
00:18:07.35\00:18:10.69
for the other pathways.
00:18:10.72\00:18:12.05
So being aware of inflammation
and what causes inflammation,
00:18:12.09\00:18:15.29
and eliminating that.
00:18:15.32\00:18:16.66
Then we have
lipid dysregulation,
00:18:16.69\00:18:18.59
which we think is a big driver.
00:18:18.63\00:18:20.40
We're talking about fat.
00:18:20.43\00:18:21.76
Especially saturated fat.
00:18:21.80\00:18:23.13
Study after study after
study shows that people who have
00:18:23.50\00:18:26.70
high cholesterol
have a 57% increase risk
00:18:26.74\00:18:31.01
of dementia and Alzheimer's.
00:18:31.04\00:18:32.37
Even borderline
increased cholesterol,
00:18:32.97\00:18:35.38
which usually
people don't treat,
00:18:35.41\00:18:36.75
have a 35% greater risk
of dementia and Alzheimer's.
00:18:36.78\00:18:39.68
So lipid dysregulation
is a critical component.
00:18:39.71\00:18:42.68
In fact, one of the main genes
associated with Alzheimer's,
00:18:42.72\00:18:45.92
APOE e4, its
function is lipid transport.
00:18:45.95\00:18:49.06
But it does it poorly, so
the risk goes up four times
00:18:49.56\00:18:52.73
if you get one
gene from one parent,
00:18:52.76\00:18:54.36
twelve times if you get
one gene from each parent.
00:18:54.56\00:18:57.40
But it has to do
with lipids, and fats.
00:18:57.60\00:18:59.80
So pour into the
mixing bowl inflammation, ROS,
00:19:00.74\00:19:04.01
glucose dysregulation
from insulin resistance,
00:19:04.04\00:19:06.74
poor oral health, we've
not only got increased risk of
00:19:06.78\00:19:09.84
heart disease, but
brain disease as well.
00:19:09.88\00:19:12.11
Inflammation is present
in all chronic conditions
00:19:13.58\00:19:17.92
and all chronic diseases
such as cardiovascular disease,
00:19:17.95\00:19:21.32
and diabetes, and obesity.
00:19:21.36\00:19:23.22
There is so so-called
subclinical inflammation going
00:19:24.06\00:19:27.73
on, which means that our immune
system is just producing some
00:19:28.13\00:19:33.20
cytokines that
increase inflammation.
00:19:33.23\00:19:36.74
For example, in the arteries
that would be atherosclerosis,
00:19:37.61\00:19:42.68
but also in other
parts of the body.
00:19:42.88\00:19:45.21
In the adipose tissue
which happens in obesity.
00:19:45.25\00:19:49.78
In the adipose tissue, or in the
fat that's stored ectopically
00:19:50.39\00:19:55.46
in the liver, and in the
muscle, and in the pancreas
00:19:55.49\00:19:58.56
that would be
in type 2 diabetes.
00:19:58.66\00:20:00.93
And why does it even matter
when our body produces too much,
00:20:01.53\00:20:07.27
too many cytokines
that promote inflammation?
00:20:07.30\00:20:10.31
It turns out that it's really
disruptive for our immune system
00:20:11.11\00:20:16.51
which is turned down.
00:20:16.54\00:20:18.21
It deploys some of the
immune cells in the places
00:20:18.41\00:20:25.15
where they're
not needed as much.
00:20:25.19\00:20:27.79
For example, when cancer starts
developing somewhere else,
00:20:27.82\00:20:32.33
there's like not
enough power to pay attention
00:20:32.99\00:20:38.50
to what's
happening somewhere else.
00:20:38.53\00:20:40.30
So it's really important
not to exhaust our immune system
00:20:40.87\00:20:46.17
on subclinical
inflammation in our arteries
00:20:46.27\00:20:49.94
and in the adipose tissue.
00:20:49.98\00:20:52.11
It's just better to save
all those forces for serious
00:20:52.21\00:20:56.92
events, like for example,
cancer, or when we fight
00:20:58.35\00:21:01.96
a virus, or bacteria
so that our immune system
00:21:01.99\00:21:05.69
can be strong.
00:21:05.73\00:21:07.23
When the immune cells
start producing the cytokines,
00:21:07.33\00:21:12.20
it's like sending messages.
00:21:12.23\00:21:13.74
And the messages
can be really powerful.
00:21:14.40\00:21:16.84
They're directed to
specific cells in the body
00:21:16.87\00:21:20.44
and tell them some specific
instructions what to do,
00:21:20.64\00:21:24.31
how to fight the danger.
00:21:24.51\00:21:26.55
Now if we start
producing these messages,
00:21:26.75\00:21:30.29
these cytokines, in
response to no danger,
00:21:30.32\00:21:33.92
obviously, we're just
exhausting the immune system
00:21:34.59\00:21:38.19
and other cells of the body.
