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When we talk about inflammation, most people immediately think about issues like joint pain. Local inflammatory conditions are pretty common these days. However, this article will focus on something different – generalised low-grade inflammation across the body.
Unlike local inflammation, which causes pain in the affected area, generalised low-grade inflammation differs. Such a kind of inflammation causes vague symptoms. It often remains undetected. However, it causes significant harm to health.
What is regretful is that even doctors would rarely test their patients for such issues. Individuals living with such problems will often complain about constant fatigue, headaches, and not feeling like doing anything.
Doctors call inflammation across the body as systemic inflammation. Despite lower awareness about this issue, doctors do test for the conditions. Some commonly used blood tests, like erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein, homocysteine levels, and cortisol test, can help identify the issue.(1)
Such an inflammation is more likely to occur due to chronic stress. Acute inflammation is not essentially bad, as it helps heal the body. However, chronic inflammation across the body is different and harmful. Such an inflammation shows dysregulated immune responses.
Such an inflammation results in increased blood levels of inflammatory chemicals. These chemicals are readily detected through various blood tests. Moreover, lab tests can even detect their influences.
Doctors and medical researchers have become more aware of health risks posed by this low-grade inflammation in recent years. Such an inflammation can harm just any body's organs.
Thus, take the example of heart disease. Did you know modern medicine now regards heart disease mainly as an inflammatory condition. Constantly high inflammation across the body harms blood vessels, increasing plaque formation risk.(2)
Similarly, think of dementia. It is now among the leading causes of death and disability in the UK. One of the reasons why dementia cases are rising is due to uncontrolled inflammation.(3)
Inflammation across the body is a significant problem in those living with diabetes. That is why diabetes causes so many complications.
This kind of low-grade and widespread inflammation may occur for many reasons. It may be secondary to some disease. For example, chronic inflammation often persists for a long time after flu, COVID-19, and many other infections.
However, such kind of inflammation may also be due to environmental factors and certain dietary choices. Higher exposure to heavy metals may also cause inflammation across the body.
If chronic inflammation is secondary to some infection or respiratory disease, then it is better to treat that condition first.
However, the challenge in managing chronic inflammation is that it often outlasts the condition that first started inflammation. Long-COVID is just an example, a condition when people continue to experience poor health for months.
Using anti-inflammatory drugs for inflammation across the body is not an option. It is better to control such inflammation with dietary measures, exercise, and health supplements.
It appears that most commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs do not help with chronic inflammation. This is because chronic inflammation differs from acute inflammation. Chronic inflammation affecting the whole body is mainly due to immune dysfunction.
CBD oil is one of the good options for chronic inflammation. It is safe for prolonged use, as it is a Novel Food, which means it is approved for regular use. It works gently and does not cause any harm, which is also important.
Does CBD really work for chronic inflammation? Yes, there are many studies showing that it has a mild anti-inflammatory effect. Further, CBD oil also has antioxidant properties.(4)
When it comes to CBD oil for inflammation, one can consider both CBD isolate and full-spectrum CBD oils. When choosing CBD oil, choosing high-quality CBD products is vital. Also, remember that hemp seed oil will not work, which is naturally CBD-free.
Remember that one must take CBD for a long time to heal inflammation across the body. Chronic inflammation is challenging to suppress. CBD would only start working after a week, but one would need to use it for at least 8-12 weeks for optimal effect. However, one can use CBD daily for several months.
Yes, definitely. CBD vape pens also contain CBD, and thus, it has many health effects similar to CBD oil. Of course, remember that vape pens should not be abused. If someone does not vape or smoke, we do not encourage people to start vaping.
However, using vape pens could be quite good for those looking to give up smoking. Smoking causes inflammation, whereas vape pens might help control such inflammation.
To sum up, chronic inflammation is one of the under-recognised problems. If left unmanaged, it can cause many health issues. Therefore, it may be a good idea to use exercise, dietary measures, stress management, and CBD to heal inflammation across the body.
This article was authored by: Dr. Preet Pal Singh Bhinder.
This article was peer-reviewed by Dr M Mansoor Siddique (PhD). Dr Siddique has over eight years of experience working with CBD and CBD products.
Disclaimer: All of our products are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. It is recommended to check with doctor before starting a new dietary supplement program. All CBD products sold have less than 0.2% THC content and abide by both EU an UK law.
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