Omega-3 tablets, green tea lattes, antioxidant serums: Chances are, you're already engaged in the fight against inflammation. Medicine's biggest, baddest buzzword gets more headlines than Lindsay Lohan (albeit in different publications). It's the subject of countless studies and theories; the basis of more than one "lifesaving" diet (see: Mediterranean, Weil, Perricone); and is, according to one skin care entrepreneur, "the single biggest cause of aging."
On the flip side, inflammation is a large part of why laser resurfacers and acid peels andaccording to some expertseven doctor's-best-friend Retin-A actually work. Each of these engineers a small injury that causes skin to repair itselfwhich it does through inflammation. No one's saying you should break up with your derm or toss your tube of Retin-A, but the conflicting claims give pause: Why is one form of inflammation killing us and the other making us prettierand how are we supposed to know the difference?
But first, perhaps a better question: What is inflammation? That's the funny part. At its core, inflammation is basic biological border controla very good thing. Whether you cut your finger or get sneezed on by a flu-ridden colleague, your immune system deploys specialized repair cells, including mast cells and macrophages, that signal waves of other cells and chemicals to arrive on the scene. The cascade is not unlike gut-renovating a house: Enzymes demolish the damaged tissue, then other workers come in and build it back up. Finallyideallythe body senses the job is done and shuts down the process.
How much inflammation each of us has is believed to be partly genetic, but smoking, allergens, UV rays, pollution, and hormones (stress-related cortisol, for one) can provoke more of it. Cells in the skin and
intestines, for example, are constantly working to kick out the irritants in everything from Marlboros and Doritos to plain old tap water.
Perhaps because of this constant assault, many experts now believe that our repair machinery can get out of whack, stuck in the "on" setting. Chronic inflammationthe bad stuffhas been linked to cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's. In the case of heart attacks, inflammation in the blood vessels can weaken the lining of artery walls and cause fatty deposits, or plaques, to rupture, forming vessel-clogging clots. Autoimmune disorders such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are, in fact, prime examples of inflammation gone awry; the body has turned its inflammatory (i.e., immune) response on itself, repeatedly assaulting healthy cells in the joints, nerves, and connective tissues.
Though the basic process is the same throughout the body, all inflammation is not created equaldifferent kinds give us different sensations. If it's in the brain, we get a headache (hello, hangover); in the liver, stomachache or nausea; in the intestines, upset stomach and cramping. And much of it lurks undercover, an unseen, uninvited guest that we can't feel at all.
But what, you may well be asking, is it doing to my face? In skin, high levels of inflammation produce exactly what you picture: the rednessand sometimes pain, itching, and flakingthat anyone who suffers from eczema, psoriasis, or rosacea knows all too well. It's not the infection, per se, that makes these conditions so uncomfortable and unsightlyit's the body's war against them. The condition known as chronic actinic dermatitis, in which badly sun-damaged skin becomes dry, scaly, and itchy? That's inflammation too.
And while clogged pores and built-up oil contribute to the miseries of acne, the condition is also caused by bacteria, which incitesyou guessed itinflammation, sometimes leading to pain and scarring. This can become a particularly vicious circle: Stress also causes inflammation, which leads to acne, which leads to more inflammation, and so on.