Chronic disease takes an enormous toll on individuals, families and societies as a whole. Chronic diseases, also known as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), are the leading cause of mortality in the world killing 41 million people per year, equivalent to 71% of all deaths globally. (World Health Organization/Noncommunicable diseases.) In the last 20 years, the prevalence of chronic disease in the United States has grown by a steady 7 to 8 million people every 5 years. 

Today, chronic disease affects 50% of the U.S. population, and its clinical care consumes more than 85% of health care costs. It is estimated 133 million Americans have at least one form of chronic disease – 15 million higher than just a decade ago and is expected to reach 170 million by year 2030. 

~ World Health Organization/Noncommunicable diseases. 
~ American Hospital Association – Focus on Wellness. 

Inflammation is our body’s first line of defense against injury or infection. Acute inflammation is necessary to protect us from a cut, a cold virus, or a bug bite. 

But when inflammation goes into overdrive and becomes long-term it becomes a problem. Steady damage from chronic inflammation silently leads to devastating chronic disease. 

There are close to 1,000 different species of bacteria living within our gastrointestinal tract, primarily our colon. These microorganisms within our gut have a vital role in controlling inflammation. 

When there is damage to our gut microbiome either through internal or external factors such as poor diet, medications, sedentary lifestyle, toxins, stress, and environmental agents – an imbalance to our protective microorganisms occurs. 

This imbalance is known as dysbiosis. The population of protective (‘healthy’) bacteria decreases and the harmful (‘unhealthy’) bacteria start to thrive leading to overgrowth of harmful bacteria or the wrong species of bacteria. 

Long-term dysbiosis, and a lack of diversity of the gut microbiota, causes damage to the protective mucosal lining of the gastrointestinal tract. The damaged lining becomes inflamed and the tight junctions between the cells “open wider” increasing intestinal permeability. 

Increased intestinal permeability is commonly referred to as ‘leaky gut’, allowing elements from the gut to enter the bloodstream promoting widespread, systemic inflammation. 

When combatting inflammation to prevent chronic disease, it is critical to incorporate measures to assess immune health, metabolic health / oxidative stress, and the health of the gut microbiome. 

Early detection is key.  Chronic inflammation can be silent, or present as vague unexplained symptoms.  Laboratory testing is an important measure to evaluate one’s inflammatory health status.  What we refer to as obtaining a “peak under the hood”.