Live data from Hacker News

Why is inflammation a dangerous necessity?

quantamagazine.org

11–20 of 51 posts

Re: Why is inflammation a dangerous necessity?

#11
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hormesis and the hygiene hypothesis suggest that "working out" can be good for the immune system too. Unfortunately variolation has become a difficult topic.

I don't think doing exercise trigger an inflammatory (immune) response although I might be wrong. Either way your point stand regarding its paradoxical effect on oxidative stress.

Exercise does trigger inflammation through a variety of mechanisms (eg.: increased tissue perfusion and diapedesis, oxidative stress, tissue damage...).

However it also releases endocannabinoids, which are anti-inflammatory, and causes a host of metabolic changes which are also anti-inflammatory.

The overall effect of exercise is to increase inflammation acutely, and to decrease it chronically. Regular physical exercise is overall more modulatory than inflammatory.

Re: Why is inflammation a dangerous necessity?

#12

Fun fact. Many autoimmune issues can be triggered / worsened by diet. There is an auto immune protocol diet that is all about reducing inflammation. Spend a few months on any of the support forms and you’ll see a pattern where people take years to be diagnosed. Most have a mystery illness for several years before it’s diagnosed. Then they go through years of various medication options with mixed results. Eventually m…

While it is true that diet can have a big impact on inflammation, I would caution against pushing this idea too far in the context of auto-immune diseases.

I won't go into the details or talk about any specific condition because it's a complex topic, but you're better off combining a mediterranean / Indian / varied diet (the American diet is notoriously bad) with proper medication as prescribed by your treating physician.

If you have an auto-immune disease, do not try to replace drugs with diet changes.

(I'm a biochemist)

Re: Why is inflammation a dangerous necessity?

#13

Fun fact. Many autoimmune issues can be triggered / worsened by diet. There is an auto immune protocol diet that is all about reducing inflammation. Spend a few months on any of the support forms and you’ll see a pattern where people take years to be diagnosed. Most have a mystery illness for several years before it’s diagnosed. Then they go through years of various medication options with mixed results. Eventually m…

I have a lot of personal theories on this but if you have what I think you might have I would highly recommend trying a Japanese fermented food called Natto. It is some real weird stuff in terms of texture and smell but the benefits are massive at least for myself. I tried everything out there and saw tons of doctors and while some things helped consistently eating this stuff keeps my immune system in check better than anything else I have tried. Most asian grocery stores will have it.

Re: Why is inflammation a dangerous necessity?

#14

Fun fact. Many autoimmune issues can be triggered / worsened by diet. There is an auto immune protocol diet that is all about reducing inflammation. Spend a few months on any of the support forms and you’ll see a pattern where people take years to be diagnosed. Most have a mystery illness for several years before it’s diagnosed. Then they go through years of various medication options with mixed results. Eventually m…

I have a lot of personal theories on this but if you have what I think you might have I would highly recommend trying a Japanese fermented food called Natto. It is some real weird stuff in terms of texture and smell but the benefits are massive at least for myself. I tried everything out there and saw tons of doctors and while some things helped consistently eating this stuff keeps my immune system in check better th…

Please don't give medical advice on the internet, especially without specifying what the advice is for, or without knowing what condition the other person has. It's obviously well intentioned, but incredibly reckless.

Re: Why is inflammation a dangerous necessity?

#15

An open question would be wether the baseline inflammation level could be lowered if we implemented a periodic but rarer higher inflammatory level. So a ~flatline vs a sinusoid. It could be pharmacologically simulated.

I don't think I've seen any serious suggestions that inflammation per se causes beneficial adaptations. Rather, imposes a stress and the recovery/adaption process is mediated by inflammation, i.e. the why of the inflammation is important.

Re: Why is inflammation a dangerous necessity?

#18
post #16

I would heartily recommend Immune by Dettmer [0] if you are interested in how your immune system works. Fascinating read. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57423646-immune

Immunology Made Ridiculously Simple is also fantastic for clinicians and people who like dumb medical jokes and cartoons :) https://www.amazon.com/Immunology-Ridiculously-Simple-Massou...

The entire "made ridiculously simple" series is fantastic, it's run by a retired MD professor who basically drew cartoons to help learn on his way through med school and throughout his career as a professor.

Re: Why is inflammation a dangerous necessity?

#19
post #16

I would heartily recommend Immune by Dettmer [0] if you are interested in how your immune system works. Fascinating read. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57423646-immune

I just finished reading it and it was awesome. It's a great book for starting to understand the immune system.

Re: Why is inflammation a dangerous necessity?

#20
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a lot of personal theories on this but if you have what I think you might have I would highly recommend trying a Japanese fermented food called Natto. It is some real weird stuff in terms of texture and smell but the benefits are massive at least for myself. I tried everything out there and saw tons of doctors and while some things helped consistently eating this stuff keeps my immune system in check better th…

Please don't give medical advice on the internet, especially without specifying what the advice is for, or without knowing what condition the other person has. It's obviously well intentioned, but incredibly reckless.

Do you really think someone is going to read that, start ignoring their doctors, throw all their medicine in the bin, and become some kind of natto evangelist?

It’s a common Japanese food and he just said give it a go.

Post reply on HN