Nearly every disease process involves inflammation in one way or another. And while it’s true that acute inflammation—like the kind you get when you cut your finger—is a necessary and healthy response of the immune system, chronic inflammation is another story entirely. This type of inflammation occurs when the inflammatory response is activated for too long. Chronic inflammation can lead to all sorts of health problems, including autoimmune diseases, cancer, and heart disease.

What is inflammation?

Inflammation is an important part of your body’s defense process against things that harm it, like infections, injuries, and toxins. It’s also part of a normal and healthy healing process. Normally, inflammation works with your body to restore balance.

There are two main types of inflammation:

Acute inflammation - When you cut your finger, get an insect bite, or sustain an injury, your body responds with acute inflammation to protect against infection and initiate the healing process. You’ll notice this in the form of redness or swelling. Once healed, the inflammatory response dissipates and returns to a calm baseline. This is inflammation at work in a good way.

Chronic inflammation - Unlike acute inflammation, this type of inflammation is an ever-present, systemic, and low-grade inflammation, and is often painless and hardly detectable. You probably won’t feel this type of inflammation, but it does increase your risk of serious health conditions. Chronic inflammation is a "slow burn" that can continue for years undetected.

This slow burn results in the body releasing proinflammatory signals like C-reactive protein, cytokines, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). These pro-inflammatory compounds damage cells and increase the risk of developing chronic inflammatory diseases (1).  

Learn more about conditions we treat: Chronic Inflammation

8 Signs you have chronic inflammation

Inflammation is involved in nearly every disease process either as a contributing factor or as a consequence. Chronic inflammation symptoms may be an early risk factor for most age-related disease, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Type 2 Diabetes (2,3) 

Depression or other mood disorders

Chronic inflammation can have a devastating impact on the brain. Over time, low-grade inflammation can break down the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the protective barrier that keeps regular circulation separate from the delicate tissues inside the brain.

When this process occurs, pro-inflammatory cytokines make their way into the brain’s circulatory system and activate an immune response. This causes microglia to recruit even more pro-inflammatory cytokines to the scene, further breaking down the BBB, and driving inflammation (4). 

Symptoms of brain or neuroinflammation can include (5,6): 

• Brain fog
• Difficulty concentrating
• Cognitive decline
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Anxiety

Keep reading: Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative Diseases May Actually Start in the Gut

A constantly runny nose or sinus congestion

Allergies occur when your body’s immune system overreacts to something you eat or in your environment, causing a noticeable inflammatory response. Allergy symptoms, including itchy eyes and a stuffy nose, stem from chronic inflammation. They are all critical signs that your body is inflamed and trying to tell you something is wrong

Joint pain & arthritis

Virtually all joint pain is worsened by inflammation that starts in other areas of the body (7). Joint pain due to wear and tear on the body, known as osteoarthritis (OA) has traditionally not been considered an inflammatory condition, but recent evidence suggests that chronic inflammation is linked to joint damage, and a possible immune response (8). 

In the case of inflammatory arthritis conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, Lupus, and psoriatic arthritis, immune dysregulation triggers an inflammatory response and the immune system attacks connective tissue. Both processes are driven by unresolved inflammation.

Related: How to Reduce Chronic Inflammation to Alleviate Joint Pain & Arthritis 

Abdominal fat

An excess of fat cells around the abdomen increases production of hormones that increase inflammation (9). Obesity is both a cause and an effect of diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and increases systemic inflammation regardless of how well blood sugar remains controlled if you do have type 2 diabetes (10). Belly fat also increases the likelihood of inflammation even more so than an elevated BMI in patients with type-2 diabetes.

Read: The Barriers to Weight Loss You Must Address First

Poor digestion

Many inflammatory conditions arise as a result of chronic inflammation in the gut. Digestive symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, or indigestion can all indicate the presence of chronic inflammation originating in the digestive system.

Gut health is mainly influenced by two interconnected factors: the intestinal barrier and the gut microbiome. A healthy intestinal barrier blocks the circulation of harmful pathogens or toxins and regulates digestion & immune function (11). And your gut microbiome relies on the trillions of beneficial bacteria to aid with essential functions associated with digestion, enzyme production, protection, and more.

If the intestinal barrier becomes permeable, or dysbiosis occurs within the microbiome, this can trigger inflammation. Long-term inflammation in the gut contributes to the development of chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colon cancer, obesity, or ulcerative colitis.

Related: How to Heal Your Gut After Antibiotics