Microinflammation Reinforces Itself
Section titled “Microinflammation Reinforces Itself”The signal initiated by the oxidizing cholesterol is an inflammatory signal, in the same family as C-reactive protein. This signal will reach the liver, which will pour out more C-reactive protein, which will initiate further inflammatory signals.
Other cell signals, such as interleukin-1 and interleukin-6, increase during inflammation both in the blood vessels and in the brain.
Omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients are involved in natural damping of this microinflammation. As we age, such nutrients and such natural inhibition of microinflammation decrease.
How Blood Clots
Section titled “How Blood Clots”The blood flowing through the vessels remains in the liquid state only as long as it stays within those vessels. If it escapes, it turns into a solid, a clot, in order to prevent further loss of blood from any torn blood vessel.
So why does it remain liquid within the blood vessel? One reason is that the endothelial cells lining the blood vessels, like Teflon, let the blood slip by with minimal friction and without triggering coagulation. Let the blood come into contact with any other tissue in the body and the clotting mechanism is triggered. In the case of plaque rupture, the material inside the plaque tissue meets the blood in the vessel, which causes a clot inside the vessel.
Stress hormones such as adrenalin make the blood more likely to clot, and aspirin makes it less likely, so you can guess what the effect of each of those will be on our risk of stroke or heart attack.
Stress, Microinflammation, and Aging
Section titled “Stress, Microinflammation, and Aging”Our adrenal glands, in their response to stress, secrete cortisol. This
- increases blood glucose, necessary if we are to outrun the wooly mammoth. If, instead of facing the mammoth, we're stressed because we're stuck in traffic, then all that elevated glucose does is to lower intracellular magnesium and raise intracellular calcium, both of which are aging processes.
- reduces growth hormone, something we need to create vital proteins and build bone. Again, this is not a bad response in an unusual and truly urgent situation, but not good on a daily basis.
- increases cytokine levels, such as IL-1, IL-6, and TNFalpha, which has the effect of causing the adrenal gland to put out more cortisol. This is valuable as part of an integrated response to imminent physical danger but, as a constant state of affairs, serves only to increase microinflammation throughout our system.
Cigarettes
Section titled “Cigarettes”German researchers, in the journal Circulation (1996 Apr 1;93:1346-53), found that cigarette smoking increased inflammation of the endothelium, which may a major reason cigarette smoking dramatically increases the risk of vascular disease.
Vitamin C
Section titled “Vitamin C”A German study published in Circulation (1996 Jul 1;94:6-9) found that vitamin C reduced damage to the endothelium caused by smoking.