00:21:38.23\00:21:40.36
Think about it, what if
headquarters kept giving
00:21:41.96\00:21:44.37
the Navy Seals wrong
commands or the same command
00:21:44.40\00:21:46.90
over and over and over?
00:21:46.94\00:21:48.44
Producing too many
messages can be confusing
00:21:49.47\00:21:53.68
for the body.
00:21:53.71\00:21:55.04
And there may be
some discoordination.
00:21:55.08\00:22:00.75
However, it's the slow
burn, the uncontrolled chronic
00:22:01.25\00:22:08.26
low inflammation that
then sets us up for just about
00:22:08.29\00:22:12.83
every chronic disease
that there is out there.
00:22:12.86\00:22:14.96
When you think about
all the chronic diseases;
00:22:15.00\00:22:17.17
heart disease,
diabetes, hypertension,
00:22:17.37\00:22:20.40
autoimmune disease,
cancer, even obesity,
00:22:20.44\00:22:24.74
inflammation, chronic
Low-burn inflammation is
00:22:25.17\00:22:28.11
sort of at the base as
a cause for all of those.
00:22:28.14\00:22:32.68
And so we have to think
about, well what's creating that
00:22:33.15\00:22:36.65
low slow burn, and
how do we manage that?
00:22:36.69\00:22:39.62
Because
inflammation is crucial, right?
00:22:39.65\00:22:41.96
And so when I think about
that chronic inflammation,
00:22:42.16\00:22:47.33
it's basically we have
some sort of ongoing trauma
00:22:47.36\00:22:51.27
that we're doing to the body
that's causing it to constantly
00:22:51.70\00:22:54.70
have a little bit of reaction,
little bit of reaction causing.
00:22:54.74\00:22:58.31
That inflammation
that's constantly there,
00:22:58.41\00:23:00.68
that little bit of
reaction that's constantly there
00:23:00.71\00:23:03.01
can make you fatigued.
00:23:03.65\00:23:04.98
Your body is constantly
in a little bit of a battle
00:23:05.08\00:23:07.92
trying to control
whatever those insults were.
00:23:08.02\00:23:09.98
And those insults can
be in multiple things.
00:23:10.02\00:23:11.95
Environmental toxins, it can
be the food that you're eating,
00:23:12.15\00:23:15.76
it can be the stress, it
can be the lack of sleep.
00:23:15.79\00:23:18.59
All of these things,
again, can be the cause of
00:23:18.63\00:23:22.33
this low-grade inflammation.
00:23:22.36\00:23:24.50
Inflammatory diseases
reflects the fact that
00:23:24.97\00:23:29.64
in certain situations,
particularly coming from
00:23:29.67\00:23:33.11
lifestyle factors, inflammation
can become something that
00:23:33.14\00:23:36.95
doesn't turn itself off,
isn't turned off properly
00:23:36.98\00:23:39.48
when it should have been.
00:23:39.51\00:23:40.85
So we need inflammation to
be turned on at the right times.
00:23:40.88\00:23:43.72
We need it to turn off when
the damage has been resolved,
00:23:43.75\00:23:47.12
when the infection is gone.
00:23:47.16\00:23:48.49
When inflammation stays
turned on or functions in an
00:23:49.52\00:23:52.93
out of control way,
then it causes damage to
00:23:52.96\00:23:57.20
a lot of systems in the body
and puts us at risk for various
00:23:57.23\00:24:00.57
diseases that have inflammation
sort of at their core.
00:24:00.60\00:24:03.14
Inflammation is an important
factor in the diseases I treat.
00:24:03.54\00:24:06.88
So probably the
most common disease
00:24:08.38\00:24:10.15
I treat is type 2 diabetes.
00:24:10.18\00:24:12.25
And it makes up
probably at least half
00:24:12.28\00:24:13.95
of my visits every day.
00:24:13.98\00:24:15.68
And inflammation is a key
component of type 2 diabetes,
00:24:17.15\00:24:20.99
both in how it
begins and how it's sort of
00:24:21.02\00:24:23.53
propagated or made worse.
00:24:23.56\00:24:24.99
And inflammation is an
important process that makes
00:24:25.53\00:24:29.83
diabetes hard to
treat and hard to reverse,
00:24:29.86\00:24:32.47
although that's all possible.
00:24:32.50\00:24:34.00
When we're talking about
chronic inflammatory diseases,
00:24:34.70\00:24:37.37
we mentioned type 2 diabetes,
heart disease and stroke
00:24:37.41\00:24:41.14
both are diseases involving
inflammation of blood vessels.
00:24:41.18\00:24:44.28
Obesity is a disease
of chronic inflammation.
00:24:45.41\00:24:47.88
So is Alzheimer's disease.
