The Inflammation-Toxin-Obesity Connection
Excess body weight, specifically adipose (fat) tissue, increases toxic storage and endotoxin production. Adipose tissue is not metabolically active, in that it does not use and produce energy. However, in excess, adipose tissue is considered an endocrine organ because large amounts produce inflammatory cytokines and can wreak havoc on the body.
Inflammation is a common factor among chronic health conditions, especially abdominal obesity, and cardiovascular disease. As such, inflammation, toxicity, and excess adipose tissue create a feed forward biochemical cycle in the body that can lead to serious health conditions like cancer, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Inflammation in the body also sensitizes a person to the deleterious effects of toxins on most body systems, especially the respiratory tract, kidney, and lymphoid tissue. Inflammatory cytokines trigger the epigenetic changes to upregulate and extend the inflammatory response, causing further damage to the body. Therefore, individuals with inflammatory-based conditions are more susceptible to the harmful effects of toxicity compared to individuals with low systemic inflammation.
Consuming a variety of fresh, organic, whole foods and fermented foods will provide the body with nutrients in the right proportions and help prevent damage and/or restore healthy function to all processes that have previously suffered from inflammation, nutrient deficiencies and/or toxic overload.
Tags: adipose tissue, cancer, endocrine dysfunction, heart disease, inflammation, obesity, toxins