00:24:47.92\00:24:49.72
And cancers have an
important factor of inflammation
00:24:49.92\00:24:53.09
that feeds them or promotes the
possibility of cancer growing.
00:24:53.12\00:24:56.86
So yet again, maybe
perhaps all of the top killers,
00:24:57.46\00:25:00.73
of people in the
western world anyway,
00:25:00.76\00:25:03.16
are closely
tied to inflammation.
00:25:03.20\00:25:05.80
Next, we're going to hear
from psychiatrist Dr. Binus.
00:25:06.37\00:25:09.20
I asked him if inflammation
is an underlying problem
00:25:09.24\00:25:11.77
in the conditions he treats.
00:25:11.81\00:25:13.34
There are a lot of
studies that actually
00:25:13.54\00:25:16.31
point in that direction.
00:25:16.34\00:25:17.68
But I think we need to
be a little bit careful
00:25:17.71\00:25:20.32
because not all
psychiatric disorders are,
00:25:20.35\00:25:23.32
maybe put it this way, not
all people that have depression,
00:25:23.35\00:25:26.49
for example, are over-inflamed.
00:25:26.52\00:25:29.69
There's actually, so what they
have shown is that when you do
00:25:30.73\00:25:34.86
research and you give
people more inflammation,
00:25:35.33\00:25:38.70
that it can definitely
increase the likelihood
00:25:38.73\00:25:41.17
that they develop
depression, anxiety disorders,
00:25:41.20\00:25:44.34
and other
mental health problems.
00:25:44.37\00:25:46.88
However, not everybody
that has a lot of inflammation
00:25:46.91\00:25:51.85
has mental health disorders.
00:25:51.88\00:25:53.42
And there are people that have
serious mental health disorders,
00:25:53.45\00:25:57.65
like really bad schizophrenia
or very bad bipolar,
00:25:57.69\00:26:00.86
and their levels of inflammation
are actually quite low.
00:26:00.89\00:26:03.79
So what we see is that it
seems like there is a subset
00:26:03.83\00:26:08.10
of people that are more
sensitive to the inflammation,
00:26:08.13\00:26:13.10
and then that can really trigger
more mental health problems
00:26:13.13\00:26:17.11
and trigger depression, or
bipolar or whatever it might be.
00:26:17.31\00:26:20.58
But there's other
people it seems like they have
00:26:20.78\00:26:23.04
a bit more resilience, and
it doesn't affect them as much.
00:26:23.08\00:26:26.68
Now that being said,
inflammation, I believe,
00:26:26.82\00:26:29.02
is always important and
we want to regulate that,
00:26:29.05\00:26:31.75
because even though it might
not right away push someone
00:26:31.79\00:26:34.62
over the edge into a
mental health problem,
00:26:34.66\00:26:37.53
it can be part of the triggers.
00:26:37.63\00:26:41.56
And eventually, if you keep
getting hit with one problem
00:26:41.60\00:26:44.97
after another, it will
eventually push anyone over the
00:26:45.00\00:26:48.24
edge, and then they'll
develop a mental illness.
00:26:48.27\00:26:50.21
And inflammation can certainly
be one of those factors.
00:26:50.24\00:26:52.94
Very interesting.
00:26:53.14\00:26:54.68
I also asked neurologist
Dr. Sherzai about the impact
00:26:54.71\00:26:57.51
of physical trauma to the
brain, as it's unfortunately
00:26:57.55\00:27:00.52
a fairly common cause
of brain inflammation.
00:27:00.55\00:27:02.82
Yes, when people have
a traumatic brain injury,
00:27:03.22\00:27:06.05
depending on the
extent of the injury,
00:27:06.09\00:27:08.12
it could be a physical
injury where you actually see
00:27:08.16\00:27:10.79
physical damage to the brain,
00:27:10.83\00:27:13.29
to the neurons
and their connections,
00:27:13.33\00:27:15.43
or it could be subtle enough
that it only causes axonal
00:27:15.46\00:27:19.73
damage and injury and
constant inflammation.
00:27:19.77\00:27:23.87
There have been studies
that have looked at specific
00:27:23.91\00:27:26.61
types of neuroimaging in
the brain where inflammation
00:27:26.64\00:27:29.41
was the most
prominent byproduct or activity
00:27:29.44\00:27:33.15
after traumatic brain injury.
00:27:33.18\00:27:34.78
And you know, chronic
traumatic encephalopathy
00:27:34.82\00:27:37.72
is being studied in people who
have had multiple head injuries,
00:27:37.75\00:27:40.69
and it seems that predominantly
it's inflammation that causes
00:27:40.89\00:27:44.26
most of the damage.
00:27:44.29\00:27:45.63
Inflammation is a common
denominator to many diagnoses.
00:27:45.69\00:27:49.86
And it's not what
you were made for.
00:27:49.90\00:27:51.70
No, you were made for health.
00:27:51.73\00:27:54.20